Business Spotlight 08.2019

74 Business Spotlight 6/2019 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT

Fotos: Rawpixel/iStock.com; privat

compensate for sth.

[(kA:mpEnseIt fO:r*]

, etw. wettmachen

destined: be ~ to sth.

[(destInd]

, für etw. bestimmt sein

entrepreneurial

[)A:ntrEprE(n§:riEl*]

, unternehmerisch

(denkend)

innate [)I(neIt]

, angeboren

maintain sth.

[meIn(teIn]

, etw. aufrechterhalten

persist through sth.

[p&r(sIst Tru:*]

, etw. durchstehen

read up on sth.

[)ri:d (Vp A:n*]

, sich Kenntnisse über

etw. anlesen

shift [SIft]

, Verschiebung

trait [treIt]

, Charaktereigenschaft

5. The founder lacks the right personal
   qualities
   The person starting the new business is often the rea-
   son for its failure. Are you able to manage high-risk
   situations? Are you generally able to persist through
   difficulties? Are you able to allow a shift in control?
   If you can answer yes to these questions, you may
   have the right qualities to start your own business.
   These abilities, along with seven more, have far more
   to do with the success of a new business than any-
   thing else, according to Gallup chairman Jim Clifton
   and consultant Sangeeta Bharadwaj Badal, authors
   of a book called Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder. They
   discuss the results of a study of more than 1,000 en-
   trepreneurs done by Gallup, an American analytics
   and advisory company, to find out whether they pos-
   sess certain innate qualities that predetermine their
   success.
   The authors identify the traits of highly success-
   ful entrepreneurs: They have business focus, confi-
   dence, determination, and independence. They are
   creative thinkers, knowledge-seekers, promoters, and
   risk-takers. They are able to delegate work to others
   and easily build and maintain relationships.
   Are you destined to fail if these traits don’t de-
   scribe you? Not necessarily. Your skills and expe-
   rience will also play a role in your success. While

Gallup concluded that most

successful business owners

have a natural ability to spot

opportunity or make the right

decisions, you can compen-

sate for the qualities you lack

by reading up on an area of

personal weakness or work-

ing with a coach, mentor, or advisory board. Finding

a partner, or partners, who fill in the gaps is another

possibility (see Jordan Lloyd interview on page 73).

One thing is likely: You will fail before you suc-

ceed. But if you can learn from your mistakes and

the mistakes of those who came (and went) before

you, you may be one of the lucky 50 percent running

a successful business in five years’ time.

The person

starting

the business

is often the

reason for

its failure

The right

partner: choose

someone who has

the skills you lack

TENLEY VAN DEN BERG

is a writer, translator

and English teacher based

in Munich. Contact:

[email protected]