critical thinking and problem solving in entrepreneurship

7 Critical Thinking Skills Needed for Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is exciting, isn’t it? As an entrepreneur, you can start with nothing and go as far as your skills will take you. Entrepreneurship requires several different types of skills . You need to be resilient, hardworking, and motivated. You also need to have some critical thinking skills too.

Critical thinking is a cognitive process that involves evaluating information, identifying assumptions, analyzing arguments, and drawing logical conclusions. They are the thinking skills that allow entrepreneurs to drive their businesses forward. 

There are many types of critical thinking skills. And, different skills are required for different professions. But which critical thinking skills are the most important for entrepreneurship? In this article, we’ll look at some of the most important ones that entrepreneurs should focus on.

Problem-Solving

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, once said, “To launch a business means successfully solving problems.” I couldn’t agree more. Most of entrepreneurship is solving problems, including your problems, the business’s problems, and the problems of your customers.

Having problem-solving skills allows you to identify, analyze, and overcome a variety of challenges that arise.

Problem-solving skills can also help entrepreneurs identify market gaps and innovate. By applying this creative thinking skill, they can uncover unmet customer needs and develop solutions that give them a competitive edge.

To problem-solve effectively, follow these steps:

• Identify the problem: Clearly define the problem you’re facing. 
• Analyze the problem: Gather information, data, or insights. Determine the severity of the problem and who is affected by it.
• Generate possible solutions: Brainstorm multiple potential solutions to the problem without immediately judging their feasibility.
• Evaluate and select the best solution: Assess the pros and cons of each and pick the most suitable solution.
• Develop an action plan: Define the objectives, resources, and timelines required for successful execution.
• Implement the solution: Execute the action plan.
• Evaluate the outcome: Assess your plan’s effectiveness and try again if needed.

Learning how to problem-solve the right way can take time, but it is worth it. Once you have this skill, running a business becomes easier.

Analytical Thinking

Entrepreneurs must possess strong analytical skills to make data-driven decisions that can drive their businesses forward. Analytical thinking involves examining information and breaking it down into its constituent parts to understand the underlying structure or relationships.

To enhance analytical thinking, entrepreneurs can begin by gathering relevant data and information from various sources. This may include market research, customer feedback, or industry trends.

 Identifying patterns, trends, and relationships within the data helps entrepreneurs make informed decisions about their business strategies. Entrepreneurs should also utilize appropriate tools and methods to analyze the information, such as spreadsheets or data visualization software. Drawing logical conclusions based on the analysis will help entrepreneurs make well-informed decisions for their businesses.

Creative Thinking

All types of entrepreneurship often involve developing new ideas. These ideas are used to create new and better products and services. Whether you have a mobile car wash business or an AI startup, all entrepreneurs need to apply creativity to their businesses.

Learning to use your creative thinking skills starts with having an open mind and a curious attitude. Regularly brainstorm new ideas and challenge existing assumptions. By doing this, you will begin to find innovative solutions.

As an entrepreneur, work towards improving your ability to be creative. Start thinking about the problems you’re facing and look at them from a different perspective. Also, ask others to take a look at your problems. Get their opinions and decide if they make sense for your issues. Begin to find other ways to do what you’ve been doing. All of this will help build your creativity muscles and contribute to your business innovation.

Deductive Reasoning Skills

This is an often overlooked skill needed to run a successful business effectively. Deductive reasoning is a logical process in which a conclusion is drawn based on a set of premises that are assumed to be true. You may also have heard it called “top-down” reasoning. This skill comes in handy when there isn’t enough verifiable data available to make crucial decisions.

In the face of limited information, entrepreneurs can use logical reasoning to make educated assumptions about market trends, customer preferences, and competitive landscapes. This enables them to proactively anticipate changes and adapt their business strategies accordingly, thereby staying ahead of the competition and ensuring the continued success of their enterprises.

For example, a customer tells you they are unhappy with the response time for customer service. So, if you shorten response time, you will have happier customers. In this example, you are assuming something that is not immediately verifiable. However, you’re doing it based on what you already know to be true – in this case, your customer is unhappy with response times.

Deductive reasoning can be practiced throughout your business. There are also times when inductive reasoning should be used. However, for the uncertainty of entrepreneurship, this skill will come in handy very often.

Decision Making Skills

An unavoidable critical thinking skill needed to succeed as an entrepreneur is the ability to make decisions. If you are an indecisive person, you may struggle as an entrepreneur. This is because a significant part of entrepreneurship is decision-making. Here are just a few examples of some important decisions all entrepreneurs will make:

• What product you’ll offer.
• Which marketing strategy to follow.
• Who should join your team?
• How much to price your products.
• How to allocate resources.

And these are just some of the major ones. Entrepreneurship also involves making micro-decisions throughout the day. That is one reason why entrepreneurs are at risk of experiencing decision fatigue .

To improve decision-making skills, entrepreneurs should be clear on their goals. This first step will help many of the decisions make themselves. Then, gather relevant information and weigh the pros and cons of each option. Doing this helps you make more informed decisions. From there, consider the possible short-term and long-term consequences of each decision. Also, think about how those decisions will impact yourself, employees, customers, and investors.

