Description
Personal Entrepreneurship And Successful Entrepreneurial Competencies
1 Introduction
Please read the introduction carefully as it will help you get the best out of the many options presented
in the test report. The following sections are aimed at giving you insight into several interrelated topics
such as entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial activities, entrepreneurship vs. "intrapreneurship" (see
below), and entrepreneurial competencies. In addition, the introduction defines the standards for
success and explains the presentation of the test results.
1.1 Personal entrepreneurship and successful entrepreneurial competencies
Personal entrepreneurship is achieved when you have mastered all the competencies of a successful
entrepreneur. Personal entrepreneurship is defined as follows: "A successful, enterprising employee
(a.k.a. "intrapreneur") or (start-up) entrepreneur has mastered a specific set of entrepreneurial
competencies which enable him or her to coordinate personal goals with organizational goals. He or she
is continuously searching for and responding to changes in the internal and external environment and
keeps on developing the organization through innovation and growth." (transl. from Droste, H. &
Harlaar, M., 2006. Businessplanning. Groningen: Wolters-Noordhoff)
Table 1 - Behavioral competencies
•
= focus competency
Successful entrepreneurial competencies include knowledge, insight and skills, as well as attitudes and
behaviors. Competencies are divided into behavioral competencies and task competencies. In addition,
we also draw distinctions between core competencies, focus competencies and profile competencies.
Behavioral competencies
Behavioral competencies concern mainly such personality traits as your behavior, attitude, motives,
norms and values. Behavioral competencies are relatively stable and largely determine if and how you
use your knowledge and skills. The main question here is whether you would be justified in investing in
yourself, considering the make-up of your behavioral structure and the light it shines on your potential
for successful entrepreneurship. Table 1 shows an overview of all the successful behavioral
competencies categorized by organizational phase (start-up, growth, maturity).
1 of 4 Web site: www.deOndernemerstest.nl
Start-up Growth Maturity
Creativity
•
Empathy
•
Critical thinking
Alertness
Courage
• • •
Power of persuasion
Carefulness
Reliability
• •
Efficiency
•
Decisiveness
Ability to prioritize
Perserverance
• •
Application
Self-confidence
Determination
•
Resoluteness
• •
Emotional stability
Flexibility
Locus of control
Task competencies
Task competencies indicate what a successful entrepreneur must be familiar with and be able to do, in
other words: knowledge, skills and insights. Task competencies are relatively easy to develop.
However, they become evident only when you have sufficient levels of behavioral competencies. If this
is not the case, investing in your development will probably be a waste of time. After all, attitude and
behavior determine how you work. If your attitude or behavior is lacking, you won't be in optimal
shape to complete your tasks. Table 2 shows an overview of all the task competencies categorized
according to organizational phase.
Table 2 - Task competencies
•
= focus competency
Focus competencies
Focus competencies are most important as they have the biggest impact on personal entrepreneurship
and success. They indicate what you should primarily be concentrating on. Focus competencies weigh
very heavily in the test results. Tables 1 and 2 depict the focus competencies as red dots.
Core competencies
The interrelations between various behavioral competencies are defined in core competencies (see
Table 3). For example, the core competency "ambition" consists of the behavioral competencies
"perseverance", "application" and "self-confidence." These three traits thus provide insight into the
level of your ambition.
Table 3 - Core competencies
Profile competencies
Profile competencies are a combination of core and task competencies. Your profile competencies
determine your entrepreneurial profile (see the next chapter). Table 4 shows us that the profile
competencies are BEING, KNOWING, CHANGING and DOING.
