THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PERSONALITY 37throat competition, resource shortages, etc.) determine how long these
entrepreneurs will be successful while they continue to follow their old
style.
Obviously in a very static industry segment the strain on the organi-
zation will not be noticed immediately. But eventually the organiza-
tional strains become intolerable and utter disorganization and fi nancial
losses are often the outcomes of the entrepreneur ’ s leadership style.
Issues around Succession
Given the entrepreneur ’ s rigid attitudes and frequent inability to modify
behavior, abdication and succession are often the only alternatives if the
enterprise wants to continue to grow. Although from a rational point of
view it may be better for both enterprise and entrepreneur if the entre-
preneur distances him - or herself and starts something new, from an
emotional point of view this is not such an easy transition. The entre-
preneur will fi nd many rationalizations to avoid taking this step, starting
with the argument that there is no one good enough to take over, a
statement with the implicit message that there is no alternative but for
the entrepreneur to stay on. The paradox of the situation is that the
entrepreneur has created a high - dependency work environment. Because
he or she has always regarded any encroachment upon positions of power
and control with suspicion, it is highly unlikely that a capable adminis-
trator will have managed to rise through the ranks, making the founder ’ s
statements about the impossibility of stepping down a self - fulfi lling
prophecy.
Many entrepreneurial organizations have diffi culties shifting to a
more formally organized enterprise. The ambivalent, paternalistic apti-
tudes of the entrepreneur become a burden to the company as soon as
the organization ’ s structure demands sophistication. The need for greater
systematization places new demands on the entrepreneur, demands he
or she may be unable to meet. At this point, the situation is ripe for the
professional manager and a more formalized style of leadership, and turns
paradoxical: the successful entrepreneur, who has guided the enterprise
through the formative period of growth and maturity, moves uncon-
sciously on a collision course that may contribute to his or her own
elimination.
Family members also fall into the category of possible intruders
threatening the entrepreneur ’ s position of control. Since family dynam-
ics are often acted out in organizations, the presence of family members
in the business intensifi es the eruption of confl icts (Levinson, 1971 ).