Found in The Financial Times: 15 November 2010
Great Leaders Know When To Retreat
Robert Craven, managing director of The Directors’ Centre, a consultancy
“There is a myth, partly perpetuated by the dreadful Apprentice and Dragons’ Den television shows, that going from the founder at the kitchen table to a great chief executive is how it should be.
“It is not about abdication. It is about delegation. What we are finding is that people are walking away from the big fat cheque they thought they wanted because they realised that mowing the lawn isn’t as much fun as starting businesses.
“If they do take the big fat cheque, they are back in six months because they realise what they like doing is creating businesses and that taking VC money killed their business.
“The problem is that history is written by the winners. All the stories about being a successful entrepreneur are written by the likes of [Sir Richard] Branson and [Dame Anita] Roddick. It doesn’t mean that doing what Branson has done will be good for you. Very few people are cut out for that kind of leadership.”
17 comments:
Love it: " the dreadful Apprentice and Dragons’ Den television shows"
someone is speaking sense
They are pure rubbish.
Pete McCarthy
And you didn't know that you were being interviewed. Not sure I believe that.
Nice quotes which make sense in the nodern world. Especially your comments about the TV nonsense that is meant to represent buisness.
Many entrepreneurs are lured towards sale and it just is not always relevant.
Jim (BL)
Why refusing to stay small might be a big mistake - Biz Zone http://bit.ly/fx63gI
this article is related.
Have you got a URL for this article.
see
http://enterpriseresilienceblog.typepad.com/enterprise_resilience_man/2010/11/beyond-being-a-start-up.html
and
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ee27af48-eb57-11df-b482-00144feab49a.html#axzz15dnBIOj6
Robert
Why can't most people see that The Apprentice and Dragon's Den give business a bad name? Do they think that that is the way business people talk to each other? Do they understand the gap between good business skills and good television? These programmes have created so many misconceptions about the culture of business and what really goes on. I'm so annoyed I'll have to stop ranting.
Good to see you quoted in the FT.
As an Insolvency Paractitioner I see many directors for business recovery advice after they've had a successful small/medium sozed business and have obsessed about bigger = better. They've then got bigger and found bigger = much more difficult to manage and make money from/enjoy.
I've said for years you can make shedloads of money (and enjoy) a small business...
100% agree - too many people chase the big turnover and miss out on focusing on the 'big' profit or the 'big' lifestyle (neither of which require the big turnover, headcount etc,,,)
Nice post! This is very informative! Great job! Kip on posting!
puzzles
Nice post! This is very informative! Great job! Kip on posting!
puzzles
100% agree - too many people chase the big turnover and miss out on focusing on the 'big' profit or the 'big' lifestyle (neither of which require the big turnover, headcount etc,,,)
Have you got a URL for this article.
And you didn't know that you were being interviewed. Not sure I believe that.
Nice quotes which make sense in the nodern world. Especially your comments about the TV nonsense that is meant to represent buisness.
Many entrepreneurs are lured towards sale and it just is not always relevant.
Jim (BL)
Love it: " the dreadful Apprentice and Dragons’ Den television shows"
someone is speaking sense
Thanks for your comments. I literally fell across these quotes in FT.com
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