Role of
Entrepreneurs - Hemant Nitturkar
Entrepreneurs are leaders!
Entrepreneurs are change makers!!
Entrepreneurs need to become role models!!!
Entrepreneur to me is anyone who identifies an opportunity to service a widespread need or want and uses the existing resources and adds his/her vision, creativity, sweat and perseverance to create something of value to a customer base, in turn creating wealth for self, his or her backers, employment for others and value for the whole community.
A country is only as prosperous and vibrant as it enables and rewards innovators and entrepreneurs. Today the developed economies are so precisely because they have allowed the enterprise ecosystem to flourish. In India, only a few year ago, entrepreneurship was the exclusive domain of a chosen few and the rest were expected to serve them as salaried technocrats.
Post-liberalization, the mental shackles have also
been broken and more first generation entrepreneurs are emerging and blazing a
trail. The entrepreneurial ecosystem has also grown in leaps and bounds with
mentors, incubation centers and venture capitalists coming up in various parts
of the country. It is a welcome sign for the country. Realizing the important
role that the entrepreneurs play in
value addition and creating jobs in our young country, various state
governments and the central government in India has been looking at ways of
creating an enabling environment through supportive policy, infrastructure and
financial ecosystem.
Yes, innovators and entrepreneurs are important
for any society, more so a developing society like ours. Articles abound on
what the entrepreneurs need from the society to flourish. That the society needs to provide adequate and timely funding to
enterprises. That the SMEs need to be given a chance to start up and stand up.
All very well. We know what the entrepreneurs want from the society.
But, what does the society want from the
entrepreneurs? What are the responsibilities of the entrepreneurs towards the
same society which it expects to support from? The author feels there are
enough written articles on and actual movement towards fulfilling the 'rights'
of entrepreneurs. This article is an attempt to articulate the 'duties' of
entrepreneurs towards the society.
As a key stakeholder, a la the Bride or Bridegroom
in a marriage, entrepreneur has roles and responsibilities. The entrepreneur
may have started the business for a variety of reasons, but once he/she decides
to start the enterprise, he/she is assumed to have accepted these
responsibilities.
What are there responsibilities?
1. Build an ethical business - Alan K Simpson once said "If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you do not have integrity, nothing else matters." In the New Entrepreneurial India that we need to build for a more vibrant, inclusive and sustainable growth of the nation, ethical, transparent and fair dealings need to become the new normal. I have personal experience that this works; in spite of the common belief that to run a business in India you have to be a crook. Yes, the system throws many challenges, you see people deploying questionable means to get ahead, but as they say, when the tide goes down you can see who was swimming naked.
So, hang on, and be ethical, always.
By ethical, I mean, sell what you promised to sell, treat customers as equal partners in your venture, don’t exploit people or resources, pay your fair share of taxes, set equitable and transparent rules and play by them, treat employees well, embrace a balanced & healthy lifestyle and shun avoidable exuberance and profligacy.
2. Think value, think big and think positive – When the nation sends 11 people onto the field of cricket to represent the country, it showers faith, love, accolades and money on them. In return, it expects them to push themselves to the maximum, and deliver results. It even accepts failures, when the best effort falls short. The same with entrepreneurs – due to various things known and unknown to you, you have been given the mantle of entrepreneurship and there are expectations on you. Think big, deploy resources, collaborate, perserve and create value for yourself, your backers, your customers and the nation. To do this, always invest in yourself and constantly try to improve yourself, your team and your surroundings.
When we were kids, we learnt how the ant climbed up the wall, fell down, tried again and again and finally succeeded. So is it in entrepreneurship! You have promises to keep, you have points to prove, you have milestones to reach, so march on!
What are there responsibilities?
1. Build an ethical business - Alan K Simpson once said "If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you do not have integrity, nothing else matters." In the New Entrepreneurial India that we need to build for a more vibrant, inclusive and sustainable growth of the nation, ethical, transparent and fair dealings need to become the new normal. I have personal experience that this works; in spite of the common belief that to run a business in India you have to be a crook. Yes, the system throws many challenges, you see people deploying questionable means to get ahead, but as they say, when the tide goes down you can see who was swimming naked.
