How To Channel Your Entrepreneurial Ego

Tackling the psychological side of running a small business.

"Let me show you the future."

Every entrepreneur believes that one day he or she will be able to make this statement. The goal of my new column, Head Coach, is to explain why this is so; what drives entrepreneurs to dream that particular dream; what psychological hurdles stand in the way; and, with any luck, how to clear them.

My fascination with entrepreneurs and what makes them tick began 20 years ago after reading a quote from Abraham Zalenik, a psychoanalyst and a former professor at Harvard Business School: "To understand the entrepreneur, you first have to understand the psychology of the juvenile delinquent."

Not long after, I began hosting forums for business groups like the Young President's Organization. Since then, I have consulted for and coached scores of entrepreneurs whose most compelling dream was to create a better future. My columns will draw upon these experiences, as well as the work spent building the course, "Entpreneurial Psychology," that I taught at UCLA's Anderson School of Management.

Two decades later, I can tell you that Zalenik had it right--to a point. Entrepreneurs do often behave like "acting-out" youths. But whereas juvenile delinquents tend to have little capacity for empathy and altruism, entrepreneurs also tend to be hard-wired for philanthropy

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