Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with a sense of vision. Entrepreneurship is not just about finding creative solutions to problems (innovation), it is largely about finishing a process or product and making it sustainable (exnovation).
There are many scholarly definitions of entrepreneurship. Some say entrepreneurship is the passion to create value, while some school of thought opine that entrepreneurs are individuals who turn raw materials into finished products. Whether it is turning a creative idea into lucrative opportunity or taking creativity from indoors to industry, entrepreneurship is a large spectrum of opportunity to do something of value in any field. It is therefore, against this background that I wish to simply assert that entrepreneurship is doing with a sense of vision whatsoever your hand finds to do.
Entrepreneurship is not just about finding and funding the best entrepreneurial ideas, it is about starting, sustaining and finishing a worthy cause. Innovation may ignite the entrepreneurial process, it is vision that completes it. Entrepreneurship is leadership plus creativity. A good leader works to create a system, but a great leader creates a system that works. Entrepreneurial leadership is neither entrepreneurship nor leadership, it is a combination of creativity and vision. It is about creating innovative systems that work and sustaining them with visionary leadership.
A leader does not have to create a product, but he must start a process. Similarly, an entrepreneur does not have to start a process, but he must create a product. The ability to create a product (innovation), start, sustain and finish a process (vision), are the hallmarks of entrepreneurial leadership. Entrepreneurial leaders create products and processes. They create solutions and systems.
There are four critical actions necessary for the entrepreneurial process to be ignited and completed. They are as follows:
- The ability to create
- The ability to start
- The ability to sustain
- The ability to finish
Entrepreneurship is 25 percent innovation and 75 percent vision. The ability to create represents one quarter of entrepreneurship. Creativity is the bedrock of innovation. It is the spark that ignites the entrepreneurial process. The ability to start, sustain and finish a worthy cause is the fire that completes the entrepreneurial process, and these three other actions represent three quarter of entrepreneurship. A “worthy cause” refers to a project, charity, or effort that merits attention, aid, or action due to its inherent goodness of values or intention. It is something that helps people in need or improves society.
What vision is to leadership is what innovation is to entrepreneurship. The ability to start, sustain and finish something is the central issue in entrepreneurship. Successful entrepreneurs are pragmatic leaders, who by virtue of vision, finish a project before it is started. They envision possibilities before they undertake responsibilities. They are visionary innovators who turn creativity to innovation and use innovation to transform the economy and modernize society.
Innovation is the ability to create something of value, economically or socially. Vision is the ability to start, sustain and complete the process that drives what is created.
Let us briefly consider what each of the actions actually means and their effects in driving the entrepreneurial process:
First, the entrepreneurial process involves the following stages:
- Idea generation: Brainstorm and explore potential business ideas.
- Opportunity evaluation: Assess the feasibility and potential of the idea.
- Planning: Create a business plan.
- Company formation/launch: Establish the venture.
- Growth: Manage and expand the business.
- The ability to create – Creatives are found in every sector and every sector is improved by constant innovation. The ability to create is one of the core competences of entrepreneurs.
The ability to create can mean the following:
- To form something new and valuable, which may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary work, or a painting).
- Marked by the ability or power to create.
- The ability to imagine and to take that imagination and make it into reality.
- The ability to create and respond to change.
Thinking possibilities without undertaking corresponding responsibilities cannot drive the entrepreneurial process to fruition. While it is true that the entrepreneurial process begins with the ability to create or generate an idea, the central issue in entrepreneurial success is the ability to start a process, sustain a system and finish a course.
- The ability to start – Initiative is the ability to start something without being told to do so. It’s a key skill for anyone in a leadership position, as it allows them to take charge and get things done without having to wait for instructions.
- The ability to sustain – Sustainability refers to the ability to maintain or support a process continuously over time. In business and policy contexts, sustainability seeks to prevent the depletion of natural or physical resources, so that they will remain available for the long term. Sustainability is also the ability to provide for the needs of the current generation using available resources without causing future generations any problem with providing for their own needs. My philosophy about entrepreneurship and sustainability is centred on the word “generation”- An entrepreneur thinks of two generations; the first is idea generation which is centred on creativity, while the other is the next generation, that is, posterity. In all of these analyses, sustainability is measured by three indices which are the social, economic and environmental impacts of a project.
That it is a good project does not mean it is sustainable, but if it is sustainable, that is, it affects humans, the economy and the environment (the flora and fauna) positively, then it is definitely a good project and a worthy cause.
- The ability to finish – Everybody starts projects. Successful people finish them. The ability to finish is the most important skill any creator, entrepreneur, or artist can develop and it’s often what separates those who succeed from those who don’t. What we start is meaningless. What matters is what we finish.
Your innovative product can’t prove your entrepreneurial talent if you don’t build it. Remember, entrepreneurship is not just about having a plan, it is about behaving the plan.
A building that has a weak foundation is always abandoned and never given attention. Similarly, an entrepreneurial project that has no strong vision should not be started in the first place. Remember, vision represents one quarter of entrepreneurial leadership. Innovation without vision is a limitation. Vision without innovation is an imitation.
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