Being decisive and taking responsibility for your decisions is an essential part of becoming a better decision-maker . Understand and recognize that not all decisions will be perfect. And some will just be downright bad decisions . But by learning from your experiences, you can continually refine your decision-making skills and improve your business over time.

The Adaptability Skill Set

The skill of adaptability means being able to adjust and evolve when things around you are changing. If the marketing strategy you used for years is no longer working because there is more competition, you need to learn to adapt to the situation. This skill is becoming even more important as AI technology is changing the landscape of business as well as other areas.

To develop this skill, entrepreneurs can start by embracing change. Look at the things around you that are changing as an opportunity for growth and improvement. Try not to resist new developments or fear the unknown. Instead, view change as a chance to refine your strategies and explore new possibilities.

Also, be willing to pivot or change direction when needed. Entrepreneurs who want to be adaptable should recognize when a particular strategy or product is not working anymore and be open to exploring alternative approaches. Learn from setbacks and use them as a chance for growth and improvement.

Communication

A critical thinking skill for entrepreneurs that cannot be understated is the ability to communicate well. Nearly 70% of people sa y they’ve personally wasted time as a result of communication issues in their business. Some entrepreneurs believe that this skill is only important for leaders of teams. However, solopreneurs also need great communication skills.

As an entrepreneur, you need to communicate with your customers, partners, and employees.

 Being able to effectively communicate enables entrepreneurs to build strong relationships with clients, customers, partners, and team members. It also allows them to articulate their ideas, visions, and objectives clearly, ensuring that everyone involved in the business is on the same page. This can only be done when you’re able to communicate well.

But communication is not just speaking; it is also listening. As mentioned before, you need to ask others for their opinions as part of the decision-making process. Being able to actively listen to their thoughts is important. Also, you need to be able to ask good questions in order to fully understand situations and problems. When you’re a good communicator , you can accomplish this.

Although critical thinking skills are not the only skills needed to be an entrepreneur , they are among the most important. Take time to develop these skills while growing your business. As you do, they will become easier to practice over time.

Like this article? Get updates by email and get our eBook for FREE

GET PREMIUM CONTENT AND UPDATES FOR FREE !

Ralph is the Managing Editor at StartUp Mindset. The StartUp Mindset team consists of dedicated individuals and is designed to help new, seasoned, and aspiring entrepreneurs succeed.

Recent Posts

Dos and Don’ts of Starting a Business With Friends

The Ethics of Link Building: How to Stay on Google’s Good Side

The Impact of AI on Software Development

5 Ways to Use Chat GPT for Marketing

Strategic approaches to enhance online visibility through ppc, related posts, popular posts.

21 Different Types of Business Models With Examples

100 Best Business Ideas that You Can Start this Year

Things to consider when buying a car for business or personal use, bricks-and-clicks business model: definition, examples, benefits, and challenges.

Pingback: How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills in Entrepreneurship - StartUp Mindset

Pingback: Top Under The radar Secrets To Create A Successful Home Based business Enterprise(Product) ·

Pingback: 7 Critical Thinking Skills Needed for Entrepreneurship – Entrepreneur – Start, Run and Grow Your Business

Pingback: 7 Critical Thinking Skills Needed for Entrepreneurship - Ikaroa

Pingback: 7 Critical Thinking Skills Needed for Entrepreneurship | Entrepreneur Canada

Pingback: 7 Critical Thinking Skills Needed for Entrepreneurship – Andrea Zanon

Pingback: 7 Critical Thinking Skills Needed for Entrepreneurship – Austin Rotter

Pingback: 7 Critical Thinking Skills Needed for Entrepreneurship – Joseph Odierno Buffalo

• Grow Your Business
• Leading Your Team
• Find Your Way
• Business Models
• Social Media
• Entrepreneurial Lifestyle
• Your Mindset
• Our Writing Team
• Get “The Fast Growing Startup” Ebook Free
• Advertise With StartUp Mindset
• The Part-Time Entrepreneur

• Starting a Business
• Growing a Business
• Small Business Guide
• Business News
• Science & Technology
• Money & Finance
• For Subscribers
• Write for Entrepreneur
• Entrepreneur Store
• United States
• Asia Pacific
• Middle East
• South Africa

Copyright © 2024 Entrepreneur Media, LLC All rights reserved. Entrepreneur® and its related marks are registered trademarks of Entrepreneur Media LLC

Here's How to Unlock the Power of Critical Thinking Learn this essential skill that entrepreneurs need to create, analyze and iterate on powerful new concepts.

By Brad Klune Edited by Dan Bova Feb 18, 2023

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Great entrepreneurs are able to question wide-held beliefs, make connections between seemingly disparate ideas, and essentially see what no one else can see.

This is what is called critical thinking, and you don't have to be born with it — it is a skill that can be learned. There are many experts available for one-on-one mentor sessions who can help you to look at things differently, whether that is coming up with new ideas or solutions to old problems. Allie Webb , founder of Drybar, and Jason Feifer , editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine, are two experts in this arena who are available now for one-on-one video calls through the Intro expert platform.

Related: Search our database of business experts available for one-on-one video calls to help you find success

Why Critical Thinking is Important

Critical thinking allows individuals to analyze information objectively, identify and evaluate arguments, and make informed decisions.

