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Entrepreneurs and Leadership-How Important Is It?

Guest post by: Stephen Blakesley

Article Overview: Leadership is not essential to early phases of a start-up. Passion, planning, vision and attention to detail are more important.

Entrepreneurs and Leadership-How Important Is It?

I am of the general opinion that leadership and it's value is overblown, when it comes to entrepreneurial activity, at least in the early stages. Certainly, leadership is a valued trait but there are other attributes I believe to be far more valuable than leadership to the entrepreneur.

The first and foremost requirement for a successful business start-up is Vision. The successful entrepreneur must, first have a vision of how his/her idea can serve the needs of others well enough for prospective customers to create a demand for the product or service.

The second requirement for entrepreneurial success is Attention to Detail. Even the most exciting vision must be accompanied with a plan to achieve it. Most plans from entrepreneurs are weak in strategy, and long on optimism. They almost always over estimate revenue and under estimate expenses which is a deadly cocktail.

The third requirement is Money. Possibly the most frequently occurring obstacle to entrepreneurial success is money or rather, the lack of enough of it. I cannot tell the you number of great ideas and business plans that have succumbed to "empty pockets." The best action step here is to line up your financing before you begin and expect some to "back away" from their earlier commitment.

Finally, the fourth need is a Passion for Success, an over-zealous commitment to succeed. Apart from God and Family, the success of your idea or business needs to be your focus all of the time. Never give up!

Only after these needs are met, does leadership come into play. It is the role of the leader to have followers and followers are easy to come by if you have a vision and a plan to achieve it. It is my belief that you cannot be a good leader without first being a good follower, so a good test for your leadership ability is; If others see me as I am, who and how many would follow? If the answer to that question is the right people and a lot of them. You are on your way.

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Article Tags: detail, following, leadership, passion, planning, startup



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