Admired Entrepreneur Reputations
What attributes stand out and why? A writer shared his findings.
People are noticing your business and personal characteristics and identifying your strengths as an entrepreneur that they respect, trust and like. You are developing a reputation, which becomes influential because of them.
Ben Sherry at Inc.com recently wrote an article, 9 Entrepreneurs Admired the Most by Inc. 5000 CEOs, that spoke specifically to what most stood out to those CEOs.
It inspires this question: What would the people, those in your organization, clearly and unquestionably say that they most admire about you?
This article will take an abbreviated look at what Sherry wrote and add brief comments.
Gary Vaynerchuk
"Gary Vaynerchuk has been someone I have admired for many years because of his compassion for customers and employees. I enjoy his energy, work ethic and the speed at which he works. He is an optimist by nature which is very important for entrepreneurs to maintain the energy and engine required to grow and scale a business successfully."
"He is sometimes obnoxious, but I admire his stance on 'trust is not earned but given immediately until you prove it should be taken away.' I also like his advice to focus solely on what you are exceptional at and not worry too much about your shortcomings."
Notes: One can be seen as both compassionate and obnoxious. Vaynerchuk gets praise for the passion, energy, focus and efficiency with his work and his positive approach. He reportedly offers trust up front, likely making it easier for his people, especially new ones, to shine. His advice of specialization likely empowers people.
Bill Gates
"I admire his visionary leadership, incredible technical skill, and ability to communicate complex problems simply and effectively."
Notes: No surprise, Gates is lauded for his vision and technical skill but what is more interesting is his communication acumen in crystalizing complexity. A skill!
Warren Buffett
"I admire Warren Buffett for his leadership style. His commitment to integrity, long-term vision, and emphasis on transparency and ethical business practices resonate deeply with me."
"Buffett's focus on long-term gains over short-term profits mirrors our commitment to thorough and reliable due diligence."
"His leadership style is characterized by a long-term focus, ethical principles, empowerment of others, and a commitment to continuous learning."
Notes: Does it surprise you, at least a little, that an investor, one of Buffett’s successful magnitude, would be best know for integrity, transparency and ethics? That goes against some people’s stereotype. It also explains his commitment to the long “game.” Do your people trust you in a similar fashion? If they do, you have proven it. That he is thorough gets noticed as does his constant hunger for knowledge and understanding. That intellectual humility is respected and trusted.
Sara Blakely
"She's creative, authentic, brilliant, innovative, generous and fun. She's a billionaire but has not forgotten her roots and remains best friends with her childhood crew."
"She has a great combo of leading with heart and is inspiring to follow as a female in business."
"She's proven that it's possible to be successful AND have fun. The playfulness she clearly infuses into her business and her family are admirable to prove that life doesn't have to be so serious, and we can really enjoy the ride along the way."
Notes: Look at the joy people express in detailing what impresses them about Blakely. Do people have that level of enthusiasm about your leadership? Imagine being experienced and respected for being creative, brilliant, innovative, generous, heart-driven and fun, along with being successful. Boom!
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Mark Cuban
"He values family above all, speaks his mind respectfully, and is not afraid to question things like the cost of medicine and then do something about it."
"I like how he is successful and keeps his hunger to build more. Complacency is not in his vocabulary. I admire that and I am wired the same way."
Notes: If you’re a billionaire and thought to be and judged as family first, you are probably viewed as living a well-balanced life. Being outwardly curious, hungry for improvement and pursuing it to deliver more, successfully, gets noticed. Are we modeling family first, being appreciated for it and benefitting as a result? Are we questioning the status quo and taking action to make people’s lives better? Or are we complacent?
Jeff Bezos
"Bezos is pretty unbelievable for the grandness of his vision and ability to get his investors to defer profitability for so long."
"I admire Bezos for his clarity on the idea of 'make the customer's lives easier and you will earn the business.' Be obsessed with your customer."
Notes: Being trusted and persuasive is not easy to accomplish for every leader. Bezos, for multiple reasons, has done it. Every company says they focus on the customer yet the evidence doesn’t always back up that claim. With Bezos, the vast majority of consumers experience his commitment, maybe also taken for granted, of making the customer’s life simpler. No surprise then that he certainly earns their business. Are we doing the same for the customer or client as a habit?
Richard Branson
"Branson's ability to create a dynamic, adventurous company culture while maintaining a strong focus on customer experience is truly inspiring. His emphasis on empowering employees and fostering innovation resonates deeply with me."
"In school, I often felt inadequate because I struggled while others excelled. Just getting a passing grade was an achievement for me. Listening to Richard Branson's books, rather than reading them, helped me absorb his story better. It was inspiring to hear how someone who also wasn't a great student could become a highly successful entrepreneur, starting multiple businesses and being admired for his spirit and innovation."
Notes: Culture is everyone’s responsibility yet it starts with the founder and CEO and not all of them build and operate one that is appreciated, respected and valued, as Branson apparently has done.
How are you building yours? When people praise you for “a strong focus on customer experience” you’ve done exemplary work. “Empowering employees,” the same thing. Ditto for “fostering” innovation.
How are you succeeding in those areas where your people appreciate your workplace — and you? In addition, have you shared your honest, humble story for people to see how you rose to prominence and have proved to have staying power?
Steve Jobs
"Jobs had an extraordinary ability to foresee the potential of technology and how it could transform industries and peoples' access to the arts. He rallied his employees on the vision that all technology made at Apple should enhance peoples' lives and serve as a natural extension of human ability."
"He bent reality to push people to limits only he could imagine possible. Most people have to be shown what is possible. They can't imagine it. Although Jobs was tough, he was admired by those he pushed to do what they thought was impossible."
Notes: Being able to communicate your vision for life-changing potential to a point where it inspires your people is an earth-moving trait. Being able to push, but not break, most of your people to exceed their limits and somehow be admired for it, not resented, is a fine line which not every leader can safely stay on the right side. How have you or will you achieve the same precision and not go too far and break people?
Elon Musk
"I have a lot of admiration for Elon Musk (outside of his politics) for the level of focus and energy and passion he brings into wanting to participate in changing the world."
"The guy just does sh*t without regard for what people think of him. Whether it is tackling hard problems or cleaning house at Twitter. He is not a follower and he is an individual of very high conviction."
"I admire Musk for his creativity and massive impact on our world across several industries (despise his managerial style and penchant for bullying)."
Notes: His vision for change is well known, especially tackling hard problems, which not every leader takes on or admirably solves. Musk has his critics (some of it he brings upon himself) and isn’t universally respected yet it is true, right or wrong, he is “an individual of very high conviction.”
His reputation includes a management style and personality that are not widely respected. Some leaders, despite their success, are merely tolerated. It has worked for him yet it will work for many?
Michael Toebe is a specialist for trust, risk, relationship, communications and reputation at Reputation Intelligence - Reputation Quality. He serves individuals and organizations by helping them further build, protect, restore and reconstruct reputation.
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