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Successful entrepreneurs think alike when they reach life’s crossroads, the director of Thunderbird’s Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship told graduates June 13 at the Global MBA for Latin American Managers commencement.
“Entrepreneurs are very much the same,” keynote speaker Robert D. Hisrich said. “It’s scary how similar we are.”
The Global MBA program, administered by Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Ariz., and Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, delivers coursework with a Latin American focus. Professors at both institutions teach the students in a virtual academic environment, and degrees are granted jointly by both institutions.
Hisrich has authored or co-authored 25 books, including the world’s top-selling book on entrepreneurship. His latest book, scheduled for release in November, will share practical tips for starting, developing and managing global ventures.
He told the 159 graduates at the Carefree Resort & Villas in Carefree, Ariz., that the word “entrepreneurship” did not enter the vocabulary of business schools and governments until about 1980, but history is filled with examples of these like-minded men and women such as Peter the Great, Benjamin Franklin and Bill Gates.
He said all entrepreneurs share at least eight traits that guide them at life’s crossroads.
1. Progressive. Hisrich said entrepreneurs universally embrace change and take action. Dallas-based entrepreneur Scott Walker, the namesake of Thunderbird’s entrepreneurship center, showed this quality when he integrated webcam technology at his bottle-filling plant so beverage producers could watch the process on their home or office computers.
2. Visionary. Entrepreneurs think big and pursue their visions with passion.
3. Inclusive. Entrepreneurs encourage teamwork. They understand they cannot go far without the support and talent of others.
4. Inspiring. Entrepreneurs build strong coalitions of support. Hisrich said St. Peter was an early example as he helped spread the Christian church throughout ancient Rome.
5. Ethical. Hisrich said entrepreneurs are “ethical doers” who earn the trust of their customers, employees, business partners and shareholders.
6. Persistent. Failure does not bother entrepreneurs. Hisrich said they keep trying until they succeed.
7. Adventurous. Hisrich said entrepreneurs take calculated risks, and the partnership between Thunderbird and Tecnológico de Monterrey is one example. “This is risk taking in a calculated way that is going to change the world for good,” he said.
8. Friendly. Hisrich said entrepreneurs build strong relationships that matter more than business success. He said Thunderbird gained $11 million from Walker, but the School also gained a friend. “More important to me is the relationship I have with him,” Hisrich said. “That’s the type of bonding that takes place among entrepreneurs.”
He encouraged the graduates to consider these traits when they encounter their own “fork in the road” experiences.
“You had one when you decided to enroll in this program,” he said. “And now you’re radically changed.”
Hisrich said poet Robert Frost provided a credo for global entrepreneurs in 1915 when he published “The Road Not Taken.” The traveler in the poem pauses at a fork in the road and considers the two paths before moving forward.
“I took the one less traveled by,” the traveler says. “And that has made all the difference.”
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