Why Entrepreneurs Have The Advantage During The Coronavirus Crisis

The Coronavirus has turned our world upside down and no industries have been immune to the far reaching impact of the virus and the global shutdown. The virus is impacting individuals and organizations in very different ways. As an organizational development practitioner and executive coach, I have been busy helping clients navigate through the uncertainty.

Over the past few weeks my organization, Groove Management has been leading a workshop on Building Resilience: Adapting and Thriving in Turbulent Times. We have led this workshop for a variety of organizations. During the workshop which is delivered via Zoom we have asked polling questions to engage the audience. As an icebreaker we have been asking they following question:

Which word best describes how you are currently feeling?

• Optimistic

• Worried

• Anxious

• Depressed

• Content

• Excited

• Motivated

• Fearful

• Good

• Positive

While the answers have varied, an interesting pattern has emerged. This week we ran the workshop for Metro Xcel a Berlin, Germany based accelerator for later stage tech start-ups in the hospitality and retail sectors. The Metro Xcel participants who were founders of start-ups were Optimistic, Positive and Excited as the prevailing choices of words. That was very different than the results from the sessions with enterprises and more established organizations where the participants sentiment was Anxious, Worried and Fearful as the top choices.

Over the past twenty four hours I have taken the time to reflect on this anecdotal data. Entrepreneurs and leaders at start-ups chose positive words to describe their current feelings, while employees in larger established organizations chose negative words. This fascinates me and has led me to draw a few other conclusions based on my knowledge of change management and navigating uncertainty.

Large established organizations spend significant effort working to mitigate risk, while smaller organizations embrace risk taking as a key pathway to success. Entrepreneurs and start-up leaders are wired for agility. They recognize that uncertainty is part of what fuels them and their businesses. As an employee in a large established organization there can be a feeling of powerlessness. The inability to control one’s own fate. Employees feel that they are at the mercy of others to make key decisions. This is not just the feeling of lower level employees. I have had conversations with executive vice presidents who have shared that they don’t feel that they have the power or the authority to drive the necessary changes.

Contrast that with the sentiment of founders, entrepreneurs and start-up employees who feel empowered to lead, to make changes and to chart a new course. I believe strongly that an organization is only as resilient as the people leading it. Resilience starts in the mind and requires the right mindset. Entrepreneurs are wired for optimism because that is what it takes to take the risks and build a business from the ground up. Entrepreneurs learn very early on that “if you don’t believe in yourself, you cannot get others to believe in you.” Self-confident is a critical mindset for entrepreneurial success and it is a key resilience factor.

As we navigate the new normal, it is the entrepreneurs who will have the upper hand. Their growth mindset, their flexibility and most importantly their optimism will fuel their success. We need established organizations to change and to recognize that their is no going back. The path forward will be different and it will require a new mindset. Those leading larger organizations should look to their entrepreneurial friends for insights and advice.

Cheers to the entrepreneurs and their optimism!