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White Papers from the Gold Coast Institute Fellows |
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Entrepreneurial Thinking for Leaders
By Jodi Walker What
does Bill Gates, Tiger Woods and Oprah Winfrey all have in common?
They are all entrepreneurial thinkers who have taken personal
ownership for their success. Leaders
in corporate America can benefit from teaching their employees to think
like a business owner and understand how they contribute to the big
picture. Company
executives and leaders often try to come up with the “new” ideas in
the boardroom and forget about the importance of the front line
employees who often have the pulse on the customer.
Managers continually struggle with keeping employees motivated
and willing to go the extra mile in this highly competitive environment.
It becomes impossible to motivate someone if they do not have a
clear sense of purpose or know how they fit into the organization. Businesses large and
small are looking for new ways to adapt to the changing marketplace. The
ability to be ahead of the curve with new ideas, products and services
is essential to compete with the more than 30 million emerging
entrepreneurs. Leaders need to be able to build a culture where employees
can take “personal ownership for results” for their own success as
well as the company’s. This
allows for a much greater buy-in to the corporate mission. A recent Gallup survey
of more than 55,000 workers confirms that there were several attitudes
that correlated strongly with higher profits.
One of those attitudes was that the individuals made a direct
connection between their work and the company’s mission. Entrepreneurial
Thinking® allows individuals to take ownership in their skills and
abilities, think with a vision and tap into creativity. It helps
employees link their personal mission with that of their organization to
achieve mutual success. Do individuals in your
company use entrepreneurial thinking? ¨
Focused Vision ¨
Accelerated Career Strategies ¨
Confidence ¨
Thinking Skills ¨
Originality ¨
Risk The entrepreneur is the
visionary in all of us. Knowledge
and expertise are not enough to keep pace with today’s rapidly
changing world. The key is
for leaders to build a culture that supports and encourages their
employees to think differently. |