Table 4 - Profile competencies
2 of 4 Web site: www.deOndernemerstest.nl
Start-up Growth Maturity
Negotiating skills
Communication skills
• •
Leadership
• • •
Insight into the external environment
•
Marketing insight
Financial insight
Strategic attitude
• •
Integrity Carefulness Reliability
Vulnerability Determination Resoluteness Emotional stability
Ambition Perseverance Application Self-confidence
Intuitive/creative thinking Creativity Empathy
Ability to spot opportunities Critical thinking Alertness Flexibility
Goal orientation Efficiency Decisiveness Ability to prioritize
Organizing skills Ability to prioritize Efficiency Locus of control
Self-discipline Locus of control Perserverance Determination
Dominance Courage Power of persuasion
BEING Integrity Vulnerability Ambition
KNOWING Task competencies
CHANGING Intuitive/creative thinking Ability to spot opportunities Goal orientation
DOING Organizing skills Self-discipline Dominance
1.2 Entrepreneurial activities
You often find managers in big organizations profiling themselves as entrepreneurs.
DeOndernemerstest calls these in-house entrepreneurs "intrapreneurs." In both profit and non-profit
sectors, management is tending to shift increasingly towards entrepreneurship, with the intrapreneur
bearing full responsibility for the implementation of organizational policy within his or her company
division, department, unit or project. The intrapreneur behaves like an entrepreneur and has mastered
all the aspects of successful entrepreneurship. In other words, intrapreneurs are managers who have
developed entrepreneurial skills.
The introduction of entrepreneurship into organizational practice is currently receiving lots of attention.
This is not hard to explain: intrapreneurs show initiative and are not scared of taking risks. They
increase the decisiveness of their organization and enable innovation and growth.
We distinguish ten entrepreneurial activities (see Table 5). The first five are grouped under
“entrepreneurship” and the remaining five under "intrapreneurship." (transl. from Droste, H. & Harlaar,
M., 2006. Businessplanning. Groningen: Wolters-Noordhoff)
Table 5 - Entrepreneurial activities
There is no strict dividing line between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Entrepreneurial
activities take various shapes and forms at various levels of intensity during your working life or during
different phases of the organization. Distinguishing the different entrepreneurial activities enables you
to focus on the entrepreneurial competencies that are effective for the specific activity or task you are
performing. Currently we have no reason to assume that successful intrapreneurs have different
competencies than successful entrepreneurs. The differences between them are due to the context of
entrepreneurship (whether or not you own the company) and associated financial or other risks.
3 of 4 Web site: www.deOndernemerstest.nl
1 Hobby/lifestyle new venturing. Sometimes a hobby or pastime gets out of hand and becomes so
expensive that you must find a way to cover the extra expense (for example, selling an old toy train
set to fund buying a new one).
2 Income supplementing (part time) new venturing. Intended to augment your gross income, this
is entrepreneurship as a sideline.
3 Income substitution new venturing. This involves starting up a company, often with little growth
potential, with the sole intention of becoming 'one's own boss' and being 'independent'. The chances of
substantial growth are limited and the risk of failure is high.
4 Technology-driven independent new venturing. Rather than focusing on existing demands in the
market, this type of activity aims to find ways of using a certain technology and manipulating the
market in order to create a demand for the product.
5 Need-driven independent new venturing. This entrepreneurial activity involves setting up a new
organization with high growth potential because it addresses a concrete market demand. It is a form
of innovation which questions existing market rules and finds new ways of getting things done.
6 Product/process development. This is where entrepreneurial activities are developed on a
functional level. New product development or new processes 'either internal or external' and new
technologies are linked to new strategies.
7 Business turnaround. This is changing the strategy of a business unit as a result of internal and
external changes, to respond to better to customers' needs.
8 Corporate venturing. This is marketing a successful existing product or service under the umbrella of
a new organization.
9 Corporate turnaround. This involves restructuring an organization by examining its main principles
(mission and strategy).
10 Enterprise turnabout. When an organization no longer manages to achieve its aims or is finding it
hard to keep on going the way it is, it can do a complete turnabout by changing course and searching
for a new identity.
