Imagine a popularity contest between executives and entrepreneurs.
Who wins?
Consider the executive’s profile versus that of the entrepreneur.
The Model Executive
The model exec, most people could tell you, is an extroverted business virtuoso. He's endlessly resourceful. Adept at negotiating markets. Superb at team-building.
But there’s a downside. Ask most people, for example, what they think of executive bonuses?
“Too high!”
Executive power?
“Too strong!”
And, in a couple of questions, the trend establishes itself: whether it’s due to the financial crisis or to the ensuing crisis of confidence, we’re seeing backlash against executives these days.
But is that backlash strong enough to hurt the executive at the polls?
The Edgy Entrepreneur
How about the independent businessperson? How does he or she fare in the public’s perception?
Like his counterpart in the corporate world, the successful entrepreneur is an extroverted business virtuoso. He's endlessly resourceful. Adept at negotiating markets—
—but teambuilding?
Certainly not. Experts say that the entrepreneur is more likely to be a loner. At least in the start-up phase, it’s not about the team, but about the will of an individual who happens to be a force of nature.
And this may be the point of departure between executive and entrepreneur, because, as a loner, the entrepreneur is romanticised. He’s portrayed as the brave soldier who ventures on single-mindedly, alone in a chilly basement or attic, until—Eureka!—he makes the long-anticipated breakthrough.
Sure, it’s a stereotype, but it’s a persistent one. In popular perception, the entrepreneur is the bootstrapper, the adventurer, the underdog who fights the odds and wins. The more adversity he faces, the more public sympathy he gains. And all of a sudden, it’s not looking good for the corporate executive.
The Public Votes
The campaign is over. Ballots have been cast and counted; the public has had its say. And the winner is: the entrepreneur—by a landslide.
United Takes a Position
At United Bank, what we know about entrepreneurs and executives contradicts public perception.
In our experience, executives and entrepreneurs are often one and the same, just as the morning star is the evening star. This is intuitive to us; being executives and entrepreneurs is in our DNA.
We say, let the public transcend the business stereotypes. Let the average person round out his image of both business styles. Because the same man or woman who embodies the entrepreneurial spirit may just as likely hold executive power.