#126 The good entrepreneur

Happy Sunday, everyone.

Prefer to listen to this week’s issue? Go here: The good entrepreneur

“We need our leaders to act like entrepreneurs instead of like consultants.” These are the words my co-founder, Marty, said the other day.

Ever since then, the statement has bounced around in my head like a pinball stuck between a bumper and kicker.

When you think about a consultant, what comes to mind? How about an entrepreneur? Both roles have their strengths and weaknesses.

A good consultant is someone who, coming from a place of authority and exceptional knowledge:

• asks a bunch of questions
• diagnoses problems
• makes prescriptive recommendations on how to solve those problems

Consultants are your “go-to” people for a specific need. They know how to think through a problem before acting. One might say, they’re masters of “Ready. Aim. Fire.”

A good entrepreneur, on the other hand, doesn’t always come from a position of authority or experience (but what they lack in those areas, they make up for in enthusiasm and tenacity). In addition, they have a bias towards action, choosing to fail forward.

Entrepreneurs possess an "ownership" mentality that propels them to figure out ways to make things work. They're opportunistic and don't concede to current circumstances.

We’re learning at Calm Capital that we want leaders who think and act more like entrepreneurs than consultants.

One to Ponder

• When you’re the kind of fiction writer that I am, you're constantly thinking of things, seeing things, reading things, overhearing things – and it turns out that how you take notice of those things can be really valuable in ways you can’t necessarily predict. You have to save that stuff, because you have no idea how it might be useful later - Robin Sloan

One to See

• These lava photos by Jan Erik Waider are fascinating.

One to Read

• I’ve enjoyed this newsletter from Ned Utzig. He writes about technology from a fun and interesting point of view.

One to Try

• I don’t have games on my phone usually, but I’m enjoying the mental workout of playing Mindpal

One to Watch

• Good advertising is simple. Check out Apple’s Haystack.
  

Until next time, friends.

-David