The Advantage of the Sustainability-Minded Entrepreneur
It is so often the big risk-taking entrepreneurs or business leaders who live the glamorous life and get the media coverage, but does that really mean they are successful? In the January 18 issue of The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell considers what makes for a successful entrepreneur – the likes of Ted Turner or hedge-fund manager John Paulson, as examples. Surprise – it’s not what you think, but it is a combination of things like:
- They are attracted by lack of risk (something pretty obvious, that for whatever reason other people aren’t seeing – perhaps because it isn’t as immediately and hugely profitable).
- They write business plans (who knew?).
- Their businesses are B2B, not B2C. According to Gladwell: “Ninety percent of the fastest-growing companies in the country sell to other businesses: failed entrepreneurs usually try selling to consumers.”
- They are happy to put personal reputation (or risk being seen as a fool) on the line in pursuit of professional gains.
What struck me was that it sounded an awful lot like what David Bornstein writes in his book How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas about successful social entrepreneurs. Their motivation is less status/fame than it is a heightened need for achievement. As he puts it, these folks tend to be:
“…people with new ideas to address major problems who are relentless in the pursuit of their visions, people who simply will not take no for an answer, who will not give up until they have spread their ideas as far as they possibly can.”
Now, we all know that sustainability is just starting to get its due, but a lot of entrepreneurs have been at it a while, conducting the unglamorous grunt work toward spreading their great ideas.
What motivated people like Ray C. Anderson of Interface fame, for example? There was a distinct lack of risk in pursuing a truly sustainable organization (other than people might think he was a nut for thinking so long term). He already knew his conventional flooring business, so had a plan. His business was founded as a B2B and only much later introduced a consumer product line (FLOR – to which I can attest, because those washable tiles are very handy when you have a dog). And, while Anderson has become famous in sustainability circles, you can tell, from reading his story in Mid-Course Correction or watching more recent videos of his presentations, that he is quite the regular guy.
Ray Anderson has quietly been doing great things for his business, his industry and the world.
Though they may be under the radar and not getting cover stories, entrepreneurs in the sustainability realm now have a serious advantage. Their investment in their ideas and commitment to what they do is long term, and they can’t be stopped. These people may have looked silly in years past, but the joke is now on those who worried too much about looking silly.
