In the management literature, entrepreneurship and innovation are complementary of each other as both are critical not only for organizational prosperity and sustainability, but also in the generation of wealth and value for the company (Subramanian & Moslehi, 2013). While the survey taken to identify my personal strengths confirms this assertion, it nevertheless shows that having an updated entrepreneurial perspective in business is critical for reaching the aim of innovation.
The results of the survey show that my top five themes include competition, context, focus, significance and relator (Gallup, Inc., 2012). These strengths can be employed to demonstrate the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation, and also to show the implications of this relationship for individuals and organizations as seen below.
My competitive nature, especially in the context of distinguishing myself as the champion by always setting out to be “number one” when comparisons are been made and having a reinforced desire to always outmaneuver my rivals, feeds my entrepreneurial spirit not only by assisting me to notice and seize opportunities, but also in converting these opportunities into viable commercial ideas and concepts through innovation. Here, it can be argued that my competitive nature arouses an absolute determination to achieve a bold vision (Saller, 2012), which in turn drives my capacity to not only confront the risks of the competitive market, hence informing my risk-taking behavior, but also to nurture and develop my innovative capacity so as to achieve individual success and organizational performance.
My desire to share unique perspectives about historic events by investigating past events with diligence (context theme) has emboldened by entrepreneurial nature by enabling me to become a specialist risk-taker using the perspective that whatever has happened in the past may be used to explain present events and even forecast future trends. This context is instrumental in assisting me to apply creative ideas in reality for personal growth and organizational development, thus the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation.
The relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation can further be established by demonstrating how my attributes of risk-taking, trust, inner-journey, self-realization and the development of a particular mind-set to achieve success (entrepreneurship) continue to drive my dreams, explorations, inventions and imaginations to innovate so as to progress the organizational agenda forward (Gündoğdu, 2012). My strength to focus on taking a particular direction, following through and making the corrections necessary to stay on track, as well as my capacity to map paths toward specific long-term goals and creating detailed tactics to secure particular objectives (Gallup, Inc., 2012), have enabled me to convert new ideas and concepts into value-creating outputs such as new products, methods or services for organizational competitiveness and growth.
Moving on, I can say with conviction that my bold desire to be independent and to always want to be recognized for my achievements (significance), has assisted me greatly in maintaining adequate professional relationships with hardworking and highly productive people. Consequently, this particular strength has not only enabled me to become more entrepreneurial by focusing on the good attributes in these people and internalizing them for my own personal development, but also in using such attributes to innovate ways that could be used to assist the organization acquire the capacity to develop and implement new products, processes, designs, operations and business models.
Lastly, I can say that my strengths in sustaining an open and straightforward communication style, establishing close relationships with others, and maintaining an optimistic outlook on life (relator theme) have not only enabled me to continue holding high standards for the work I engage in, but also to understand what achieving my vision means to me personally and for the organization. These two attributes, according to Saller (2012), are fundamental in defining innovation. In a sense, these strengths also enable me to act independently or in association with close colleagues within and outside the boundaries of the firm to instigate renewal or innovation, with the view to maximizing organizational capabilities.
References
Gallup, Inc. (2012). Strengths insight and action-planning guide. GALLUP
Gündoğdu, M.C. (2012). Re-thinking entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, and innovation: A multi-concept perspective. EMAJ: Emerging Markets Journal, 1(1), 61-69.
Saller, S. (2012). Why true innovators must behave like entrepreneurs. MarketingWeek, 35(31), 10-10. Retrieved from the Walden Library Databases.
Subramanian, I.D., & Moslehi, M.M. (2013). Does workforce innovation mediate the relationship between internal factors and performance in Malaysian entrepreneurial SMEs? Asian Social Science, 9(9), 45-63.