PERSONAL QUALITIES


22.
INTEGRITY

Integrity is all about giving your word and honouring it – this is extraordinarily important.

Without integrity, nothing worthwhile gets done, because integrity makes things workable. More
than keeping one’s word, integrity is about always striving to do so and apologising and making
things right when that doesn’t happen.

Surveys on customer satisfaction show that businesses that occasionally deliver faulty goods or
services and then do their courteous utmost to make things right as quickly and efficiently as
possible leave customers feeling as good as – or even better than – if everything had gone
perfectly smoothly in the first place.

 
23.
PERSONAL QUALITIES

GENEROSITY

Being generous in spirit is very important for the entrepreneur. The more you give, the more
you get back in return.

When you are generous, by giving better than expected value, for example, you can expect
increases not only in your reputation, but also in customer satisfaction and loyalty.

 
24.
PERSONAL QUALITIES

DISCIPLINED DILIGENT PRACTICE

Anyone who wants to be world class has to practice, practice and practice. It takes time and
effort to make lasting achievement.

A good example of this is the listening mentioned earlier. World class listening takes practice.

Also, to put in enough practice time, it helps to love what you are doing and to be inspired by it
every day.

 
25.
PERSONAL QUALITIES

A PINCH OF SERENDIPITY

It is often said that everyone needs a little luck. You also hear people saying that ‘you make
your own luck’. The truth is that, yes, everyone needs a little luck, but an open and positive
attitude can make a fertile ground for serendipity – happy co-incidences.

This links to listening and holistic present: without either of these there can be no opportunity
for serendipitous happenstance. The non-listener who is not present will fail to grasp
serendipity when it presents itself.

Click the icon to see a short video about serendipity.

 

26.
PERSONAL QUALITIES

SKILLED AND PRACTICED LISTENING

Listening in hereby mentioned again for a reason.

And that’s because listening - really, seriously listening - is the most important thing of all. Most
people listen only while waiting for their turn to speak; or they listen patronisingly; or, worse still,
they try to judge and listen at the same time.

How to Listen

In conversation, the person you are engaging with needs to feel listened to. It is easy to tell
when someone is really listening, because their body language speaks loud and clear.

Even when it is your turn to speak, you need to be listening to the other side to see if your
message is getting across.

The point of this listening is to recreate in yourself how it is for the person you are listening to –
without judging.

Listening to Create

This is listening to create: there is a difference between listening to judge and listening to
create. Listening to create means striving to achieve connectedness with everybody – and
thereby discover the vital, new possibilities.

 
END OF PERSONAL QUALITIES

Be It

Now you have learned about the vital characteristics of ventures and their founders.
You can explore Bill’s take on this by purchasing his book: Stone Soup, How to Make Something from Nothing. You can obtain this book by clicking the link on the screen.

This section covered the personal qualities essential for an entrepreneur to succeed, including integrity, a commitment to continuous practice and improvement, and world-class listening. It also discussed serendipity – a rich source of opportunity to which the entrepreneur needs to be attuned.

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