Entrepreneurial Mindset (CH. 1)

• Entrepreneurship


  A method rather than a process
• Entrepreneurship as a method

  • Emphasizes smart action over planning
  • Moving quickly from the whiteboard to the real world
  • Can be learned and should be repeated
  • No guarantee for success but offers powerful assurances
• Powerful assurances of entrepreneurship as a method

  • You will act sooner, even when you don't know exactly what to do
  • For those things you can do, you will; and for those things you can't, you will try
  • You will try more times because trying early is a low-cost experiment
  • You will fail sooner—enabling better, higher quality information to be incorporated into the next iteration
  • You'll likely begin experimenting with many new ideas simultaneously
• Entrepreneurship as a process

  • Known inputs and predictive outputs
  • Phases of learning
  • Steps to complete
  • Linear
  • Planning focus
  • Expected return
• Entrepreneurship as a method

  • Iterative
  • Creative
  • Action focus
  • Investment for learning
  • Collaborative
• The eight components of the practice of entrepreneurship

  • Identify your desired impact on the world
  • Start with means at hand
  • Describe the idea today
  • Calculate affordable loss
  • Take small action
  • Network and enroll others in your journey
  • Build on what you learn
  • Reflect and be honest with yourself
• Effectuation


  The theory that the future is unpredictable yet controllable, and entrepreneurs can "effect" the future
• Predictive logic


  A form of thinking that sees entrepreneurship as a linear process in which steps are followed and outcomes are—ideally— predictable
• Creation logic


  A form of thinking that is used when the future is unpredictable
• The five skills most important to the practice of entrepreneurship

  • Skill of play
  • Skill of experimentation
  • Skill of empathy
  • Skill of creativity
  • Skill of reflection
• Types of reflection


  • Narrative reflection
  • Emotional reflection
  • Perceptive reflection
  • Analytical reflection
  • Evaluative reflection
  • Critical reflection
• Dr. Saras Sarasvathy


  She believes that it is futile for entrepreneurs to try and predict the future
• Skill of PLAY


  A skill that frees the imagination, opens up your mind to a wealth of opportunities and responsibilities, and helps us to be more innovative as entrepreneurs
• Skill of EMPATHY


  A skill that helps in developing the ability to understand emotion, circumstances, intentions, thoughts, and needs of others
• Skill of REFLECTION


  It helps make sense of all the other actions required to play empathy, creativity and experimentation
• Skill of CREATIVITY


  It requires a general openness to the world and relates to unleashing our creative ability to create and find opportunities and solve problems
• Skill of EXPERIMENTATION


  It is best described as acting in order to learn: trying something, learning from the attempt, and building that learning into the next iteration
• Identify your desired impact on the world

  The entrepreneur must have a strong feeling to achieve something larger than him
• Start with means at hand

  Knowing yourself, your KSA, as well as identifying your network will help you understand what you have in terms of your resources
• Describe the idea today


  Taking in consideration of your available resources, describing the idea today is about identifying your means or your resources to what you want to start today
• Calculate affordable loss


  It is a matter of perceiving what you can do and what you are willing to lose in the process in accomplishing or achieving something
• Take small action


  As an entrepreneur, taking action must not be done drastically. It should be taken into small to start and get you going
• Network and enroll others in your journey

  The practice of entrepreneurship is about collaboration and co-creation rather than competition
• Build on what you learn

  There is no right or wrong answer at this stage, just better. Expect and embrace setbacks, and celebrate the learning
• Reflect and be honest with yourself

  In the practice of entrepreneurship, one must always assess his performance and ask himself "how do I know when I should or keep going?"