1.3 The standard for success
What is the standard for success? What you as an entrepreneur or intrapreneur regard as success is
not necessarily a success in objective terms. After all, subjective success rests on your personal aims
and those of your organization. Growth "in terms of turnover and personnel" is decisive in determining
an objective standard. Success means a yearly increase in turnover of 60% at least and an annual
increase in personnel of 2.2% at least.
Research shows that a high education level and years of entrepreneurial experience don't necessarily
contribute to success. Successful behavioral competencies increase the chance for growth. However,
behavioral competencies are not easy to influence, unlike task competencies. The research also shows
that there is no connection between intention and the achievement of success. In other words, simply
deciding that you want your company to grow will not automatically make that happen.
Your entrepreneurial competencies have been rated in comparison with the successful entrepreneurial
competencies required in your organizational phase. In other phases, other competencies become
important factors for successful entrepreneurship. This is why the test results have to take your
organizational phase into account:
Start-up
1.4 The competency-meter
The competency-meter gives a clear overview of the test results. Here is an example:
•
strongly present
•
insufficiently present
•
barely or not at all present
8 %
Much as the color-coded dial of a speedometer shows how fast you are driving, we use the color-coded
dial of our competency-meter to show your level at a particular competency. If your score is
"insufficiently present," it means that you don't have a high enough level of this competency for it to
contribute to your success. You will have to work on improving your level. If the competency-meter
shows red, it means that you have little or none of the relevant competency. A good test result will
include scores in the green zone.
1.5 The reference group
The number under the competency-meter shows how far your score deviates from the average score of
the reference group. Don't forget, your results are rated against those of other people with the same
background and in the same organizational phase as you are. The reference group is based on your
current profession, education level, age, and organizational phase. The above example shows an
insufficient level which, however, is still 8% better than the average reference group level.
A positive deviation from the reference group (percent in green) means that you scored higher than the
people in your reference group, while a negative deviation (percent in red) means that you scored
lower than the reference group.
The average scores of the reference group are visualized as a blue field in the profile:
reference group
4 of 4 Web site: www.deOndernemerstest.nl
doc_445364845.pdf
Personal Entrepreneurship And Successful Entrepreneurial Competencies
1 Introduction
Please read the introduction carefully as it will help you get the best out of the many options presented
in the test report. The following sections are aimed at giving you insight into several interrelated topics
such as entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial activities, entrepreneurship vs. "intrapreneurship" (see
below), and entrepreneurial competencies. In addition, the introduction defines the standards for
success and explains the presentation of the test results.
1.1 Personal entrepreneurship and successful entrepreneurial competencies
Personal entrepreneurship is achieved when you have mastered all the competencies of a successful
entrepreneur. Personal entrepreneurship is defined as follows: "A successful, enterprising employee
(a.k.a. "intrapreneur") or (start-up) entrepreneur has mastered a specific set of entrepreneurial
competencies which enable him or her to coordinate personal goals with organizational goals. He or she
is continuously searching for and responding to changes in the internal and external environment and
keeps on developing the organization through innovation and growth." (transl. from Droste, H. &
Harlaar, M., 2006. Businessplanning. Groningen: Wolters-Noordhoff)
Table 1 - Behavioral competencies
•
= focus competency
Successful entrepreneurial competencies include knowledge, insight and skills, as well as attitudes and
behaviors. Competencies are divided into behavioral competencies and task competencies. In addition,
we also draw distinctions between core competencies, focus competencies and profile competencies.
Behavioral competencies
Behavioral competencies concern mainly such personality traits as your behavior, attitude, motives,
norms and values. Behavioral competencies are relatively stable and largely determine if and how you
use your knowledge and skills. The main question here is whether you would be justified in investing in
yourself, considering the make-up of your behavioral structure and the light it shines on your potential
for successful entrepreneurship. Table 1 shows an overview of all the successful behavioral
competencies categorized by organizational phase (start-up, growth, maturity).
