August 16, 2010Vulnerability + misfit = Entrepreneur. Vulnerability + misfit + Speaking Strong = successful entrepreneur.

Filed under: New Dynamics by merylrunion |

The Harvard Business Review has a delightful article for any of us who have been shot down for caring and imagining. It’s called Misfit Entrepreneurs and it will give heart to those of us who have tried to do things differently from how others do them and been shot down for it.

There are plenty of outrageously successful people who survived being shot down by pretty much everyone they shared their ideas with.

Recently I ended an association with a non-entrepreneurial company. They ignored or dismissed my entrepreneurial ideas. They used pressure and shame for the slightest indication of any kind of non-compliance. They were only interested in a “win-win” agreement that let them cut my profits by 70%. I developed a new association with a company that is so entrepreneurial they have entrepreneur in their byline. It feels like coming home.

My hiking buddy has a similar experience. She ended an association with a training company that suffocated her, and recently met with the head of another training company with a much different approach. All the ideas that would have “gotten my buddy in trouble” and “branded her as a bad girl” in a previous organization were met with excitement by her new associate. Interesting – the company my buddy left is downsizing big time. The more entrepreneurial one is growing, even in this economy.

Entrepreneurs can be a bit too much for some, and very inspiring for others. Some entrepreneurs respond to the shaming environment by numbing out. They may “fit in” better for a while, but ultimately everyone loses.

Check out the HBR article. It will inspire you to stop trying to fit in. Then, I’ll inspire you to be gracefully vocal about the ways you think beyond the status quo.