Entrepreneurial Competencies

Every opportunity and every role has a competence requirement, and entrepreneurship is no exception. Competence refers to a composite of knowledge, skills and a host of psycho-social attributes (including attitudes and motivation) in a person that mark his or her effectiveness for a task. The word 'composite' is crucial — the competence 'ability to communicate a vision', for instance, is far more than skill in speaking or writing; it also involves clarity of vision, an understanding of the audience, a choice of the right medium and an assessment of effectiveness. A memorable way the book puts it is that success needs not Cash but KASH — Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits.

The competency approach to entrepreneurship development was pioneered by the Harvard psychologist David McClelland in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He set out to define competency variables that could predict performance without being biased by race, gender or socio-economic factors — which is why it becomes more useful to learn what a person does than who the person is. Because these competencies can be built through education and development, we may indeed say that entrepreneurs are made.

The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) has identified a set of fifteen competencies that contribute to entrepreneurial performance and success:

1. Initiative — acting out of choice rather than compulsion, taking the lead rather than waiting for others.
2. Sees and acts on opportunities — a mindset trained to look for business opportunities in everyday experience.
3. Persistence — a 'never say die' attitude, striving continuously until success is achieved.
4. Information-seeking — consulting experts, reading relevant material and staying open to ideas and information.
5. Concern for high quality of work — attention to detail and observance of established standards.
6. Commitment to the work contract — taking personal pains to complete a task as scheduled.
7. Efficiency orientation — concern for conserving time, money and effort.
8. Systematic planning — breaking a complex whole into parts and attending to each (production, marketing, finance) within an overall strategy.
9. Problem-solving — observing the symptoms, diagnosing the cause and curing it.
10. Self-confidence — not being afraid of business risks and relying on one's own capabilities to manage them.
11. Assertiveness — conveying one's vision emphatically and convincing others of its value.
12. Persuasion — eliciting the support of others for the venture.
13. Use of influence strategies — providing leadership.
14. Monitoring — ensuring the venture progresses as planned. …