INNOVATION
The conclusions of a comprehensive new study
from the Irish Management Institute (IMI) that the Irish think and do things a bit differently to other people won’t come as a major surprise to most of us.What may be a little more unexpected, however, is the strong suggestion in the findings that the Irish mindset has many of the characteris- tics traditionally associated with innovation. Conducted by AndrewMcLaughlin andMegan Burgdorf
and carried out in partnership with IDA Ireland, Innovation and the IrishManager is based on a sample of 117 Irish exec- utives and entrepreneurs, divided fairly evenly between the two, and compared against international trends.The aim of the research was to examine Irish entrepreneurs in terms of their cognitive style to gain a better understanding of their mindset and to determine what makes them different from non-entrepreneurial Irish executives. The entrepreneurs in the IMI study were chosen on the
basis of having started companies,with some of them having set up a number of different enterprises. The whole sample was put through a range of rigorous psy-
chometric tests, including theMyers-Briggs Type Indicator, the 16PF, the Decision Style Inventory, the Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale and the Auckland Individualism and Col- lectivism Scale.
THE OUTCOMES
According to McLaughlin, who is an IMI senior manage- ment specialist and the main author of the report,what came out of the research very clearly was a signature mindset that differentiates Irish entrepreneurs from their executive coun- terparts. At the same time, however, the executive population was found to have its own very distinctive mindset.Overall, McLaughlin says the attributes revealed through the research position Ireland well to compete internationally in what author Daniel Pink describes as the “conceptual” age. Both the executives and entrepreneurs who took part in the
Irish study showed a strong leaning towards right-brained thinking, which includes characteristics like intuition, the ability to make seemingly unrelated connections and a toler- ance for ambiguity. The latter, which can also be defined as the ability to deal
with contrasting ideas without stress, is regarded as inherent to entrepreneurial activity because start-up businesses usu- ally involve original, innovative ideas that require people who can think laterally and see the bigger picture. In the study, Irish entrepreneurs scored above average on this scale, par- ticularly in the area of insolubility – ie where problems appear to have no answer. A particularly interesting finding is the fact that Irish ent-
repreneurs exhibit strong people orientation and are keen to connect and associate with others. As a result, they show
warmth and empathy in social interactions, communicate easily and persuasively, and have a willingness to compromise. McLaughlin describes this as a networking orientation,
where the entrepreneur has the ability to create networks of trusting relationships and puts high value on them. It was one area of the findings that took him by surprise. “The rest of the findings pretty much lined up with what I expected and with the literature as regards entrepreneurs,” he says. “The entrepreneurs continually shaded the executive popu- lation in the directions to be expected.”
ORIGINAL THOUGHT
The study also finds that Irish entrepreneurs favour being original over traditional and find personal inspiration through innovation. They prefer to think freely and openly about things,without restrictions or barriers.The report sug- gests that this creative potential and the ability to welcome change allow Irish entrepreneurs to embrace the future. Other factors that augur well for Ireland’s potential to be
a competitive, high-growth economy include the fact that Irish entrepreneurs are more likely to be individualistic and self-reliant when compared to their international peers. Overall, the Irish sample was characterised by a rapid dec-
ision style and a reliance on speeded-up rationality or intu- ition. A clear preference for an intuitive approach was found in both the entrepreneurs and the executives. The study also found that Irish entrepreneurs are less con-
cerned than the executives with maintaining harmony and less likely to seek advice in decision-making. In addition, Irish entrepreneurs were found to be more
comfortable with competition and to prefer dominance in social interactions.
IMPROVED SUPPORTS
Having a greater understanding of how the entrepreneurial mind works has huge potential benefits in terms of providing adequate supports to people displaying these characteristics, according to McLaughlin, who points out that economic prosperity depends on such individuals being allowed to do their own thing within a supportive environment. “The form such support might take includes a valuing of such inde- pendent thought and action from the school system up to national enterprise policy and support structures,” he says. “To support the entrepreneur we need to remind ourselves
of the qualities that are needed to be successful,” he says. “These are qualities that are deeply embedded in the Irish mind. For the first time we have a good description of what these qualities are. The next step is to nurture and support those who carry the qualities that we need to compete suc- cessfully in the conceptual age.”
VOL 3 ISSUE 4 2010 OWNER MANAGER 31
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