By Julie Adamen


People always say to me: I don't know how you come up with new stuff every month! It's amazing! Well, sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't come upon with new stuff every month. And for almost 13 years!  Sometimes it's a grand struggle, other times it comes easily.

This is a grand-struggle month. So I sit and stare at the keyboard, then out the window, then at the keyboard… Then I get up and walk around, then look at a Politico or Drudge… then… Stare out the window… *sigh.*  It would be so easy to blow this off and do something else. But I can't  and I won't for much longer, because if I don't keep plowing ahead I will be so far behind I won't be able to see above the pile on my desk.  If you just stopped working, you'd be under a mountain of paper and tasks as well, but you march on, answering e-mails, writing letters, and answering the phone. You and I work on to clear our desks, get the job done and move forward. Why is that? Because successful managers and entrepreneurs share many of the same traits… Voila! Article found!

Definition: Entrepreneur - One who organizes, manages and assume the risks of a business or enterprise [1] 

Sound familiar?

Let me get the obvious out of the way: The majority of you reading this are actually employees, of either a management firm or an association. So, no, you aren't entrepreneurs in the sense that you went out and started a business. But as a successful community manager- you are continually taking on new tasks, solving new problems, and moving forward and many times taking a risk, all the while shouldering all or almost all the responsibility for the outcome of that task or endeavor on behalf of the association. Now that I have that in your mind, let's talk a bit about the traits that managers and entrepreneurs share and how those traits make us successful.

We are self-starters. We get up, get dressed and get out the door on time - or, in my case, downstairs to my home office - and start working. No whining, no self-pity, no "I had a flat-tire" unless we had a flat tire, in which case we would have changed it and been on our way.  No big deal. When we get to our office, we dig in, many times on the toughest project facing us. We work steadily, deal with interruptions as they come, and get back to it. No one is required to kick  us out of the break room, or wonder if we are  out on imaginary  walk-throughs 4 days this week.  There are no ifs, ands or buts, this is what we do. Anything else is anathema to us.

We are self-finishers. Entrepreneurs work deadlines on a continual basis - the primary deadline being:  I need money to pay my bills, so, I have to close a deal, or run my store, or update my e-business website so the wheel keeps turning and revenue comes in. For the manager - it's the same, just a slightly more indirect route. Every association brings with it numerous deadlines, daily, weekly, monthly. These deadlines must be met by the manager. If they are not, that manager will soon find themselves without work and the resultant cash to pay their bills. The manager who is entrepreneurial in spirit never needs a reminder of those deadlines, because they are organized, they know those deadlines, and they meet them. Every day.

We are knowledgeable.   If you want to know something about the employment business and the association industry as a whole - ask me. I can give you an hours-long brain dump. Experienced, successful entrepreneurial managers are the same on their trade: They know their stuff, and they know it well. Just ask them - they'll be happy to tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

But what about those managers and entrepreneurs when they were just starting out? Entrepreneurs don't always start out knowledgeable about their endeavor and the same is true for community managers. They do the best they can with the knowledge and abilities they already possess.  When I began Adamen Inc. I didn't know anything about the employment business, but I did know that I had to answer the phone, answer emails (few though they were in 1997), listen to the clients and help solve their problems. I also knew I had to make contacts on my own - and I did.  Each basic action I took led me to the next logical step and I earned-while-I-learned, just like every other entrepreneur and indeed every new community manager.  And we don't stop there - we keep going months and years in to the future, growing and building our knowledge base. Like sponges, we absorb every bit of knowledge we possibly can to make us better at what we do.

We bring value-added. There are gas stations on every corner, with minimal, if any, difference in pricing. So what makes you go in to the 76 station and not the Shell station? Usually, it's the value added something you feel that they supply you. Do you ever think about that valued added something you possess? It could be a college degree, or an industry designation. Or it could be an innate ability to communicate well with homeowners or Board members. It could be that you are great at problem solving. You could and most likely will move up in your firm and take on more responsibility. You could be excellent at motivating others. Whatever extra special thing you bring to the table, that's your entrepreneurial value-added, it's what makes you extraordinary to your employer. 

