The Entrepreneurial Myth Revisited: Local Mastermind Through Pinnacle Bank

I was invited to be part of a mastermind group at Western Women’s business Center where we are reading and discussing The Entrepreneurial Myth: Revisited. Today, we discussed chapters 1-3 and identified what percentage we each are between entrepreneur, manager and technician (most people are capable of being all three or have percentages of all). An example that popped in my head was Ted Lasso’s coaching team. Ted is the entrepreneur—always thinking about creative ways to help his team grow, trying to make a positive impact, and focused on leadership. Coach Beard is a manager I suppose…maybe Coach Nate too….Roy would be a technician as an ex-player who knows how to do the work and pushes Jamie Tartt by running with him and training him personally. Makes you think that maybe all businesses should always have three people at the top instead of one person trying to be all three. Maybe that’s the dream and how more businesses than we realize maybe have three decision makers at the top.

I think I’m 70% entrepreneur and 30% technician, but I’m not sold.. I keep trying to figure out if there’s any sliver of manager in me, but I know that managing people and managing the books are not my thing (although I’ve had to do plenty of both). I’m all about inspiring, leading, motivating, supporting, and helping folks reach their potential and their dreams, which I think there is some manager stuff in there… I also really like maximizing my calendar, so perhaps there’s some manager in me. The technician in me loves creating content, going to networking and educational events, and hosting podcasts (I think I’m doing that right). Maybe by the end of the book, I’ll know my percentages more solidly.

We also discussed how businesses are in their infancy as technically it takes about 5 years to move to adolescence. It’s inspiring to see how creative all these businesses are working to be with their marketing and sales. It’s a reminder to keep testing and keep trying new things. Waiting for the phone to ring is not a strategy. 

I also watched the BlackBerry movie last night and at one point they turned all their nerdy engineers into salespeople to get through a bad patch. The company ultimately failed to innovate even though at one point they controlled 45% of the mobile phone market. If that’s not a cautionary tale, I don’t know what is.

Even though it’s an early Thursday morning for 8 weeks, I’m am excited to keep learning alongside this group and dissecting an important business book. Entrepreneurship is a never-ending journey of learning. Onwards!