Big Omaha Day Two: 'Dive In, Act Fast, Ignore Perfection and Fail Often'
Entrepreneurial individuals have a passion and a perseverance that is contagious; they make us better.
Big Omaha = great opportunity to learn about people. Love that Seth Goldstein of turntable.fm broke down the differences between true entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial people. The former are visionaries and have ideas that are known, sensed and believed in from the start. They recognize their visions are inevitable and if they don't create them, someone else will. They dive in, act fast, ignore perfection and fail often. Their ideas come from observing problems and recognizing challenges. They convince others of this inevitability and are magnets for unchallenged support.
Entrepreneurial people are no less creative, innovative or inspirational but tend to want to (or are forced to) see things and prove them out even prioritize. Seth refers to them as 'managers' but I see them everyday in the creative community, especially at Leo Burnett, and we hold many titles. We seek problems in the form of a brand's purpose, uncovering why a brand exists and what role it can play in people's lives. Then we bring it to life with great ideas and acts. The difference is we often start with objectives, briefs and budgets. Process slows us down but our passion stays strong. Mediocre isn't good enough but it's hard to get to great. These restrictions are fixed, at least for the time being, however we share many of the same goals, beliefs and patterns. As we evolve, hire and partner we should surround ourselves with more entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial people they're good company to keep and their passion and perseverance are contagious. They will make us better.