Problem-Solving : Critical thinking helps you approach problems in a structured and systematic way. This is when you put on your consultant hat with a systematic process: Define the problem -> gather info -> analyze the info -> identify possible solutions -> implement -> evaluate -> make adjustments. By evaluating different options and weighing their strengths and weaknesses, you can arrive at an effective solution.

Decision Making : Effective decision-making requires the ability to evaluate information, weigh pros and cons, and arrive at an informed conclusion. Critical thinking skills are essential for making informed choices in both personal and professional settings.

Effective Communication : This starts with active listening. By analyzing information and arguments, you can articulate your thoughts and ideas more clearly and persuasively.

Tips for Improving Your Critical Thinking Skills

Practice questioning : The 5 Why's is a problem-solving method used to uncover the root cause of a problem by asking "why" questions. The idea is to keep asking "why" until the root cause is found. Here's how to apply the 5 Why's:

• Clearly define the problem: Identify what's happening and what needs to be fixed.
• Ask "Why" questions: Ask "Why" the problem is occurring and record the answer. Repeat this step five times.
• Analyze the answers: Evaluate the answers and see if they provide insights into the root cause of the problem.
• Identify the root cause: Use the answers to identify the root cause of the problem.
• Develop a solution: Use the understanding of the root cause to develop a solution to the problem.

Seek out new information and diverse perspectives : Stay informed and exposed to different opinions, perspectives, and sources of information. This will help you broaden your understanding of the world and refine your critical thinking skills.

Analyze arguments : When evaluating arguments, look for logical fallacies, flaws in reasoning, and biases. This will help you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of an argument and arrive at an informed conclusion.

Reflect on your own thinking : Take time to reflect on your own thoughts and beliefs. Consider how your experiences and background may impact your perspective.

The ability to think critically is rare. And vital. By developing this skill, you can raise your ceiling. You can become a better problem-solver, a more effective communicator, and a more valuable employee. The world is constantly changing and evolving, and by embracing critical thinking, we can adapt and thrive in the face of new challenges.

Let's make critical thinking a cornerstone of the modern workplace.

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® VIP

Head of Business Operations

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick Red Arrow

• Lock 3 Things Your Business Idea Must Have to Succeed — as Proven By Famous Harvard Business School Startups
• This Couple Cashed in Their 401ks to Launch a Virtual Business — Here's How It Led to a 9-Figure Exit and Co-Owning 2 Professional Soccer Teams
• Lock The No. 1 State to Retire in Might Not Even Be on Your Radar, According to a New Report
• Lock 12 Books That Self-Made Millionaires Swear By
• Lock These Are the Highest-Paying Side Hustles for a Single Day of Work
• Use These 3 Steps to Find the Perfect Franchise Opportunity for You

Most Popular Red Arrow

Jack dorsey says 'the closest form of global consciousness' used to be twitter — now it's something else.

Dorsey recently left Bluesky, an X rival he helped found.

TikTok Reportedly Laid Off a 'Large Percentage' of Employees as the App's Fate in the U.S. Remains Unclear

Laid-off TikTok employees were notified Wednesday night through Thursday morning.

More People Are Exploring Entrepreneurship Because of This Unexpected Reason

More new business applications were filed in 2023 than in any other year so far.

8 Subtle Hints that People Don't Respect You — and How to Fix Them

While you have to earn respect, you don't have to deal with disrespect in the meantime.

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Four Seasons Orlando Responds to Viral TikTok: 'There's Something Here For All Ages'

The video has amassed over 45.4 million views on TikTok.

Successfully copied link

• school Campus Bookshelves
• menu_book Bookshelves
• perm_media Learning Objects
• login Login
• how_to_reg Request Instructor Account
• hub Instructor Commons

Margin Size

• Download Page (PDF)
• Download Full Book (PDF)
• Periodic Table
• Physics Constants
• Scientific Calculator
• Reference & Cite
• Tools expand_more
• Readability

selected template will load here

This action is not available.

6.1: Problem Solving to Find Entrepreneurial Solutions

• Last updated
• Save as PDF
• Page ID 50784

• Michael Laverty and Chris Littel et al.

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

\( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

\( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

\( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

\( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

\( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

\( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

\( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow\)

\( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

\( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Define problem solving in the context of entrepreneurship
• Describe and compare the adaptive model and the innovative model of problem solving
• Identify the skills entrepreneurs need for effective problem solving
• Identify types of problem solvers

As you’ve learned, entrepreneurs often visualize an opportunity gap, a gap between what exists and what could exist, as Hirabayashi and Lidey did with Shine. Entrepreneurial problem solving is the process of using innovation and creative solutions to close that gap by resolving societal, business, or technological problems. Sometimes, personal problems can lead to entrepreneurial opportunities if validated in the market. The entrepreneur visualizes the prospect of filling the gap with an innovative solution that might entail the revision of a product or the creation of an entirely new product. In any case, the entrepreneur approaches the problem-solving process in various ways. This chapter is more about problem solving as it pertains to the entrepreneur’s thought process and approach rather than on problem solving in the sense of opportunity recognition and filling those gaps with new products.

