مقاله سال ۲۰۱۶

challenge Many founders begin their entrepreneurial journey with dreams of success and financial reward. Some seek to build wealth; others desire to create, build, and lead a sustainable enterprise. But not everyone has the combination of ability and good fortune to be the next Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, or Michael Dell.

The road to entrepreneurial success is littered with the wreckage of failed startups. Only about half of the businesses launched each year in the U.S. survive as long as 5 years. Other factors are involved, but management shortcomings are the most commonly cited cause of failure. As Drucker (1985, p. 188) observed: Unless a new venture develops into a new business and makes sure of being ‘‘managed,’’ it will not survive no matter how brilliant the entrepreneurial idea, how much money it attracts, how good its products, nor even how great the demand for them.

Even in successful firms, the odds are against the founder-entrepreneur holding on to the top job for more than a few years. The personal characteristics, habits, skills, and motivations that make a person a good entrepreneur are not necessarily the same as those required to lead a high-growth organization, and few founders have the breadth of experience required to lead a company from a nascent startup to a scalable organization in a competitive market. The ability and willingness of the aspiring CEO to acquire new skills, broaden his/her horizons, and modify his/her leadership style and behaviors to meet the evolving needs of the enterprise are critical.