(note: Part 2 of “she’s right again” will appear next week- JP)

I was scanning through the online version of the NYT yesterday, and a blog called You’re the Boss caught my eye. I was intrigued by the author’s title, “Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?”

This is a question the author, Scott Shane has had for some time, and he has worked with scientists from Case Western to try and resolve it. Since I’m an entrepreneur, and have been for the better part of 20 years, this topic really resonated with me.

Shane states some things that (I think) most people intuitively understand, like the fact that the personality of someone with an “entrepreneurial spirit” usually includes extroversion and being open to new experiences. This can make entrepreneurs sound like people who like to parachute and rock climb (without safety gear, of course).

While that may or may not necessarily be true for most entrepreneurs, I think there’s a whole dimension of the entrepreneurial personality type that just wasn’t dealt with here. I’m not questioning the work of Shane and Case Western, but as someone who has been placed into this category by friends, family, mentors, previous professors, and colleagues (and myself) – I have a few thoughts that might help expand this understanding into a Third Dimension – the Problem Solving Zone.

As the “Entrepreneurial spirit” manifests as an aspect of personality, it’s important to keep in mind that entrepreneurs are highly responsive too – that is, they are Problem Solvers. By this I don’t mean that they all love the Sunday crossword puzzles or are Chess masters – but they want to figure out the way forward. I think this is why you find so many entrepreneurs in high-tech industries. We’re people who like to think about problems in “3D” – not just what’s obviously in front of us – but what else is possible – and what’s impossible that can be made possible. Maybe that’s the three dimensions – what is? >> what else? >> what’s crazy? ….

…and our nature is to intuitively and naturally lean towards solving problems in this kind of 3D thinking.

Three Dimensions

Do you remember the scene in Star Trek (the original show), in which the enigmatic Kirk beats the analytical Spock in Three-dimensional Chess?

That’s the quality I’m talking about – the unique quality that we have to tackle problems in a three dimensional capacity – and solve them. 3D Chess – That’s the missing factor in this assessment of the “Entrepreneurial personality” type.

Why does this matter? I think because the picture of the “type A” is incomplete without understanding this thirst for the “better way”. That better way is the innovation and creative invention that creates new wealth and new services for all to enjoy. It is connected to or driven by an essentially optimistic spirit.

To quote Capt. Kirk: “I don’t believe in the no-win scenario.” Yeah – that’s the spirit!

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