For example, as we read in Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunity , Sara Blakely (as shown in Figure 6.2 ) saw a need for body contouring and smoothing undergarments one day in the late 1990s when she was getting dressed for a party and couldn’t find what she needed to give her a silhouette she’d be pleased with in a pair of slacks. She saw a problem: a market need. But her problem-solving efforts are what drove her to turn her solution (Spanx undergarments) into a viable product. Those efforts came from her self-admitted can-do attitude: “It’s really important to be resourceful and scrappy—a glass half-full mindset.” 1 Her efforts at creating a new undergarment met resistance with hosiery executives, most of whom were male and out of touch with their female consumers. The hosiery owner who decided to help Blakely initially passed on the idea until running it by his daughters and realizing she was on to something. That something became Spanx, and today, Blakely is a successful entrepreneur. 2

Before getting into the heart of this chapter, we need to make a distinction: Decision making is different from problem solving . A decision is needed to continue or smooth a process affecting the operation of a firm. It can be intuitive or might require research and a long period of consideration. Problem solving, however, is more direct. It entails the solution of some problem where a gap exists between a current state and a desired state. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers who offer solutions using creativity or innovative ventures that exploit opportunities. This chapter focuses on different approaches to problem solving and need recognition that help potential entrepreneurs come up with ideas and refine those ideas.

Two Problem Solving Models: Adaptive and Innovative

There are two prominent established problem-solving models: adaptive and innovative . A renowned British psychologist, Michael Kirton, developed the Kirton Adaption-Innovation (KAI) Inventory to measure an individual’s style of problem solving. 3 Problem-solving preferences are dependent on the personality characteristics of originality, conformity, and efficiency, according to Kirton. The KAI inventory identifies an individual’s problem-solving approach by measuring agreement with statements that align with characteristics, such as the ability to produce many novel ideas, to follow rules and get along in groups, and to systematically orient daily behavior. The results categorize an individual as an innovator or an adaptor. Innovators are highly original, do not like to conform, and value efficiency less than adaptors.

The first and more conservative approach an entrepreneur may use to solve problems is the adaptive model. The adaptive model seeks solutions for problems in ways that are tested and known to be effective. An adaptive model accepts the problem definition and is concerned with resolving problems rather than finding them. This approach seeks greater efficiency while aiming at continuity and stability. The second and more creative approach is the innovative model of entrepreneurial problem solving, which uses techniques that are unknown to the market and that bring advantage to an organization. An innovative problem-solving style challenges the problem definition, discovers problems and avenues for their solutions, and questions existing assumptions—in a nutshell, it does things differently. It uses outside-the-box thinking and searches for novel solutions. Novelty is a shared trait of creative entrepreneurship, and it’s why entrepreneurs gravitate toward this method of problem solving. According to Dr. Shaun M. Powell, a senior lecturer at the University of Wollongong, Australia: “Creative entrepreneurs are notable for a distinctive management style that is based on intuition, informality and rapid decision making, whereas the more conventional thinking styles are not in accord with the unique attributes of creative entrepreneurs.” 4 This way of problem solving doesn’t alter an existing product. It is the creation of something entirely new.

For example, healthcare facilities have long been known as a source of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a deadly infection that can have long-term effects on patients. Vital Vio, led by Colleen Costello, has developed white light technology that effectively disinfects healthcare facilities by targeting a molecule specific to bacteria. The light, safe to humans, can burn constantly to kill regenerative bacteria. An adaptive problem-solving model would seek to minimize harm of MRSA within a hospital—to respond to it—whereas the Vital Vio is an entirely new technique that seeks to eliminate it. Adaptive solutions to MRSA include established processes and protocols for prevention, such as having doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers clean their hands with soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub before and after patient care, testing patients to see if they have MRSA on their skin, cleaning hospital rooms and medical equipment, and washing and drying clothes and bed linens in the warmest recommended temperatures. 5

LINK TO LEARNING

Visit Inc. Magazine for support and advice for up-and-coming startups to learn more. Examples of how “Dorm Room” entrepreneurs spot and pursue opportunities are shared along with tips and advice for making your startup a success.

Problem-Solving Skills

While identifying problems is a necessary part of the origin of the entrepreneurial process, managing problems is an entirely different aspect once a venture is off the ground and running. An entrepreneur does not have the luxury of avoiding problems and is often responsible for all problem solving in a startup or other form of business. There are certain skills that entrepreneurs possess that make them particularly good problem solvers. Let’s examine each skill (shown in Figure 6.3 ) .

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the complex analysis of a problem or issue with the goal of solving the problem or making a decision. The entrepreneur analyzes and peels away the layers of a problem to find the core of an issue facing a business. The entrepreneur focuses on the heart of the problem and responds reasonably and openly to suggestions for solving it. Critical thinking is not only important for developing entrepreneurial ideas: it is a sought-after asset in education and employment. Entrepreneur Rebecca Kantar dropped out of Harvard in 2015 to found the tech startup Imbellus, which aims to replace standardized college admissions tests like the SAT with interactive scenarios that test critical-thinking skills. Many standardized tests may include multiple choice questions asking for the answer to a straightforward knowledge question or math problem. Kantar seeks to create tests that are more concerned with the analytic ability and reasoning that goes into the process of solving the problem. Imbellus says it aims to test “how people think,” not just what they know. The platform, which has not yet launched, will use simulations for its user assessments. 6

Read more about problem solving and EnterpriseWorks/Vita’s story at Harvard Business Review .

