Entrepreneur, Manager, and CEO
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What’s the difference between an entrepreneur and a manager?
On the surface, they might look alike. A top manager could be so charismatic, knowledgeable, and business-savvy that you’ll think, “This is a real businessman.”
Entrepreneurs are often too diverse to fit a single mold. Some are reserved, others outgoing. Some are methodical, others creative. They can be modest or aggressive.
But there’s one way to tell them apart.
One relies on what’s already there, the other on what’s not yet there.
Top managers usually care about:
- Strategies
- Concepts
- Risk analysis
- Quality control
- Financial reports
- Power distribution
- Organizational structures
- Legally sound contracts
- Internal policies, procedures, regulations, and more.
Entrepreneurs focus on different things. They’re driven by:
- Value
- Vision
- Return
- Timing
- Meaning
- Synthesis
- Opportunity
- Creative solutions
- Vague but promising trends, and more.
For a founder, Function is sacred. For a manager, it’s Form*.
That’s why few managers become entrepreneurs. It takes not a tuning of the worldview, but a shift.
That’s why a strong CEO is a treasure. Not just a manager, but not quite an entrepreneur.
CEO is the bridge between two very different worlds.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
P.S. *Sure, this is a simplification. The question lies in the ratio between the two.
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