The four dimensions of the entrepreneurial personality

There are four dimensions to the entrepreneurial personality that come into play in the creation of a new venture: the dreamer, the thinker, the storyteller and the leader. It's important to get a better understanding of the role each plays in the conception of an enterprise.

The dreamer

Surprisingly, the dreamer is the least known and understood personality within the entrepreneur. You would think it would be exactly the opposite. Everyone knows that entrepreneurs dream, but few people truly know what it means to dream. They think of dreaming as daydreaming, as wishful thinking.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had a clear dream, but few of us can be said to "have a dream of our own"; one that moves us, consumes us, keeps us awake at night, a dream as big to us as Dr. King's dream was to him. Is there a dreamer in you who will have an epiphany when the purpose is suddenly revealed as your purpose, as the one thing you were brought here on this earth to fulfill?

Who is that dreamer - that one inside you - who is so inspired, so completely aroused, that there is no question that you are going to do this? The only question is, "when and how?"

Who is that dreamer in the centre of you? Not the one who dreams about getting a new home, or moving to Hawaii, or becoming a millionaire, or finding the perfect mate.

I'm referring to the other one. This dreamer lies at the center of the entrepreneur's heart. Without this dreamer, the entrepreneur would have no real life, and would get busy with life's toys to eradicate, or at least muffle, the pain that comes from having given up on the possibilities. This dreamer pictures a life in which little dreams are distractions rather than substance. This dreamer stands on the mountaintop of imagination, and creates dreams where there are none at all. This dreamer's dream comes to us in the light, yet we avoid looking directly into it for fear we will not be big enough to bear it.

The Thinker

The thinker is the dreamer's most important companion, his most important ally. He listens carefully to the dreamer's thoughts, and knows that without the special role he plays in the manifestation of the dreamer's vision, the dreamer would be lost.

The thinker is the one who thinks "how" in relation to the dreamer's extreme "what." The thinker asks the questions essential to formulating the business model - the form the dream will take visually, emotionally, functionally, and financially - as well as the impact the Dream will have on its customers, its investors, its employees, its suppliers, and its strategic partners.

What is unique about the venture? What will be delivered? How will it be delivered? What are the core operating assumptions of the venture? What problem is it intended to solve, and how will that problem be solved? Will it be solved cost effectively?

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