Communication

Communication skills , the ability to communicate messages effectively to an intended recipient, are the skills entrepreneurs use to pool resources for the purposes of investigating solutions leading to innovative problem solving and competitive advantage. Good communication allows for the free association of ideas between entrepreneurs and businesses. It can illustrate a problem area or a shared vision, and seeks stakeholder buy-in from various constituencies. Networking and communication within an industry allow the entrepreneur to recognize the position of an enterprise in the market and work toward verbalizing solutions that move an organization beyond its current state. By “verbalizing,” we mean communication from and with the company/entity. Internal communications include company emails, newsletters, presentations, and reports that can set strategic goals and objectives, and report on what has been accomplished and what goals and objectives remain, so that employees within an organization are knowledgeable and can work on solving problems that remain within the organization. External communications could include press releases, blogs and websites, social media, public speeches, and presentations that explain the company’s solutions to problems. They could also be investor pitches complete with business plans and financial projections.

Ideation exercises, such as brainstorming sessions (discussed in Creativity, Innovation, and Invention , are good communication tools that entrepreneurs can use to generate solutions to problems. Another such tool is a hackathon —an event, usually hosted by a tech company or organization, which brings together programmers and workers with other degrees of specialization within the company, community, or organization to collaborate on a project over a short period of time. These can last from twenty-four hours to a few days over a weekend. A hackathon can be an internal company-wide initiative or an external event that brings community participants together. A business model canvas, which is covered in Business Model and Plan and other activities outlined in other chapters can be used internally or externally to identify problems and work toward creating a viable solution.

Networking is an important manifestation of useful communication. What better method is there of presenting one’s concept, gaining funding and buy-in, and marketing for the startup than through building a network of individuals willing to support your venture? A network may consist of potential employees, customers, board members, outside advisors, investors, or champions (people who just love your product) with no direct vested interest. Social networks consist of weak ties and strong ties. Sociologist Mark Granovetter studied such networks back in the 1970s, and his findings still apply today, even if we include social media networks in the definition too. Weak ties facilitate flow of information and community organization, he said, whereas strong ties represent strong connections among close friends, family members, and supportive coworkers. 7 Strong ties require more work to maintain than weak ties (as illustrated by the strong lines and weak dotted lines in Figure 6.4 ) and in a business context, they don’t lead to many new opportunities. Weak ties, in contrast, do open doors in that they act as bridges to other weak ties within functional areas or departments that you might not have had access to directly or through strong ties. 8

In fact, many young entrepreneurs, including tech entrepreneur Oliver Isaacs, realize college is a great place to begin building teams. Isaacs is the founder of viral opinion network Amirite.com, which is widely credited as the place where Internet memes started and online slang got a foothold. 9 Amirite.com consists of a large network of pages and partnerships on Facebook and Instagram that reach 15 million users each month. Isaacs recommends using your alumni network to build a team and customer base for your own venture because you never know if you’re talking to a future employee or partner.

Sharing of ideas and resources is highly valued in the entrepreneurial process. Communication is a vital skill in problem solving because the ability to identify and articulate the problem (define the problem space) is necessary to adequately address a problem. A problem can be too vague or broad or narrow. Thus, communicating the problem is important, as is conveying the solution.

Decisiveness

Decisiveness is as it sounds: the ability to make a quick, effective decision, not letting too much time go by in the process. Entrepreneurs must be productive, even in the face of risk. They often rely on intuition as well as on hard facts in making a choice. They ask what problem needs to be solved, think about solutions, and then consider the means necessary to implement an idea. And the decisions must be informed with research.

For example, as explained in Adam Grant’s book The Originals , the co-founders of Warby Parker, a venture-backed startup focused on the eyewear industry, started their company while they were graduate students. At the time they knew little about the industry, but after conducting some detailed research, they learned that the industry was dominated by one major player—Luxottica. They used this information and other data to refine their strategy and business model (focusing mainly on value, quality, and convenience via an online channel). By the time they decided to launch the business, they had thought through the key details, and they attained rapid early success. Today Warby Parker has over 100 retail stores in the US, is profitable, and is valued at almost $2 billion.

Decisiveness is the catapult to progress. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos preaches the importance of decisiveness throughout his organization. Bezos believes that decisiveness can even lead to innovation. Bezos advocates for making decisions after obtaining 70 percent of the information you need to do so: “Being wrong may be less costly than you think, whereas being slow is going to be expensive for sure,” Bezos wrote in a 2017 annual letter to stockholders. 10

Read this LinkedIn blog post on decisiveness to learn more.

Ability to Analyze Data

Data analysis is the process of analyzing data and modeling it into a structure that leads to innovative conclusions. Identifying Entrepreneurial Opportunity covered much of the sources of data that entrepreneurs might seek. But it is one thing to amass information and statistics. It is another to make sense of that data, to use it to fill a market need or forecast a trend to come. Successful founders know how to pose questions about and make meaning out of information. And if they can’t do that themselves, they know how to bring in experts who can.

