Invent Your Future

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to Slate/The Hive's "Invent Your Future" panel sponsored by Liberty Mutual's Responsibility Project. I was first interested because Stephanie Izard was on the panel, but the rest of the panel proved to be very impressive (moderator David Plotz, Dominique Raccah, Kevin Willer, and Sherman Wright). Murphy Auditorium was a beautiful location for a compelling talk.

David started the talk off with advice from the online forums which he introduced as scary - "Anyone who expects to launch an entrepreneurial career should expect to be single". This was later refuted by all the panelists. Many said it takes 2 to be an entrepreneur but it is a lifestyle choice - balance is super important, and you will lose what you don't value. If what you value is work, then family and people close to you will be lost. The gist in a lot of cases was that having a spouse/partner forced them to find balance and reminds you to take time to take care of yourself and things outside of your work.

The type of person it takes to be an entrepreneur
Risk Taker, Crazy, Someone who doesn't play it safe, Willing to go for it, someone who runs through walls, patience, persistence, inner confidence.

One of the discussion points was that in tough economic times, even big companies are finding their "entrepreneurial soul".  (Which is interesting and reminds me of prior conversations I'd had about how public companies responsible for quarterly results are often stifled when it comes to real innovation. Innovation doesn't necessarily happen on a quarterly basis.)

As an entrepreneur, you have to drive yourself beyond your own boundaries. The discussion then lead to whether you become someone different or if you just find out who you really are, but it forces you to understand your person, and not just your profession.

On leadership
Stephanie talked about having employees older than her, still having to make decisions for them, and being humble enough to ask questions. This resonated with me for sure (Stephanie started her first restaurant at 27, so it's not really surprising her experience would strike close to home for me. As a relatively young manager, finding my own leadership style especially with direct reports that are older than me is going to be a journey. Most of the candidates we're interviewing have 15-20 years of experience.) The discussion went on to say a skill for entrepreneurship is people skills - managing staff, finding your style, and learning how to be a friend and boss, as well as servant leadership - "What can I do to better serve the people working for me", especially where people are buying in to your dream.

Investment and Social Capital
"What have you invested in yourself?" "What skin do you have in the game?"
- Taking someone to court is not an efficient use of capital.
It's a good idea to go into an entrepreneurial venture when your risk profile is low (kids, spouse, house, etc). The recession is good for entrepreneurship because in a lot of cases people can't find a "safe enough" option - the one option some people have is to pursue that idea that's been pestering them for a while. Today entrepreneurship has more social capital  - it used to be a thing that was sort of shunned, but today it's cool, and it's never too late (McDonalds at 56, KFC at 70). "When you're younger it's fun to be irresponsible".

On giving back
Again, another section that resonated with me, being interested in Social Justice and working for a non-profit. Entrepreneurs give back - whether it's information, capital, connections, places to live, or just creating jobs.
One thing was said that I thought was interesting in the imagery that both mean the same things and leads to something cyclical "Paying it forward, giving it back". Stephanie commented on the additional social responsibility from having been on TV and the extra publicity/role model status it brings - spreading the story of her success has become important.

On Mistakes
- Panelists were glad to have made mistakes to learn from them because it helps build future successes. Having partners that love doing where your own skills may be weak is important.
- One mistake was growing too fast. It's important to invest back in the business, to have and know the health metrics of your organization. If the gas is full but the oil light is on, you may not last long.
- Doing the obvious sometimes would have been beneficial - ie small steps to give you the knowledge of the industry if you dont have prior experience but have the passion.
- At some point hiring really smart people isn't enough. You need smart people with a history of getting stuff done.

A couple of cool organizations that were mentioned at the talks:
Code Academy - for skilling up the workforce in programming
Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center
Built In Chicago
i.c.stars - ok so this one wasn't mentioned but it seems like it fits in here.

... And I'll have to get to the audience Q&A later, along with some notes on talking to Kevin Willer and a few more of my own reflections in a Part II. This is long and I am tired.