Entrepreneurial Execution (not in the literal sense...)

I gave a talk at the NC Chinese Business Association tonight and shared some of my experiences in starting our company, BioResource International, as well as giving some "take home messages" for the audience gathered. Here are some "nuggets" from my talk...

- "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together" - David Gergen, quoting a former director of the Gates Foundation
- E-myth qualities are Entrepreneur, Manager, Technician (not one person has all these qualities/strengths - you need to build a team of individuals who each has strengths in different areas)
- Turn focus from "me" to "we"
- Communication and trust are critical in a team (focus on the problems at hand and work toward consensus, but know that not everyone will agree all the time; it has been said that if two people always agree on something, then one of them is redundant)
- Create an environment of openness and optimism
- Celebrate wins and admit losses as soon as possible, as often as possible (paraphrasing Jack Welch in his book, Straight from the Gut)
- Beware of fundamental attribution error (wrongly attributing success to a characteristic or skill that a successful leader demonstrates); sometimes it's just about being persistent so that you end up in the right place at the right time...