In addition to public sources of broad data, a business can collect data on customers when they interact with the company on social media or when they visit the company website, especially if they complete a credit card transaction. They can collect their own specific data on their own customers, including location, name, activity, and how they got to the website. Analyzing these data will give the entrepreneur a better idea about the interested audience’s demographic.

In entrepreneurship, analyzing data can help with opportunity recognition, creation, and assessment by analyzing data in a variety of ways. Entrepreneurs can explore and leverage different data sources to identify and compare “attractive” opportunities, since such analyses can describe what has happened, why it happened, and how likely it is to happen again in the future. In business in general, analytics is used to help managers/entrepreneurs gain improved insight about their business operations/emerging ventures and make better, fact-based decisions.

Analytics can be descriptive, predictive, or prescriptive. Descriptive analytics involves understanding what has happened and what is happening; predictive analytics uses data from past performance to estimate future performance; and prescriptive analytics uses the results of descriptive and predictive analytics to make decisions. Data analysis can be applied to manage customer relations, inform financial and marketing activities, make pricing decisions, manage the supply chain, and plan for human resource needs, among other functions of a venture. In addition to statistical analysis, quantitative methods, and computer models to aid decision-making, companies are also increasingly using artificial intelligence algorithms to analyze data and make quick decisions.

Understanding of Business and Industry

Entrepreneurs need sound understanding of markets and industries. Often times, they are already working in a large organization when they see growth opportunities or inefficiencies in a market. The employee gains a deep understanding of the industry at hand. If the employee considers a possible solution for a problem, this solution might become the basis for a new business.

For example, consider a marketing agency that used traditional marketing for thirty years. This agency had an established clientele. An executive in the organization began studying social media analytics and social media. The executive approached the owner of the business to change processes and begin serving clients through social media, but the owner refused. Clients within the agency began to clamor for exposure on social media. The marketing executive investigated the possibility of building an agency in her locale servicing clients who wish to utilize social media. The marketing executive left the organization and started her own agency (providing, of course, that this is in compliance with any noncompete clauses in her contract). Her competitive advantage was familiarity with both traditional and social media venues. Later, the original agency started floundering because it did not offer social media advertising. Our intrepid executive purchased the agency to gain the clientele and serve those wishing to move away from traditional marketing.

A similar experience occurred for entrepreneur Katie Witkin. After working in traditional marketing roles, the University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate, pictured in Figure 6.5 , left agency life behind four years out of college to cofound her own company, AGW Group. In 2009, Witkin had been interning at a music marketing agency that didn’t have a social media department. She knew, both from her time at college and from observing industry trends, that social media was changing the way companies connected with customers. For her own venture, she expanded the focus to all supporting brands to manage all things digital. Today, the cultural and marketing communications agency has fifteen employees and big-name clients ranging from HBO to Red Bull. 11

Resourcefulness

Resourcefulness is the ability to discover clever solutions to obstacles. Sherrie Campbell, a psychologist, author, and frequent contributor to Entrepreneur magazine on business topics, put it this way: “There is not a more useful or important trait to possess than resourcefulness in the pursuit of success. Resourcefulness is a mindset, and is especially relevant when the goals you have set are difficult to achieve or you cannot envision a clear path to get to where you desire to go. With a resourcefulness mindset you are driven to find a way. An attitude of resourcefulness inspires out-of-the-box thinking, the generation of new ideas, and the ability to visualize all the possible ways to achieve what you desire. Resourcefulness turns you into a scrappy, inventive and enterprising entrepreneur. It places you a cut above the rest.” 12

Entrepreneurs start thinking about a business venture or startup by talking to people and procuring experts to help create, fund, and begin a business. Entrepreneurs are risk takers, passionate about new endeavors. If they don’t have a college degree or a great deal of business experience, they understand there are many resources available to support them in the endeavor, such as the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). There are many sources available to fund the business with little or no debt and options, as you will see in the chapter on Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting . The entrepreneur follows a vision and researches opportunities to move toward a dream.

For example, in the late 1990s, Bill McBean and his business partner Billy Sterett had an opportunity to buy an underperforming auto dealership that would make their company the dominant one in the market. Neither wanting to take cash from other ventures nor wanting to borrow more money and tie themselves to more debt, the entrepreneurs were resourceful by finding another path forward to obtaining the money necessary for the acquisition they both coveted. They changed banks and renegotiated their banking payback requirements, lowering their interest payments, reducing fees, and lowering their monthly payments, ultimately freeing up a significant amount of cash that allowed them to buy the new company. 13

Types of Problem Solvers

Entrepreneurs have an insatiable appetite for problem solving. This drive motivates them to find a resolution when a gap in a product or service occurs. They recognize opportunities and take advantage of them. There are several types of entrepreneurial problem solvers, including self-regulators, theorists, and petitioners.

