ENTREPRENEURIAL PSYCHOLOGY FINAL ASSIGNMENT

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ENTREPRENEURIAL PSYCHOLOGY FINAL ASSIGNMENT

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Table of Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc311651746” Entrepreneurial Psychology PAGEREF _Toc311651746 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc311651747” Introduction PAGEREF _Toc311651747 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc311651748” Warren Buffett PAGEREF _Toc311651748 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc311651749” General Personality Traits PAGEREF _Toc311651749 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc311651750” Buffett’s Entrepreneurial Personality PAGEREF _Toc311651750 h 7

HYPERLINK l “_Toc311651751” Buffett’s Excellent Leadership Skills Portrayal PAGEREF _Toc311651751 h 9

HYPERLINK l “_Toc311651752” Early Life Experiences Nexus with Entrepreneurial Personality PAGEREF _Toc311651752 h 10

HYPERLINK l “_Toc311651753” Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc311651753 h 11

Entrepreneurial PsychologyIntroductionEntrepreneurial skills are not as a result of some accidental discovery but a cultivated individual attitude and approach to relevant business traits. In the context of business needs, entrepreneurial success is dependent on the resilience of the entrepreneur to such an extent that the business environment challenges are easily tackled. Entrepreneurship can be likened with many careers and professions which are dependent on the willingness of the individuals to overcome difficulties and manage abundance to extend business opportunities. Several skills can be enumerated from basic entrepreneurship, but strong entrepreneurs must exhibit a precise conversance with juggling between the correct skills at different times for furtherance of success.

Learning entrepreneurship may therefore not be enough to trigger the best combination of success traits, which requires personal values and attitudes developed over the years. Just like in personality and character development in human beings, entrepreneurship is a factor of personal beliefs and values that are influenced by the environment in which an individual is brought up (Azure, 2008, p4). As an illustration, studies have been conducted to focus the nexus that psychology plays in moulding a successful entrepreneurship encounter by renowned global entrepreneurs. To this end, this discourse highlights various psychological aspects of Warren Buffett to demonstrate the relationship that exists.

Warren BuffettBorn in 1930 to a US Congressman, Warren Buffett has risen to be a global icon in entrepreneurship, which makes him among the riches men on earth. His father was a stockbroker prior to his rise to be a Congressman which introduced Buffett, his only son out of his three children, to a wide spectrum of motivational opportunities at the earliest instance. According to Greg (n.d, para.25), it is not clear how genetics plays its role in transfer of entrepreneurial abilities but research will eventually shed light on such possibilities. In such a context, it can only be speculated that Buffett’s traits could or could not have been passed on from his father, with a light touch. However, the building of the entrepreneur is possibly a guaranteed demonstration form the rest of Buffett’s’ life after birth. He was well educated and qualified to attend the Columbia Graduate Business School where his life changing entrepreneurial background was nurtured. Before his graduation at school, it is reported that he had a rare talent in mathematics and a special attraction towards business activities at a tender age which most boys of similar age would struggle to demonstrate.

In at least two instances, it is reported that the would work out business ideas and implement them than no ordinary boy, for instance selling newspapers (Buffettsecrets.com, n.d, para.2) and selling just a few coca cola units for extra money only at the age of six years (Kennon, 2011, para.2). During his college studies, he met his mentor Benjamin Graham who not only sharpened his investment skills in stocks but also gave him his first job in a stocks firm. His mentorship period was over by the time Graham retired, which propelled him to his first business in form of a partnership in Omaha. Despite his youthful age in business, Buffett was able to gather sufficient capital from savings and donations from family and friends. His outstanding performance in business was established by tremendous performance of the partnership that gave him assurances of venturing to more risky hence higher return businesses. This happened after a number of successful years at the partnership and he decided to wind it up to venture in Berkshire Hathaway, which had mixed results in the initial years of entry. It later came to be a risk worth taking since he was able to diversify his investments into a number of business options creating a successful empire with clarity in investment and devotion to success.

General Personality TraitsEntrepreneurship demands an all-round personality due to the multifaceted nature of business roles in the society. On one hand, it is clear that the personality of an individual is required to contribute the tenacity to withstand challenges and on the other hand, an intellectual capacitation to provide relevant lessons is necessary. The personality of Warren Buffett that complements his entrepreneurship prowess is synonymous with the success that he has managed to achieve in his entire life. Perhaps the greatest value that entrepreneurial wealth that Buffett has emanates from his humane heart that recognizes the importance of fellow human beings in business and in his life.

