Recently, I came across an article by Scott Adams, creator of “Dilbert”, highlighting some of the learnings he took from studying entrepreneurship at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. Adams’ article reads like a short MBA and is entitled How to Get a Real Education.
The source of this link was Roger Hamilton, author of Your Life Your Legacy: An Entrepreneur Guide To Finding Your Flow. Hamilton’s passion is reflected in the extract he chooses to share. His thesis is that we need more entrepreneurs if we are to generate the resources needed to address the key issues in the world and that, as individuals, we need to understand how we are designed to generate wealth. (Stay tuned if you want to learn more about this in future postings). The extract below, from Adams’ article, illustrates this neatly:
“There was a small business on our campus called The Coffee House. One day the managers of The Coffee House had a meeting to discuss two topics. First, our Minister of Employment was recommending that we fire a bartender, who happened to be one of my best friends. Second, we needed to choose a leader for our group. On the first question, there was a general consensus that my friend lacked both the will and the potential to master the bartending arts. I reluctantly voted with the majority to fire him.”
“But when it came to discussing who should be our new leader, I pointed out that my friend—the soon-to-be-fired bartender—was tall, good-looking and so gifted at b.s. that he’d be the perfect leader. By the end of the meeting I had persuaded the group to fire the worst bartender that any of us had ever seen…and ask him if he would consider being our leader. My friend nailed the interview and became our Commissioner. He went on to do a terrific job. That was the year I learned everything I know about management.”
This brief extract nails precisely the “square peg, round hole” syndrome that affects us all. As individuals, we struggle if we are trying to mould ourselves into a role that doesn’t suit us. As leaders, we will certainly have to deal with the same issue as it affects our staff.
I wonder, how is this issue showing up right now in your life and career?
Hi Dorothy, good blog, thanks for posting.
The point about the World needing more entrepreneurs affects me (to answer your question). But it does so in a particular way.
Just as we may need more entrepreneurs, we also need more good coaches and consultants to gain more great clients. It's something i've been thinking about over the last couple of years. There's more about it over at the credo on:
Clientonomy.com
I strongly believe that our profession can make a much bigger, positive, impact on our World.
So, more entrepreneurs and more great coaches with great clients.
Regards, Mac.
Thanks, Mac
Yes, I share your view, too – that we need great coaches, great consultants, who can really help their clients to release their innate potential in order to really make things happen. I do this with leaders and I know there are coaches who work in many different areas of specialism – niches.
I'm loving your work in the area of marketing, knowing that being a great coach is not enough to make things happen – we need to be successful in marketing and sales, too. Thanks for posting the link.
Warm regards
Dorothy