Self-Regulating Problem Solvers

Self-regulating problem solvers are autonomous and work on their own without external influence. They have the ability to see a problem, visualize a possible solution to the problem, and seek to devise a solution, as Figure 6.6 illustrates. The solution may be a risk, but a self-regulating problem solver will recognize, evaluate, and mitigate the risk. For example, an entrepreneur has programmed a computerized process for a client, but in testing it, finds the program continually falls into a loop, meaning it gets stuck in a cycle and doesn’t progress. Rather than wait for the client to find the problem, the entrepreneur searches the code for the error causing the loop, immediately edits it, and delivers the corrected program to the customer. There is immediate analysis, immediate correction, and immediate implementation. The self-regulating problem solvers’ biggest competitive advantage is the speed with which they recognize and provide solutions to problems.

Theorist Problem Solvers

Theorist problem solvers see a problem and begin to consider a path toward solving the problem using a theory. Theorist problem solvers are process oriented and systematic. While managers may start with a problem and focus on an outcome with little consideration of a means to an end, entrepreneurs may see a problem and begin to build a path with what is known, a theory, toward an outcome. That is, the entrepreneur proceeds through the steps to solve the problem and then builds on the successes, rejects the failures, and works toward the outcome by experimenting and building on known results. At this point, the problem solver may not know the outcome, but a solution will arise as experiments toward a solution occur. Figure 6.7 shows this process.

For example, if we consider Marie Curie as an entrepreneur, Curie worked toward the isolation of an element. As different approaches to isolating the element failed, Curie recorded the failures and attempted other possible solutions. Curie’s failed theories eventually revealed the outcome for the isolation of radium. Like Curie, theorists use considered analysis, considered corrective action, and a considered implementation process. When time is of the essence, entrepreneurs should understand continual experimentation slows the problem-solving process.

Petitioner Problem Solvers

Petitioner problem solvers ( Figure 6.8 ) see a problem and ask others for solution ideas. This entrepreneur likes to consult a person who has “been there and done that.” The petitioner might also prefer to solve the problem in a team environment. Petitioning the entrepreneurial team for input ensures that the entrepreneur is on a consensus-driven path. This type of problem solving takes the longest to complete because the entrepreneur must engage in a democratic process that allows all members on the team to have input. The process involves exploration of alternatives for the ultimate solution. In organizational decision-making, for example, comprehensiveness is a measure of the extent a firm attempts to be inclusive or exhaustive in its decision-making. Comprehensiveness can be gauged by the number of scheduled meetings, the process by which information is sought, the process by which input is obtained from external sources, the number of employees involved, the use of specialized consultants and the functional expertise of the people involved, the years of historical data review, and the assignment of primary responsibility, among other factors. Comprehensive decision-making would be an example of a petitioner problem-solving style, as it seeks input from a vast number of team members.

A charette —a meeting to resolve conflicts and identify solutions—is another example that employs a petitioner problem-solving approach. Often times, a developer of a new project might hold a community charette to aid in the design of a project, hoping to gain approval from elected officials. In the building example, this could consist of the developer and his team of architects, project designers, and people with expertise in the project working alongside community members, business executives, elected officials, or representatives like staff members or citizen-appointed boards like a planning board. Such an activity is representative of a petitioner problem-solving approach, as opposed to a developer representative designing the project with no input from anyone else.

In summary, there is no right or wrong style of problem solving; each problem solver must rely on the instincts that best drive innovation. Further, they must remember that not all problem-solving methods work in every situation. They must be willing to adapt their own preference to the situation to maximize efficiency and ensure they find an effective solution. Attempting to force a problem-solving style may prevent an organization from finding the best solution. While general entrepreneurial problem-solving skills such as critical thinking, decisiveness, communication, and the ability to analyze data will likely be used on a regular basis in your life and entrepreneurial journey, other problem-solving skills and the approach you take will depend on the problem as it arises.

There are a number of resources online that can help analyze your problem-solving abilities. Mindtools.com is one such resource. These are useful to learn your general problem-solving tendencies before being called upon to apply them in a real-world setting. One of the problem-solving techniques available from mindtools.com offers that problems can be addressed from six different perspectives. Called CATWOE, the approach is an acronym for Customers, Actors (people within the organization), Transformative, Worldwide, Owner, and Environment (organizational).

Learn more about the CATWOE technique for problem solving.

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team

• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Business Insights →

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

• Career Development
• Communication
• Decision-Making
• Earning Your MBA
• Negotiation
• News & Events
• Productivity
• Staff Spotlight
• Student Profiles
• Work-Life Balance
• AI Essentials for Business
• Alternative Investments
• Business Analytics
• Business Strategy
• Business and Climate Change
• Design Thinking and Innovation
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Disruptive Strategy
• Economics for Managers
• Entrepreneurship Essentials
• Financial Accounting
• Global Business
• Launching Tech Ventures
• Leadership Principles
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
• Leading Change and Organizational Renewal
• Leading with Finance
• Management Essentials
• Negotiation Mastery
• Organizational Leadership
• Power and Influence for Positive Impact
• Strategy Execution
• Sustainable Business Strategy
• Sustainable Investing
• Winning with Digital Platforms

Why Problem-Solving Skills Are Essential for Leaders in Any Industry

• 17 Jan 2023

Any organization offering a product or service is in the business of solving problems.

Whether providing medical care to address health issues or quick convenience to those hungry for dinner, a business’s purpose is to satisfy customer needs .

In addition to solving customers’ problems, you’ll undoubtedly encounter challenges within your organization as it evolves to meet customer needs. You’re likely to experience growing pains in the form of missed targets, unattained goals, and team disagreements.

