The Entrepreneur VS The Fool

I came across this quote today:

“An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and builds a plane on the way down.”

A popular premise predicated on the notion that entrepreneurs are dare-devils.

This has not been my experience.

It occurred to me that this quote doesn’t represent is the logic of an entrepreneur, but of a fool.

Failure leads to growth providing failure is not catastrophic

We’ve covered the importance of failure many times on this blog. It’s our assumption, though, that those failures aren’t so significant as to remove you from the game.

Failed events, failed products, features nobody needs… these are failures that lead us toward progress.

Shattering your reputation, dishonouring your team, lying to the marketplace… these are failures that can cost you your career.

There’s a stark difference between experimenting with product features and jumping off a cliff.

Operating with balance

Entrepreneurs, executives and core team members must have the gift of weighing upside against the downside. Not the gift of putting it all on ‘red’.

Perhaps it is quotes like these that contribute to the staggering numbers of failed new ventures. Dare-devilry is always outperformed by careful consideration and critical thinking skills.

Please, for your own sake, don’t be a fool.