Lead with head, not the heart

I have an entrepreneur buddy who has had a good deal of success in working with other entrepreneurs in building companies. I call him a team entrepreneur. On the other hand, I have usually been a solo entrepreneur — and if it doesn't start out that way it tends to end up like that after my partnerships fall apart.

My friend and I argue, in a friendly way, about the value of the team vs. solo approach. We also discuss entrepreneurial issues like trust vs. written contracts. Some of our warmest discussions lately have been about the most vital characteristic of a successful entrepreneur.

My friend is all about passion, passion and more passion. "Give me a man with passion, and I will give you a successful entrepreneur," he says.

I take an opposite approach, countering that a man filled with passion and little else will get himself, his business and others quickly in trouble. He will lead with his heart rather than his mind., and may well take little thought about the possible consequences of his actions — short or long term

"Give me a man with discipline," I proclaim.

What I'm talking about is the discipline to learn what is needed. The discipline to follow the rules upon which entrepreneurial success, or for that matter, any success, is predicated. The discipline to take the necessary action to hire, fire and do even mundane things like keep books, establish policy and procedures and see that what needs to be done is done in a timely, organized manner.

And I still think I'm right.

I was reminded once again this week about the value of discipline if you are going to build your own business. I have an acquaintance who is starting a construction company on a bootstrap. He has little money, and yet he still spent $33,000 on a new truck because he felt that he needed to reward himself, plus he believes he needs to look successful in order to be successful. He really feels passionate about his new truck.

One of the biggest downfalls of the undisciplined entrepreneur is inability to delay gratification. Time after time I see the owners of new businesses rush out and passionately pay top dollar for a new company truck, car, computer system, or even rent or buy a building in which to house their new business.

The need to delay gratification or bridle passion isn't limited to American entrepreneurs. My Filipino friends suffer from the same "I need it now" mentality. In their country, one of the signs of wealth — besides eating more than one meal a day and having more clothes than what you are wearing — is having any kind of wheeled transportation.

As soon as they start having even limited success, they suddenly need a motorized bicycle, a motorcycle with a sidecar or a truck in which to haul their products to market. The bus or Jeepney isn't good enough any more.

Bryce Courtenay put it best in "The Power of One" when he wrote, "Lead with the head, not with the heart, and you'll be ahead, right from the start."

There is a place for passion in new business startups, but you better have enough discipline to bridle your passion.

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Stephen W. Gibson is affiliated with the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship. He can be reached via e-mail at cfe@byu.edu.