ENTRECOMP IMPLEMENTATION - The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework Implementation

3.1 Taking the Initiative


COU_5_EN  

 Title
3.1 Taking the Initiative

 Keywords
• Process • Value • Entrepreneurship • Entrepreneurial challenge • Planning

 Author
IDP

 Languages
English

 Objectives/goals
• Initiate Processes that create values • Take Up Challenges • Stick to intentions and carry out your plans


 Contents


 Taking the Initiative

Initiate Processes that create values


  Creating Value: where to start

The value of an organisation is represented by how innovative and sustainable is its underling Business Idea.

Business Ideas might come from two different considerations:

- Valorising unexplored opportunities
 
- Exploiting unmatched needs
- The Business Idea represents the core values of your organisation.

 

The main assets of a Business are represented by:

Platforms
Processes
People
 

Depending on how these elements are combined together, entrepreneurs shape their Business Model, i.e. the way in which an organisation creates and delivers social and economic value.

 



  The Platform

The Business Platform refers to the operational contexts faced on a daily basis by entrepreneurs. The Platform hosts: 

Competitors
Customers
Employees
Technologies
Market trends
Macroeconomy dynamics
Etc.
 


  Processes

Regardless of their strategic Offer, every business puts is place processes and procedures to create values for their clients.

Raw materials and resources of any kind (inputs) are further refined through technologies, know-hows and experiences (process) to produce and finalise final products / services (output).

 



  Processes – Value Chain Model

In the between of the Input-Output Cycle, resources pass through two distinct clusters of processes:

Primary – the ones that directly contribute to the “transformation” of Inputs into Outputs and the generation of profit (i.e. Sales)
Secondary – the ones that contribute to the efficiency and efficacy of the firsts (i.e. Technologies development and innovation)
 
 


  People

People Management is one of the greatest and most challenging tasks faced by any entrepreneur.

People (i.e. the know-hows, the professional backgrounds, the technical experiences) represent the true driving force of an organisation.

 



  Value Creation vs Value Outcomes

Value is a very complex concept that comes in many forms and shapes:

Qualitative Value
Quantitative Value
Output (the actual “result” in terms of product or service produced by the enterprise)
Outcome (the expected impact from that product/service not just as profit, i.e. customer satisfaction)


Take Up Challenges


  What is a challenge

Entrepreneurship is per se an activity with an inherent and very high coefficient of risk.

The assumption of risk is among the few elements that distinct Entrepreneurs from Managers.

Such risk is related to the overall uncertainty upon the success and profitability of the entrepreneurial initiative. 

 

 

The entrepreneurial challenge consists in facing such uncertainty with courage, method and critical thinking so to mitigate the risk and meet the expected outcomes.

 

A strategic planning of available resources and consistent objectives will help the entrepreneur in overcoming daily and extraordinary difficulties.  

 

 

 

The entrepreneurial mindset sees in challenges great business opportunities waiting to be exploited and capitalised on.

In failure, entrepreneurs find learning outcomes that will help them to reshape their innovation path and re-set their competitive force.

As the famous Irish novelist Samuel Beckett once said:

Fail Harder, Fail better

 

In business there is no way to avoid challenges: difficulties, risks and unexpected events are a part of the entrepreneurial journey as much as clients and competitors belongs to it.

 

Successful entrepreneurs stand out from the others thanks to the way they are able to manage the stress that comes with business management – so to re-shape it as a leading force for continuous improvement.



  Avoid the traps

Challenges are just new and innovative solutions that are not known yet, but be careful and pay attention to the warning signs.

Make sure to set goals and objectives that are realistic for your reaching, consistently with the resources (technological, financial and experiential) that you can actually rely on.

In other words: aim for the starts, but watch out to not get burn.

 



Stick to intentions and carry out your plans


  Seeking a definition of Plan

The mitigation of the entrepreneurial risk and the exploitation of business challenges is not something that happens by magic.

From the strategic planning of your entrepreneurial initiative depends the successful development of the same.

 

Strategic Planning is a very broad concept. It is possible to sum it up as the definition of the very basics of your business, such as: 

- Background and needs/opportunities assessment
- Offer and covered markets
- Targets and final beneficiaries
- Competitors
- Long-term Sustainability
- Financial planning

- Risk assessment



  The Goal-oriented mindset

The successful achievement of results implies also a very important intangible resources deployed by the entrepreneurs: his/her mindset and his/her way of being.

A goal-driven person (i.e. the entrepreneur) is driven by the desire to set high standards for him/herself and works towards achieving them.

 



  How to define your objectives

Keep it simple and define the priorities
Break down each goal in a set of sub-results
Be very specific and make them measurable
Do not push yourself to the limit: set objectives that are achievable
Scale up your learning curve and capitalise on others’ experience
Do not go alone: listen the feedbacks and bring back home valuable critiques
Celebrate the successes and pinpoint the lessons-learners
Evaluate your overall performance


  Avoid the traps pt.2

The greatest threat that you might face is falling so much in love with your idea, to not realise when it is time to “let it go”.

Sometimes, when things do not work as expected, it might not about mere procedures and projects: maybe you are just not ready for that challenges yet (i.e. not enough resources, the idea is just not right, your offer does not match the market’s needs etc.).

Sticking to intentions is a conscious process that needs to be carried out with great sensitivity.

Otherwise it might unknowingly lead you to a tunnel-vision attitude that will prevent you to consider and analyse critical “warning” signs.

 



  Evaluating the execution

Formative VS Summative:

 

Formative – step by step evaluation of processes and day-by-day development assessment of your activities.

Summative – upon conclusion of any major result, look back at what has been done and try to compare it against some standards / benchmarks (i.e. initial expectations). Are you satisfied with your achievements?

 

When you feel like being a bit below the expectations, go back to the drawing boards and re-set your strategy starting from the experience acquired. 

Be humble and involve third parties: external point of view represent always a precious source of knowledge for continuous, constant improvement.

 

When you feel like being a bit below the expectations, go back to the drawing boards and re-set your strategy starting from the experience acquired. 

Be humble and involve third parties: external point of view represent always a precious source of knowledge for continuous, constant improvement.



  Who are your allies?

Critiques come in many shapes; criticism from positive thinkers is for your own good and contribute to your direct empowerment.

Thorough the process, make sure to avoid hijackers: they speak from envy and there is not noble intention in their words.

Keep the positiveness close to you, nurture your spirit and stay healthy.



  To recap: Checklist for self-check

 Bibliography

Michael Porter, 1985, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.





PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition (2017), Handbook for Project Management




 Training Fiche PPT:
COU_3.1_EN_3.1takingtheinitiative(idp).pptx

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