Buffett has been able to build his business on alliances built on absolute loyalty and friendship inspired by conviction that one cannot build an empire alone. He has been able to overcome difficult times in his investment history perhaps because his allies were loyal and did not find it difficult to stick with him and provide him with moral support. One example of such close and productive allies is reported in his inseparable business relationship with Charlie Munger, a confidant and close business partner (Buffettsecrets.com, n.d, para.9). Mapping such business loyalty into his own personal values, Buffett is depicted as one the greatest philanthropists of this age, which is clearly illustrated by his soft spot on contributions towards helping the needy, making huge contributions to foundations of such courses.

Buffett has been painted as a daring and confident man from a tender age, which is perhaps one of the strongest personalities needed in business projects just like in any other career and in life. Challenges in the career setting require a strong personality that can fearlessly prepare to come to terms with the reality of the challenges, with eyes stuck on the rewards of victory. Buffett demonstrates this character in many episodes of his entrepreneurial life where his resilience against rather risky ventures assisted him to gain the benefits of taking the risk. It is perhaps from the motivation based on the premise that higher risks carry better returns in business, which is clearly supported by such an adventurous personality.

Among the most outstanding personality presentation that depict Warren Buffett is perhaps the biggest contrast in a capitalist environment full of greed and self-centeredness. He is very humble and does not struggle to live in the environment where such a status would warrant an inflated ego with an extravagant lifestyle attracting momentous public glare (Kanter, 1999, para.7). In terms of his personal salary, he decided to earn perhaps one of the least pay with regard to the returns that he presents to the company. He lives in a relatively cheap house that he bought several years back and does not live an expensive life. He lives a simple lie and he is on record that simplicity is the solution to life’s many challenges just as it is in business. One of the world’s most popular men living in such conditions is seemingly humbling, which also acts as a brand name for his personality.

Buffett’s Entrepreneurial Personality

Developing entrepreneurial skills is perhaps best approached at a tender age where children are encouraged to adopt the right attitudes towards investment. Among the basic presentations demonstrated by Buffett from a tender age include organized personality through various business ventures as a young boy. It must have involved special attention to organization and strategy to handle the business, even if at a rather amorphous level of a young kid. Buying coca cola packs and selling them at a profit at the age of six years illustrates an organized entrepreneur on whom much hope can be placed for the future of similar engagements. As highlighted above, entrepreneurs are created from the encounters around their lives, which enable individuals to obtain experience and resilience in dealing with certain aspects of challenges in business and life. Entrepreneurial personalities correspond with life skills gathered with cognitive lessons obtained from our interactions with the environment in which we are brought up. It implies that Buffett’s development as an entrepreneur is a huge factor of the environment in which he was brought in (Morio, 2004, p68). his entrepreneurial father and grandfather acted as a background from which he could draw his personality and developed that into a clear business personality.

As a young entrepreneur, Buffett appears as a man valuing identity of his entrepreneur family background, having observed his father and grandfather rise from business. His father’s entrepreneurial background as a stockbroker and grandfather as proprietor of a coca cola warehouse present him with a supporting environment for rise to similar identity if he is keen and willing to take the challenge. Amazingly, Buffett’s alertness on entrepreneurship skills facilitate his rise to withhold family identity as entrepreneurs and does it better than his family members. He is also depicted as a man with belief in personal strengths, which is demonstrated in his rare ambition to carry out successful business even in difficult times. It is perhaps an inspiration of personal belief and family background identity that propels the young man to a vigorous pursuit of success in entrepreneurship (Ryan, 2006, p182). Entrepreneurship motivation based on identity is easy to be sustained since individuals can draw important lessons from the identity targets such as those set by our values.

Alternatively, it has been demonstrated that ally formation in business is an important tool in creation of success. While at school, Buffett is keen to form a close relationship with his mentor and tutor, a trait that assist him in landing his first job vital for establishment as a businessman. Another mentor who helped in shaping Buffett’s entrepreneurship skills is Philip Arthur Fisher, another stock investor credited for growth investing, a specialization that Buffett is popular in (jcjanec, n.d, para.15). Making business allies is not the only challenge for an entrepreneur but choosing the correct allies that can facilitate development as the best success outfit. In choosing his tutor as a mentor and business ally, Buffett was prepared to get the best possible propulsion into the world of professional investment as a graduate with family identity. Buffett only quit his first employment after it was not possible to continue with his employer, which demonstrates a high loyalty orientation by the young man. In his second business in form of a partnership that he set up, it emerges that he was going to rely on close loyalty from his partners, creating an environment of useful allies (Hagstrom, 1999, p73). His third encounter was with the Berkshire Hathaway that also depended on a loyal alliance that corresponded well with his personality.

