Page 31 - Business Plans that Work A Guide for Small Business

22 • Business Plans that Work

Figure 1.5 An Entrepreneurial Team Is the Key Ingredient for Success

An entrepreneurial leader
• Learns and teaches faster and better
• Deals with adversity and is resilient Team
• Exhibits integrity, dependability, andhonesty
• Builds entrepreneurial culture and organization
• Possesses the qualities identified in Zach’s Star of Success
Quality of team
• Relevant experience and track record
• Motivation to excel
• Commitment, determination, and persistence
• Tolerance of risk, ambiguity, and uncertainty
• Creativity
• Team locus of control
• Adaptability
• Opportunity obsession
• Leadership
• Communication

look for. The founder who becomes the leader does so by building heroes
in the team. A leader adapts a philosophy that rewards success and sup-
ports honest failure, shares the wealth with those who help create it, and
sets high standards for both performance and conduct.

Importance of Fit and Balance
Rounding out the model of the three driving forces is the concept of fit
and balance between and among these forces. Note that the team is posi-
tioned at the bottom of the triangle in the Timmons Model (see Fig. 1.1).
Imagine the founder, entrepreneurial leader of the venture, standing on
a large ball, grasping the triangle over her head. The challenge is to bal-
ance the balls above her head, without toppling off. This imagery is help-
ful in appreciating the constant balancing act since leader, team, and
resources rarely match. When envisioning a company’s future using this
imagery, the entrepreneur can ask herself, what pitfalls will I encounter
to get to the next boundary of success? Will my current team be large
enough, or will we be over our heads if the company grows 30 percent
over the next two years? Are my re sources sufficient (or too abundant)?
Vivid examples of the failure to maintain a balance are everywhere, such
as when large companies throw too many re sources at a weak, poorly
defined opportunity.