Act Like an Entrepreneur

Your boss wants you to act like an entrepreneur. However, you work inside an established business so you are not really sure what that means. As an entrepreneur with more than a decade of experience, I have some insight into the behaviors your boss hopes to inspire.

#1. Stay Hungry

Entrepreneurs are always uncomfortable. They never know where their next paycheck is coming from, so each day is focused on identifying new business opportunities. They have long pushed past their fears of cold calling, networking, or leveraging referrals. They are so intent on pursuing opportunity that their only limits are creativity and time.

Contrast this with professionals who have enjoyed the perks of security, such as generous expense accounts and well-stocked break rooms. While all of these benefits are great and hard-earned, they can create an easiness that leads to complacency. The lesson here is that to act like an entrepreneur, imagine that your paycheck is not a guarantee. Adopt an "eat what you kill" attitude. Envision that your company's mission and vision rest on your shoulders. Then, create a business plan that stretches you and requires you to get scrappy and push past your comfort zone.

#2. Challenge Assumptions

The difference between entrepreneurs and business owners is that entrepreneurs create products and services that have never existed before. Whereas business ownership requires steadiness and strategy, entrepreneurship requires imagination and ingenuity. The best entrepreneurs challenge the status quo and routinely say "There has got to be a better way."

There is plenty of room for entrepreneurship inside businesses. In fact, having the stability of a large organization is an ideal circumstance because you have the ability to be innovative without the true cost of failure. Start by looking at where you are and how you are performing your role. Then, look outside your organization at other industries and see what others who are similarly suited as you are doing their jobs. Then, be curious. Attend conferences, read books, and engage in online groups where like-minded professionals go to learn. Through these actions, you will develop ideas on how to think differently and critically about your role, as well as your company's mission, and you may discover a better way of doing business.

#3. Get Inside Your Boss's Head

Most entrepreneurs are their own bosses, so they are inside their heads all the time. Entrepreneurs are constantly viewing the world from many perspectives and challenging themselves by asking, "What am I not doing that I need to be doing right now?"

This is a question that you should be asking yourself, too. Chances are that your boss holds the answer to this question, and you may or may not have access to this information. However, you can gather great insight by considering your role from their point of view.

For example:

• If I am a mid-level sales manager, I should routinely ask myself: "What does my boss know about this role that I don't? How can I get that information?"
• If I am an executive assistant, I should challenge myself: "How would my boss like this information communicated?"
• If I am a regional director, I should question myself: "What responsibilities are on my boss's plate and how can I personally assist him/her in managing them?"

When you start to think and act greater than your role, you become a stronger leader in your organization because you are taking ownership of your responsibilities and start to see opportunities where your initiative can help you, your team, and your company experience greater success.