Samenvatting entrepreneurship
Chapter 1 & 2
The challenge of growth
Dixit McGrath (2012)
◦ 5 y sustainable growth
15 % companies realize 5 % growth in turnover
7 % companies realize 5 % growth in net income
◦ 10 y sustainable growth
… less than 1 %!
◦ We want and need growth:
Cf. “double digit” ambitions
Government budgets
Employment
Innovative products and social progress
McGrath’s findings
Not the usual suspects explain sustainable growth
◦ Industry, Size, Company age, Ownership, Geographic location
Sustainable growth is explained with:
◦ They are agile: “enter new markets before competitors do; they’re good at
experimentation; they hold everyone accountable for new ideas; they can
move on a dime”
◦ They are extremely stable: “chief executives have come up through the
company; strategy and organizational structure stay consistent for long
stretches; client retention is unusually high; corporate culture is strong and
unchanging”
Difficulty to grow
Barriers to grow
◦ Fear to fail or make mistakes
◦ Old mental models, routines and cognitive limitations
◦ Disappearing or saturated markets
◦ Lack of credibility toward strategic partners
Barriers to sustain growth
◦ Small problems accumulate and disrupt growth
◦ Complacency, over-confidence, resistance to change
◦ Decreasing customer satisfaction
◦ Strategic partners cannot grow together
◦ Aggressive competition
,Positive Obsession
“Obsessions are upsetting thoughts, images, or urges that intrude, unbidden, into person’s
stream of consciousness. Examples include unwanted thoughts of harming loved ones;
persistent, unwarranted doubts that one has properly locked the front door; or intrusive
taught of being contaminated.” (Taylor, 2005, p. 129)
=> Curiosity, persistence, determination, devotion, passion, dedication, customer / sector
knowledge
Other Positive Obsession Impacts
Dedication
◦ Time absorption
◦ Builds up excellence
◦ Quid work-life balance?
◦ Uncertainty of success
Sector and customer knowledge
◦ Dixit Warren Buffet: “… know what you do understand and don’t understand.
… The important thing is not how big the circle of competence is, the
important thing is to stay in the circle of competence.”
◦ Avoid “customers do not understand” attitude
Negative Obsessions
Obsessed with growth in its own right
Obsessed with writing your business plan
Obsessed with your own idea
Harmonious vs. obsessive passion
, Shane, Loke & Collins, 2003, HRMR, p. 274
Some key concepts
Short Case
The positive obsession of Vic Swerts (Soudal)
Vic Swerts (°1940)
1966 took over a SME in polyester
Bayer was looking for producers of silicone (5k tubes per year vs. 500k per day now)
Company today
Chapter 1 & 2
The challenge of growth
Dixit McGrath (2012)
◦ 5 y sustainable growth
15 % companies realize 5 % growth in turnover
7 % companies realize 5 % growth in net income
◦ 10 y sustainable growth
… less than 1 %!
◦ We want and need growth:
Cf. “double digit” ambitions
Government budgets
Employment
Innovative products and social progress
McGrath’s findings
Not the usual suspects explain sustainable growth
◦ Industry, Size, Company age, Ownership, Geographic location
Sustainable growth is explained with:
◦ They are agile: “enter new markets before competitors do; they’re good at
experimentation; they hold everyone accountable for new ideas; they can
move on a dime”
◦ They are extremely stable: “chief executives have come up through the
company; strategy and organizational structure stay consistent for long
stretches; client retention is unusually high; corporate culture is strong and
unchanging”
Difficulty to grow
Barriers to grow
◦ Fear to fail or make mistakes
◦ Old mental models, routines and cognitive limitations
◦ Disappearing or saturated markets
◦ Lack of credibility toward strategic partners
Barriers to sustain growth
◦ Small problems accumulate and disrupt growth
◦ Complacency, over-confidence, resistance to change
◦ Decreasing customer satisfaction
◦ Strategic partners cannot grow together
◦ Aggressive competition
,Positive Obsession
“Obsessions are upsetting thoughts, images, or urges that intrude, unbidden, into person’s
stream of consciousness. Examples include unwanted thoughts of harming loved ones;
persistent, unwarranted doubts that one has properly locked the front door; or intrusive
taught of being contaminated.” (Taylor, 2005, p. 129)
=> Curiosity, persistence, determination, devotion, passion, dedication, customer / sector
knowledge
Other Positive Obsession Impacts
Dedication
◦ Time absorption
◦ Builds up excellence
◦ Quid work-life balance?
◦ Uncertainty of success
Sector and customer knowledge
◦ Dixit Warren Buffet: “… know what you do understand and don’t understand.
… The important thing is not how big the circle of competence is, the
important thing is to stay in the circle of competence.”
◦ Avoid “customers do not understand” attitude
Negative Obsessions
Obsessed with growth in its own right
Obsessed with writing your business plan
Obsessed with your own idea
Harmonious vs. obsessive passion
, Shane, Loke & Collins, 2003, HRMR, p. 274
Some key concepts
Short Case
The positive obsession of Vic Swerts (Soudal)
Vic Swerts (°1940)
1966 took over a SME in polyester
Bayer was looking for producers of silicone (5k tubes per year vs. 500k per day now)
Company today