So, hang on, and be ethical, always.
By ethical, I mean, sell what you promised to sell, treat customers as equal partners in your venture, don’t exploit people or resources, pay your fair share of taxes, set equitable and transparent rules and play by them, treat employees well, embrace a balanced & healthy lifestyle and shun avoidable exuberance and profligacy.
2. Think value, think big and think positive – When the nation sends 11 people onto the field of cricket to represent the country, it showers faith, love, accolades and money on them. In return, it expects them to push themselves to the maximum, and deliver results. It even accepts failures, when the best effort falls short. The same with entrepreneurs – due to various things known and unknown to you, you have been given the mantle of entrepreneurship and there are expectations on you. Think big, deploy resources, collaborate, perserve and create value for yourself, your backers, your customers and the nation. To do this, always invest in yourself and constantly try to improve yourself, your team and your surroundings.
When we were kids, we learnt how the ant climbed up the wall, fell down, tried again and again and finally succeeded. So is it in entrepreneurship! You have promises to keep, you have points to prove, you have milestones to reach, so march on!
3. Social and environmental responsibility - There was a time when billowing factories were
signs of a progressive society. Bigger was beautiful and bolder was desirable.
Times have changed. being socially responsive and environmentally responsible
are not just noble virtues, but actually it now constitutes good business
sense. The spectacular rise in green building industry in India over the last
decade is a case in the point. For those not getting the message of the times,
the polity is ready to crack the whip. The mandatory 2% CSR spend legislation
is reminding companies of their social responsibilities. Mandated sustainable
practices, financial penalties and closure notices for pollution transgressions
are reminding companies of their
environmental responsibilities and obligations.
It has been proven that voluntarily incorporating
both social and environmental thinking in the company DNA from the inception
brings greater rewards than trying to react to policy or market forces
compelling you to follow what should have been. Trust me, the companies that
are flouting the norms and still flourishing, are living on borrowed
times.
4. Think Contribution – There are two ways of growing in life – one, by
standing over others, trampling people and you grow tall. Second, you can take
people along in a rising wave, enlarging the pie and you grow tall riding the
wave as a pioneer. The latter is more rewarding and sustainable!
I was migrating along with my wife Vaishali to Australia in 1997 and knew not a soul there. Ajoy and Meera Joshi of www.nilgiris.com.au, whom we came to know a week before we landed in Sydney gave us their home to live in as they were going on a world tour. This helped us tremendously in settling down. When we were settled and wanted to know how we could show our gratitude, Ajoy profoundly said, “You cannot repay me for what I have done for you. But there is a way. If you can pass on the good thing, you would have repaid me many times over.”
So, as entrepreneurs, create value as you go along. Take all support that you get along the way and build your business. As you 'arrive' in your business journey, think of the new generation that is following you and help them by sharing with them your wisdom, learnings, warnings, seed capital and the like. Write a book on your journey. Be a leader. Leave a legacy.
Let us together build a vibrant, entrepreneurial nation!
I was migrating along with my wife Vaishali to Australia in 1997 and knew not a soul there. Ajoy and Meera Joshi of www.nilgiris.com.au, whom we came to know a week before we landed in Sydney gave us their home to live in as they were going on a world tour. This helped us tremendously in settling down. When we were settled and wanted to know how we could show our gratitude, Ajoy profoundly said, “You cannot repay me for what I have done for you. But there is a way. If you can pass on the good thing, you would have repaid me many times over.”
So, as entrepreneurs, create value as you go along. Take all support that you get along the way and build your business. As you 'arrive' in your business journey, think of the new generation that is following you and help them by sharing with them your wisdom, learnings, warnings, seed capital and the like. Write a book on your journey. Be a leader. Leave a legacy.
Let us together build a vibrant, entrepreneurial nation!
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