Optimism is an important entrepreneurship personality that is well depicted of Warren Buffett perhaps better than any other trait. In the midst of the many challenges that Buffett faced in terms of risks and financial difficulties in the initial entry years at Berkshire Hathaway, he was always optimistic that the investment fortunes would soon turn around in favour of his business. Resilience in mixed business performance requires an optimistic mind that can make decisions based on the positives gained from patience. This depicts Buffett as an energetic and tireless character willing to face all investment challenges for a little longer until things brighten up. Being passionate about business and taking charge of involved risks with the same commitment as rewards is a rare combination of skills and traits that Buffett demonstrates excellently well in his entrepreneurial career. A deep passion for business complements his optimism and value for success making him to have an exceedingly long and successful career where many would lose hope and change course. An excellent self-motivation capability presents him as one of the most resilient and patient entrepreneurs of all times (Pleshette, 2011, para.9).

Buffett’s Excellent Leadership Skills PortrayalBuffett’s business empire was built from a well calculated and guided information package provided in the form of the excellent leadership assumed by Buffett and his close associates. One of the main leadership skills demonstrated by Buffett is his clear and accurate identification of investment items and exact implementation of his business ideas. With his massive wealth of knowledge about which securities and properties worth to make a significant investment on, Buffett was non-hesitant to make the leadership needed in a timely manner even in cases of criticism (Altucher, 2005, p123). At one time, it is reported that his closest associates had remarked that Buffett’s investment in Berkshire Hathaway was a mistake based on the premise that the company was on its decline at the time of the investment. However, using his leadership instincts and conviction, he defied all odds and went on to make the criticism one of the ill-timed in a positive challenge. Sooner than expected, it was beyond shreds of doubt that it Berkshire Hathaway was destined to become one of the biggest textile companies in the world (warrenBuffettbiographies.net, n.d, para5). Leading by example has enabled Buffett to take on any challenge with full responsibility that can enable clear delegation while retaining top notch performance.

Early Life Experiences Nexus with Entrepreneurial Personality

Early life encounters with the entrepreneurial environment is a single factor that can be said to have immensely contributed to Warren Buffett’s momentous career. From his young age passion for business and talent in mathematics, Buffett was able to project his stature as a giant in the entrepreneurial world. As recorded above, he did simple business at a very tender age making profits where many boys of his age would not have made the initiative. Selling soda and newspapers gave him the zeal to accept an offer at only eleven years of age to carry out some roles at his father’s stocks firm (warrenBuffettbiographies.net, n.d, para1). Despite the fact that his family had a good entrepreneurship backing, Buffett did not want to hang on its glory but rather chose to chant his own course by defining his investment portfolio over the years. In a dramatic acceleration of events, Buffett qualified into higher education course specializing in business making him primed for better entrepreneurial encounters. Meeting with influential investors in securities investment became the foundation of Buffett’s mentorship phase of his career. Were it not for the encounter with his mentors, it would probably be different for Buffett in the career that stood ahead of him.

ConclusionCognitive assessment of individual’s development reveals that the environment in which one is brought up in determines certain attributes of their personality and character. In review of the most important life skills that individuals learn from the environment present psychological studies as important tools to define the development course assumed by the individuals. In business, entrepreneurial skills are depicted as a factor of ability to read environmental cues and make important lessons for establishing relevant skills. In such a scenario, it is important to create a relationship between the environment that an individual was brought up and the personal attributes of a particular consideration. In the example discussed above, the psychology of entrepreneurship illustrates the possibility of reflective learning of the character in translating his experiences as environmental conditioning for relevant skills in entrepreneurship. In this case, it is demonstrated that Warren Buffett learnt his entrepreneurial skills from a tender age and sharpened the skills learnt in school and through mentorship to form an all-round entrepreneur of a celebrated status in the world today. Entrepreneurship consists of an interplay of several skills which can be brought out exceedingly well though the appropriate training and mentorship.

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