Is an entrepreneur an "INVENTOR" ?
I have been asking this question to myself several times till date...But havnt yet got a satisfactory answer.Then to get one i decided to go to the basics. I looked into the etymology dictionary for the origin of this word "ENTREPRENEUR" and this is what I came across
"entrepreneur
1828, reborrowing of Fr. entrepreneur "one who undertakes or manages," from O.Fr. entreprendre "undertake." The word first crossed the Channel c.1475, but did not stay. "
So one who undertakes or manages......or in simple words one who is ready to take risks and manage business venture. How do you think he does that? And why is it that only an ENTREPRENEUR can do it...why not everybody....wat is that one thing that makes an ENTREPRENEUR different than the rest of us.....well many of you would say that it takes a lot to be able to take risks....or to be able to think out of the box....just like an inventor does when he is in search of something new and innovative.
So you mean that both an ENTREPRENEUR and an inventor undertake the same process to reach their goals....!!
Perhaps they do....but then why dont you make these two words synonyms of each other...Now you will say I am being absurd by just going a bit too far and calling the words as synonyms of each other...Alright they can atleast be similies...
Let me tell you how...What is that one thing that makes ENTREPRENEURS stand out of the crowd.....the very thing is that they have a different profile altogether...they are always upto something.....they always have new strategies to make things work for themselves ....or make MONEY work for themselves....We are always trying to make things work for us.....but have you ever thought of how MONEY can work for you instead of you working for it from 9 to 5.
Thats why an ENTREPRENEUR is like an inventor.....full of new ideas....Ideas is what makes them always think and act....its these ideas that make them take "CALCULATED" risks....these are not just risks but these are "CALCULATED" risks...
So an ENTREPRENEUR is truly an inventor...he invents ideas....Ideas that generate revenues...Inventor invents things and ideas to unable revenues tooo....
Then whats the main difference between the two....Very simple.....An ENTREPRENEUR is an inventor...But an Inventor is not neccessarily and ENTREPRENEUR....not all inventors can be...
I always wanted a space where I could post my own stuff...my own articles...I am not a good writer..nor do I write anything appealing but I love to write cause thats the best way I get to express my true self......The Real 'ME'...thats why I have this blog..I try and post something unique and different..might be to most people my articles may appear senseless...but to me this blog is a window to the world wherein I can share my ideas...no wonder the name is "INVENT MY IDEAS"
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3 comments:
I agree with all the comments of gayathri's commment on enterpreneur He is truely an innovator,inventor and his presence of mind is valued . But there are certain aspects which might stop an enterpreneur from thinking out of box . there might be financial crisis in the organisation which can stop him change his business moves he would try to save the company at that point of time .
But wen you are an employee u have the freedom of thinking . your thinking has no boundaries .anythin tat is goin to add value to the business is good for both the employee as well as the company ..
The picture of Enterpreneur here in the context of gayathri should be once who is goin to start up a firm ( in which case he would think out of box to get into the market with a boom) or a company which as a strong base and trying to explore other aspects of business....i feel that the context wont suit a nominal enterpreneur....
All the above views are my own perspectives ..so please discuss if u feel tat any of the points i have mentioned above is truely unfair
hmmmmm...interesting..thts but I can throw some light on that aspect as well...read this interesting article by Robert Kiyosaki about difference between an Employee and an entrepreneur:
Employee vs. Entrepreneur:
What's the Difference?
In honor of Robert Kiyosaki's induction into the
Amazon.com 10th Anniverary Hall of Fame
By Robert Kiyosaki
In 1983, the Harvard Business School published "A Perspective on Entrepreneurship," a paper that defined the differences between entrepreneurs and employees. This paper, written by Professor Howard H. Stevenson, is one of the most articulate articles on this particular subject that I have read. While many differences were examined, I found two in particular to be especially insightful.
The first difference between entrepreneurs and employees is:
1. Employees are resource-oriented. Entrepreneurs are opportunity-oriented.
A person with an employee mindset might say, "I would start my own business but I don't have the money." Or "I'd love to invest in that piece of real estate, but I don't have the down payment." In both of these examples the person focuses on their resources--in this case their lack of money, rather than the opportunity.
In a similar situation, a person with an entrepreneur's mindset might say, "Let's start the business and we can finance the business from the cash flow." Or "Tie up the property and we'll find the money later."
My poor dad was a man who saw many opportunities, but failed to act on them simply because he was resource-oriented. Instead of taking action, he often said, "I wish I could do it, but I can't afford it." Or "I would go into business for myself, but I need a steady job. I have a mortgage and you kids to feed."
