THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSONALITY 15recurring dream he had. In the dream, he would be standing on a
balcony, looking down, and see a group of women smiling admiringly
up at him. This scene would soon fade and the admirers would turn
into harpies. Feeling suffocated, he would wake up screaming. He also
recalled dreams of himself as a swaggering cowboy climbing an ever -
narrowing trail leading to the top of a mountain. But below the top, a
gate blocked the road. To move past it, the man would have to risk
sliding down.
If one looks at these dreams as symbolic, albeit in a simplifi ed way,
one sees certain wishes and fears standing out. One of the more notice-
able characteristics of both dreams is their grandiosity; they involve high
positions — balconies and mountains — and the way to reach both is
fraught with many dangers.
One way of looking at the need for applause is to see it as a reaction
against feelings of insignifi cance. Some entrepreneurs I have met hear
an inner voice that tells them they will never amount to anything (Larry
Ellison of Oracle is a good example of this: in his case he apparently
hears the voice of his stepfather). But regardless of who put this idea into
their minds, these people are not retiring types who take such rebukes
passively; they are defi ant, and try to deal with them creatively through
action. They will ride to the top in spite of all the dangers; they will
get the applause; they will fi nd a way to master their fears.
A manifestation of this need is the interest some entrepreneurs show
in building monuments as symbols of their achievements. They suffer
from the ‘ edifi ce complex, ’ as some people have humorously named it.
Sometimes this takes the form of an imposing offi ce building or produc-
tion facility; sometimes it is a product that assumes symbolic signifi cance.
For example, one entrepreneur wanted to show people in the section of
town where he grew up that he had amounted to something, and built
an imposing head offi ce and new factory. The contrast between his
building and the decrepit surroundings in which it stood was striking.
That this action jeopardized the company ’ s fi nancial position — it was
done during a period of economic decline when all advisers advocated
off - shore production — made the decision even more bizarre.
The Tendency to ‘ Split ’
An individual ’ s personality consists of enduring, pervasive behavior
patterns created by complex, deeply embedded, psychological charac-
teristics. Although each of us may behave differently, we all have
defenses that help us deal with the stresses and strains of daily life. The