Why Entrepreneurs Can't Help Themselves

The thrill of seeing an idea come to life

Something I’m Learning

It ended last week, under the canopy of a rainwashed Atlantic forest in Brazil, serenaded by parakeets and kiskadees. A dozen to-be entrepreneurs from all corners of the planet tossed a ball of yarn around a circle and declared intentions to stay connected and committed. All such programs end this way: close-knit and savoring the high of a long race completed. It never gets old.

It started 15 months ago, in a colonial-era chai shop on a busy street corner in downtown Singapore. Amid evening rush hour bustle, I sketched out a vision, to friendly funders, for developing a pipeline of new leaders building new organizations.

Seeds planted in Singapore led to a partnership with a hitherto-unknown ally that brought their own twist, as well as other partners from around the world. Along the way, I switched which side of the table I sat on, necessitating new and sometimes confusing dances with former colleagues. Then, last Fall, our dozen aspiring social entrepreneurs gathered on the shores of Kenya’s Lake Naivasha to begin new adventures that will change them as much as any change they make in the world.

One of the most pleasing features throughout my career, now almost 25 years old, has been working with leaders across borders. The world as my office. Just in the last few months I’ve learned about Turkish industrial policy, a Spanish Catalonian scientists’ network, social security for Indian migrant labor, motorcycle use in remote Colombian villages, the Afro-Brazilian workforce, and more. In return for teaching me about these people and places, I try to illuminate the paths they must walk to make their visions come alive.

The thrill of seeing an idea that only exists in your head come to life is why many entrepreneurs can’t help doing it over and over.

“I felt intimidated meeting you all, and now I feel I have friends around the world who will support me when I need it,” said one of our entrepreneurs to accompanying nods around the group. A sentiment often expressed in any successful leadership program. When you hear those words, you know you’ve stretched people, and they’ve found each other along the way.

In a world retreating behind walls, the days of such planet-spanning endeavors may be numbered. But I’ll be counting each of those days. And making them count.

As these new ventures, these gardens of hope, take root around the world, I’m working towards the next planting season. Towards the next group of changemakers who (don’t yet know they) will soon be starting a new life chapter. In the exhilaration of finishing one race, you start dreaming about the next.

Something to Consider

Getting your entrepreneurship journey started in a community of peers is very powerful. Ask Acumen. Touchstones: The Secret to Social Entrepreneurship.

Something to Quote

Betting on yourself—with nontrivial stakes for failure but attractive rewards for success—is a good general strategy for pushing the quality of your work to a new level.

- Cal Newport, Slow Productivity