My rich dad (my best friend's father, an entrepreneur who taught me a lot about how the rich think about money) was a man who started with nothing, but eventually became one of the richest men in Hawaii. Today, when you look at Waikiki Beach, you see some of the biggest hotels along the ocean on land his family owns. He said, "If you do not have resources, you need to become resourceful." That is why he forbade his son and me from saying the words "I can't afford it." He said, "Poor people say 'I can't afford it.' That's why they're poor." Instead he insisted we learn to say, "How can I afford it?" He believed that when we said, "I can't afford it" our minds were turned off and went to sleep. When we asked ourselves, "How can I afford it?" our minds, our greatest resource of all, were turned on and put to work.
The second difference between entrepreneurs and employees is:
2. Employees prefer to manage via hierarchical structures. Entrepreneurs manage via networks, utilizing the resources of other people and organizations.
This means that employee-type leaders would rather hire people and bring their talent "in-house." Rather than have an outside firm do their creative work, an employee-type leader would prefer to hire the talent and have them under their control. While there are economic reasons for doing this, the report stated that the primary reason is control. This is because employees gravitate to a leadership style that is more suited to a military command-and-control type of organization.
My poor dad was successful in the hierarchical structure of the government, eventually rising to the top of the educational system as Superintendent of Education and running for Lieutenant Governor for the State of Hawaii. After losing that race--and his position as Superintendent of Education--he tried his hand at entrepreneurship. He purchased a national ice cream franchise that failed in less than a year. Why? While the reasons were many, one reason was his leadership and management style. When he said, "Jump"... no one jumped.
Instead of the military's command-and-control leadership style, my rich dad used a more cooperative and collaborative style of leadership. He encouraged his son and me to learn to lead and manage people who are not required to follow our orders--people who did not need to jump when they heard the word "Jump." Rather than hire people and bring them in-house, rich dad networked with other people and organizations, which tended to reduce his costs and at the same time increase his resources and influence in the marketplace.
Today, The Rich Dad Company follows my rich dad's advice. Instead of becoming a stand-alone publishing house, we choose to cooperate via a joint venture agreement with The Time Warner Book Group, as well as licensed publishers around the world who offer our books in 43 languages. In this way, we keep our core staff small, yet we utilize the thousands of employees of publishers around the world.
But leveraging the assets and resources of partners is not enough. It's important to choose the right partners--ones who are aligned with your goals and values. Choosing the right partners can make the difference between success and failure--as I've learned the hard way.
As The Rich Dad Company has grown, we have worked with partners who have opened doors to opportunities that were much greater than what we could have been able to pursue on our own. In an entrepreneurial spirit, we formed alliances with major media organizations and international promotion firms that leveraged the Rich Dad brand with their worldwide networks.
In doing so, we--as entrepreneurs--stay small, yet increase market share by cooperating rather than competing... by networking rather than hiring employees and bringing work "in-house."
In 1989 the world changed. That's when the Berlin Wall came down and the World Wide Web went up. Instead of a world of walls, we became a world of webs... networks of people working cooperatively rather than competitively. It is a special honor for me to be recognized by Amazon.com, a pioneer in the brave new world of the web, founded by a great entrepreneur, Jeff Bezos. We at The Rich Dad Company join in celebrating Amazon's successes and salute your leadership in this world of webs rather than walls.
There are key, fundamental differences between the mindset of an employee and the mindset of an entrepreneur. One of the great things about this world of webs is that the world is now open for business to billions of people who choose to think as entrepreneurs--rather than employees.
"Employees are resource-oriented. Entrepreneurs are opportunity-oriented." .. I am not able to agree to this point . because a Entepreneur is one who would be resource oriented he wants to retain the best talents in his own firm ...he is the one who wants the best minds to work in his company ...he is the one who is resource oriented "
Employees are oppurtunity oriented..they look forward for oppurtunities (of course the Entepreneur also does this )..they try to utilise their skills as much as possible...they try to explore more and more things that are given to them ...they wanted to prove that they are one among the best ..
based on the above stuffs u will be in a better position to say who is resource oriented and who is oppurtunity oriented ..
2) I agree to the point that the "Entrepreneurs manage via networks, utilizing the resources of other people and organizations." ..but "Employees prefer to manage via hierarchical structures" is true only in certain fields..if you take the IT field its not true ...anybody can talk to a manager of any level
further an employee does not have tat much freedom to operate via networks nor he is given an oppurtunity to do tat ...
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