We don't beat our heads against the wall. What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Entrepreneurs never have that luxury.  - If you keep doing something that doesn't work, your business shuts down post-haste. It may take longer for your management career to shut down, but shut down it will.  Successful managers and entrepreneurs know:  If it ain't workin' time to start fixin': - Change it up and find something that does work. Entrepreneurial managers and entrepreneurs stop, evaluate, deduce and approach the problem from another direction and/or move on.

We get back up. "A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them." [2]  Ask any entrepreneur, and they will tell you that they learned the most from their failures and those failures made them better at what they do.  You cannot do great things without going all in and risk failure - sometimes spectacular, public failure. After which, wounds are licked and hurts bandaged, suits dusted off and back in to the ring we go! Successful managers share this trait. When they are knocked down by circumstance, politics, termination, stupidity (their own or that of others) - whatever - they get back up, comb their hair and head right back in to the fray - eyes wide open.

We are big on personal responsibility. With great opportunity comes great responsibility. Successful managers and entrepreneurs fully embrace personal responsibility because they understand we are masters of our own destiny, be that on the micro or macro levels.  We are not daunted by what others may view as "beneath" us. If we have to sweep floors to get to our goal - we'll do it.  If we did something wrong, we acknowledge it. If a freight train hits us, we don't blame the train, we think maybe we shouldn't have been jogging on the railroad tracks with our IPod stuck in our ears (should have seen it coming!).  In short, the buck stops here. With us. We wouldn't have it any other way.

We have market  awareness. Entrepreneurs know they must charge a marketable rate for their goods and services provided. Too high - no customers. Too low - no profit. Managers of the entrepreneurial incline know they, too, have a market rate. Too high? No takers. Too low? No respect and maybe no takers.  What is the competition charging? What's my value-added? What will the market bear? Those are the questions entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurial manager ask and more importantly are able to answer because they do not wander about in the weeds when it comes to market awareness. 

We go where angels without GPS's fear to tread. Yes, entrepreneurs - and entrepreneurial managers - have a certain daredevil streak; at least it appears so to those who are comfortable making widgets for wages.  But for the most part, the risks are calculated.  An entrepreneurial manager may take a stand at a Board meeting (in a polite and professional manner) against being abused by a member of that Board. This manager has looked at their options and weighed the consequences of action v. inaction, and found that the risk worth taking: Further alienating that member (or the whole Board), or gaining professional respect from them both. Is it a risk? Yes. Another manager may prefer to suffer in silence, an unwitting participant in the erosion of their credibility and self-esteem.

We have Indomitable Spirit.
 
According to Korean legend, Jung Jik ("integrity") is the Red Tiger who  rose to greatness by believing in himself and that with this belief, he could achieve anything. On his journey, Jung Jik encounters four other tigers and each one teaches him something valuable.  The last tiger he encounters is Baek Jul Bul Gul, which translates in to "Indomitable Spirit." As Jung Jik speaks with this last tiger, he learns about how he never allowed his situation to break his spirit nor his will to survive. Jung Jik also learns strength and courage, and more importantly how to get up and face each day with a smile and have his own "Indomitable Spirit."

Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial managers have Indomitable Spirit. Getting up, facing each day with a smile,  thinking how to make things better, standing by our word, looking for innovation, taking a few risks  and never banging our head against the wall expecting the wall to move. Yet, rather than think the entrepreneur and entrepreneurial manager don helmets and body armor on a daily basis - to slay dragons unnecessarily - think of them more as those who go to work with an air of confidence - and a glint in their eye. The fun is in the challenge, and meeting that challenge with our Indomitable Spirit. 

[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneur

[2] John Maxwell http://www.johnmaxwell.com/ Dr. John Maxwell is an internationally respected leadership expert, speaker, and author who has sold more than 18 million books.
 
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