Entrepreneurs are people who have the vision to identify and capitalize on risky and new business opportunities. These skills are not necessarily something the individual is born with, but a conviction and willingness to seek out and exploit innovative ideas. In this final installment of the series, it is vital to emphasize the importance of enabling team building and setting oneself as a thought leader. Steven Jobs was recognized as a modern-day thought leader during his life, but some did not realize that he was also famous for building and maintaining a meaningful team culture. Jobs' timeless quote, "Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people," provides a critical life lesson in shaping and maturing the entrepreneurial mindset.
Strategic thinking and maintaining a visionary outlook are foundational to the entrepreneur. In other words, the entrepreneur's ability to get others' commitment to the dream and cast a light on its impact in the future is crucial. Recognizing we and not me must resonate as an integral part of the message and empower others to build their professional future career choices by committing to the proposed dream and its success. Although everyone has their journey and purpose in life, there must be an intersection in which all the talents are brought together for a unified result. Furthermore, evoking emotional intelligence as a leader through empathy and purposefully applying the necessary energy to manage one's emotions and establish camaraderie across the team will boost confidence and conviction for a unified outcome.
Communication, seeking input, and actively listening to others regularly build a transparent and meaningful bond of trust within the team. Jointly reviewing and analyzing data helps to find creative solutions to problems. Early identification and finding and negotiating conflict can help to mitigate apathy and dissent in the team's demeanor.
Defining an informal team charter helps to build esprit de corps and a common platform amongst the team to rally around. Inspiration should come from an inclusive team that sees one's peers as equals in sharing ideas to improve the desired outcomes continuously. Input should be transparent and not withheld due to artificial rules that water down the communication or meet some hidden agenda.
Maintaining integrity and honesty establishes trust in the team. Encouraging everyone to participate and share their insights on what they think will improve the outcome adds credibility and worth to all stakeholders. The opportunity to view and debate diverse viewpoints enables the team to avoid bias and create a result based on critical analysis and inclusive decision-making.
Ultimately, embracing, accepting, and learning from failure is inevitable in the quest to enable and empower the entrepreneurial mindset. The entrepreneur's main ambition must always be to keep the customer front and center in all decisions to understand their needs, preferences, and pain points. A resilient entrepreneurial mindset leverages an inclusive setting coupled with a relentless hunger to learn and is grounded in making sound financial data-driven decisions to help maintain adaptability throughout the business journey and rally the team to bring about the next big thing while fostering ongoing innovation and creativity while balancing a healthy lifestyle.