ENTREPRENEURIAL CYCLE

The alternative to the bureaucratic cycle is the entrepreneurial cycle. Positive political skills involve acting with autonomy and compassion in service of vision, which is very very aligned with the entrepreneurial spirit. The original meaning of politics was to act in service of society. Politics was a high form of public service. 

 

Of late it has lost its dignity and been reinterpreted to mean acting in service of self. Politics has become self-serving; thus, the negative connotation. Positive politics is acting to best serve our customers, inside the company and out, letting our actions be an antidote to the cautious, dependent, bureaucratics behavior we are too familiar with. Becoming positively political is to as if the whole organization we are a part of is in fact our own. 

 

And if it is my business, then I will be the one to decide what it will become. This mind-set is at the heart of entrepreneurial behavior in our organizations, and it drives our political behavior toward service and contribution. Our goal is to have all members believe and act like this is their organization and to take personal responsibility for how it operates. 

 

This begins to happen when we move toward and entrepreneurial cycle. 

1. The entrepreneurial contract. 

The entrepreneurial cycle begins with a contract that is based on the belief that the most trustworthy source of authority comes from within the person. The primary task of supervision is to help people trust their own instincts and take responsibility for the success of the business. The contract demands that people make a serious commitment to the organization but do so because they want to, not because they have to. The expectation is that people at each level will treat the business as their own. 

 2. Enlightened self-interest.

Rather than defining success as moving up in the organization, we define success in terms of contribution and service to customers and other departments. What we offer people as rewards are jobs that have meaning, the opportunity to learn and create something special, and the chance to grow in a business through their own efforts. Advancement and pay are still important but are given a secondary focus.

 3. Authentic tactics. 

An entrepreneurial contract encourages us to be direct and authentic in our management style. If we begin to believe that it is our business, then we will feel empowered to act on our own values. For most of us this will mean letting people know where they stand, sharing as much information as possible, sharing control, and taking reasonable risks. These are the kinds of tactics that minimize the belief that we have to be calculating and controlled in order to move up the ladder. The good news is that it make sense; the bad news is that much of our experience tell us that it takes courage.

 4. Autonomy. 

The entrepreneurial contract and a service-oriented definition of self-interest support each of us in claiming our own autonomy. Autonomy reduces the need for us to give so much attention and power to those above us. It reduces our fear of being shot and demands that we own our own actions. Each of us will always at times continue to choose caution, maintenance, and dependency, but the basic beliefs of the organization will operate to support greatness, courage, and independence.

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