1 of 4 Web site: www.deOndernemerstest.nl
Start-up Growth Maturity
Creativity
•
Empathy
•
Critical thinking
Alertness
Courage
• • •
Power of persuasion
Carefulness
Reliability
• •
Efficiency
•
Decisiveness
Ability to prioritize
Perserverance
• •
Application
Self-confidence
Determination
•
Resoluteness
• •
Emotional stability
Flexibility
Locus of control
Task competencies
Task competencies indicate what a successful entrepreneur must be familiar with and be able to do, in
other words: knowledge, skills and insights. Task competencies are relatively easy to develop.
However, they become evident only when you have sufficient levels of behavioral competencies. If this
is not the case, investing in your development will probably be a waste of time. After all, attitude and
behavior determine how you work. If your attitude or behavior is lacking, you won't be in optimal
shape to complete your tasks. Table 2 shows an overview of all the task competencies categorized
according to organizational phase.
Table 2 - Task competencies
•
= focus competency
Focus competencies
Focus competencies are most important as they have the biggest impact on personal entrepreneurship
and success. They indicate what you should primarily be concentrating on. Focus competencies weigh
very heavily in the test results. Tables 1 and 2 depict the focus competencies as red dots.
Core competencies
The interrelations between various behavioral competencies are defined in core competencies (see
Table 3). For example, the core competency "ambition" consists of the behavioral competencies
"perseverance", "application" and "self-confidence." These three traits thus provide insight into the
level of your ambition.
Table 3 - Core competencies
Profile competencies
Profile competencies are a combination of core and task competencies. Your profile competencies
determine your entrepreneurial profile (see the next chapter). Table 4 shows us that the profile
competencies are BEING, KNOWING, CHANGING and DOING.
Table 4 - Profile competencies
2 of 4 Web site: www.deOndernemerstest.nl
Start-up Growth Maturity
Negotiating skills
Communication skills
• •
Leadership
• • •
Insight into the external environment
•
Marketing insight
Financial insight
Strategic attitude
• •
Integrity Carefulness Reliability
Vulnerability Determination Resoluteness Emotional stability
Ambition Perseverance Application Self-confidence
Intuitive/creative thinking Creativity Empathy
Ability to spot opportunities Critical thinking Alertness Flexibility
Goal orientation Efficiency Decisiveness Ability to prioritize
Organizing skills Ability to prioritize Efficiency Locus of control
Self-discipline Locus of control Perserverance Determination
Dominance Courage Power of persuasion
BEING Integrity Vulnerability Ambition
KNOWING Task competencies
CHANGING Intuitive/creative thinking Ability to spot opportunities Goal orientation
DOING Organizing skills Self-discipline Dominance
1.2 Entrepreneurial activities
You often find managers in big organizations profiling themselves as entrepreneurs.
DeOndernemerstest calls these in-house entrepreneurs "intrapreneurs." In both profit and non-profit
sectors, management is tending to shift increasingly towards entrepreneurship, with the intrapreneur
bearing full responsibility for the implementation of organizational policy within his or her company
division, department, unit or project. The intrapreneur behaves like an entrepreneur and has mastered
all the aspects of successful entrepreneurship. In other words, intrapreneurs are managers who have
developed entrepreneurial skills.
The introduction of entrepreneurship into organizational practice is currently receiving lots of attention.
This is not hard to explain: intrapreneurs show initiative and are not scared of taking risks. They
increase the decisiveness of their organization and enable innovation and growth.
We distinguish ten entrepreneurial activities (see Table 5). The first five are grouped under
“entrepreneurship” and the remaining five under "intrapreneurship." (transl. from Droste, H. & Harlaar,
M., 2006. Businessplanning. Groningen: Wolters-Noordhoff)
Table 5 - Entrepreneurial activities
There is no strict dividing line between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Entrepreneurial
activities take various shapes and forms at various levels of intensity during your working life or during
different phases of the organization. Distinguishing the different entrepreneurial activities enables you
to focus on the entrepreneurial competencies that are effective for the specific activity or task you are
performing. Currently we have no reason to assume that successful intrapreneurs have different
competencies than successful entrepreneurs. The differences between them are due to the context of
entrepreneurship (whether or not you own the company) and associated financial or other risks.
3 of 4 Web site: www.deOndernemerstest.nl
1 Hobby/lifestyle new venturing. Sometimes a hobby or pastime gets out of hand and becomes so
expensive that you must find a way to cover the extra expense (for example, selling an old toy train
set to fund buying a new one).
2 Income supplementing (part time) new venturing. Intended to augment your gross income, this
is entrepreneurship as a sideline.
3 Income substitution new venturing. This involves starting up a company, often with little growth
potential, with the sole intention of becoming 'one's own boss' and being 'independent'. The chances of
substantial growth are limited and the risk of failure is high.
4 Technology-driven independent new venturing. Rather than focusing on existing demands in the
market, this type of activity aims to find ways of using a certain technology and manipulating the
market in order to create a demand for the product.
5 Need-driven independent new venturing. This entrepreneurial activity involves setting up a new
organization with high growth potential because it addresses a concrete market demand. It is a form
of innovation which questions existing market rules and finds new ways of getting things done.
6 Product/process development. This is where entrepreneurial activities are developed on a
functional level. New product development or new processes 'either internal or external' and new
technologies are linked to new strategies.
7 Business turnaround. This is changing the strategy of a business unit as a result of internal and
external changes, to respond to better to customers' needs.
8 Corporate venturing. This is marketing a successful existing product or service under the umbrella of
a new organization.
9 Corporate turnaround. This involves restructuring an organization by examining its main principles
(mission and strategy).
10 Enterprise turnabout. When an organization no longer manages to achieve its aims or is finding it
hard to keep on going the way it is, it can do a complete turnabout by changing course and searching
for a new identity.
1.3 The standard for success
What is the standard for success? What you as an entrepreneur or intrapreneur regard as success is
not necessarily a success in objective terms. After all, subjective success rests on your personal aims
and those of your organization. Growth "in terms of turnover and personnel" is decisive in determining
an objective standard. Success means a yearly increase in turnover of 60% at least and an annual
increase in personnel of 2.2% at least.
Research shows that a high education level and years of entrepreneurial experience don't necessarily
contribute to success. Successful behavioral competencies increase the chance for growth. However,
behavioral competencies are not easy to influence, unlike task competencies. The research also shows
that there is no connection between intention and the achievement of success. In other words, simply
deciding that you want your company to grow will not automatically make that happen.
Your entrepreneurial competencies have been rated in comparison with the successful entrepreneurial
competencies required in your organizational phase. In other phases, other competencies become
important factors for successful entrepreneurship. This is why the test results have to take your
organizational phase into account:
Start-up
1.4 The competency-meter
The competency-meter gives a clear overview of the test results. Here is an example:
•
strongly present
•
insufficiently present
•
barely or not at all present
8 %
Much as the color-coded dial of a speedometer shows how fast you are driving, we use the color-coded
dial of our competency-meter to show your level at a particular competency. If your score is
"insufficiently present," it means that you don't have a high enough level of this competency for it to
contribute to your success. You will have to work on improving your level. If the competency-meter
shows red, it means that you have little or none of the relevant competency. A good test result will
include scores in the green zone.
1.5 The reference group
The number under the competency-meter shows how far your score deviates from the average score of
the reference group. Don't forget, your results are rated against those of other people with the same
background and in the same organizational phase as you are. The reference group is based on your
current profession, education level, age, and organizational phase. The above example shows an
insufficient level which, however, is still 8% better than the average reference group level.
A positive deviation from the reference group (percent in green) means that you scored higher than the
people in your reference group, while a negative deviation (percent in red) means that you scored
lower than the reference group.
The average scores of the reference group are visualized as a blue field in the profile:
reference group
4 of 4 Web site: www.deOndernemerstest.nl
doc_445364845.pdf