Yet, the ubiquity of problems doesn’t have to be discouraging; with the right frameworks and tools, you can build the skills to solve consumers' and your organization’s most challenging issues.

Here’s a primer on problem-solving in business, why it’s important, the skills you need, and how to build them.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is Problem-Solving in Business?

Problem-solving is the process of systematically removing barriers that prevent you or others from reaching goals.

Your business removes obstacles in customers’ lives through its products or services, just as you can remove obstacles that keep your team from achieving business goals.

Design Thinking

Design thinking , as described by Harvard Business School Dean Srikant Datar in the online course Design Thinking and Innovation , is a human-centered , solutions-based approach to problem-solving and innovation. Originally created for product design, design thinking’s use case has evolved . It’s now used to solve internal business problems, too.

The design thinking process has four stages :

• Clarify: Clarify a problem through research and feedback from those impacted.
• Ideate: Armed with new insights, generate as many solutions as possible.
• Develop: Combine and cull your ideas into a short list of viable, feasible, and desirable options before building prototypes (if making physical products) and creating a plan of action (if solving an intangible problem).
• Implement: Execute the strongest idea, ensuring clear communication with all stakeholders about its potential value and deliberate reasoning.

Using this framework, you can generate innovative ideas that wouldn’t have surfaced otherwise.

Creative Problem-Solving

Another, less structured approach to challenges is creative problem-solving , which employs a series of exercises to explore open-ended solutions and develop new perspectives. This is especially useful when a problem’s root cause has yet to be defined.

You can use creative problem-solving tools in design thinking’s “ideate” stage, which include:

• Brainstorming: Instruct everyone to develop as many ideas as possible in an allotted time frame without passing judgment.
• Divergent thinking exercises: Rather than arriving at the same conclusion (convergent thinking), instruct everyone to come up with a unique idea for a given prompt (divergent thinking). This type of exercise helps avoid the tendency to agree with others’ ideas without considering alternatives.
• Alternate worlds: Ask your team to consider how various personas would manage the problem. For instance, how would a pilot approach it? What about a young child? What about a seasoned engineer?

It can be tempting to fall back on how problems have been solved before, especially if they worked well. However, if you’re striving for innovation, relying on existing systems can stunt your company’s growth.

Related: How to Be a More Creative Problem-Solver at Work: 8 Tips

Why Is Problem-Solving Important for Leaders?

While obstacles’ specifics vary between industries, strong problem-solving skills are crucial for leaders in any field.

Whether building a new product or dealing with internal issues, you’re bound to come up against challenges. Having frameworks and tools at your disposal when they arise can turn issues into opportunities.

As a leader, it’s rarely your responsibility to solve a problem single-handedly, so it’s crucial to know how to empower employees to work together to find the best solution.

Your job is to guide them through each step of the framework and set the parameters and prompts within which they can be creative. Then, you can develop a list of ideas together, test the best ones, and implement the chosen solution.

Related: 5 Design Thinking Skills for Business Professionals

4 Problem-Solving Skills All Leaders Need

1. problem framing.

One key skill for any leader is framing problems in a way that makes sense for their organization. Problem framing is defined in Design Thinking and Innovation as determining the scope, context, and perspective of the problem you’re trying to solve.

“Before you begin to generate solutions for your problem, you must always think hard about how you’re going to frame that problem,” Datar says in the course.

For instance, imagine you work for a company that sells children’s sneakers, and sales have plummeted. When framing the problem, consider:

• What is the children’s sneaker market like right now?
• Should we improve the quality of our sneakers?
• Should we assess all children’s footwear?
• Is this a marketing issue for children’s sneakers specifically?
• Is this a bigger issue that impacts how we should market or produce all footwear?

While there’s no one right way to frame a problem, how you do can impact the solutions you generate. It’s imperative to accurately frame problems to align with organizational priorities and ensure your team generates useful ideas for your firm.

To solve a problem, you need to empathize with those impacted by it. Empathy is the ability to understand others’ emotions and experiences. While many believe empathy is a fixed trait, it’s a skill you can strengthen through practice.

When confronted with a problem, consider whom it impacts. Returning to the children’s sneaker example, think of who’s affected:

• Your organization’s employees, because sales are down
• The customers who typically buy your sneakers
• The children who typically wear your sneakers

Empathy is required to get to the problem’s root and consider each group’s perspective. Assuming someone’s perspective often isn’t accurate, so the best way to get that information is by collecting user feedback.

For instance, if you asked customers who typically buy your children’s sneakers why they’ve stopped, they could say, “A new brand of children’s sneakers came onto the market that have soles with more traction. I want my child to be as safe as possible, so I bought those instead.”

When someone shares their feelings and experiences, you have an opportunity to empathize with them. This can yield solutions to their problem that directly address its root and shows you care. In this case, you may design a new line of children’s sneakers with extremely grippy soles for added safety, knowing that’s what your customers care most about.

Related: 3 Effective Methods for Assessing Customer Needs

3. Breaking Cognitive Fixedness

Cognitive fixedness is a state of mind in which you examine situations through the lens of past experiences. This locks you into one mindset rather than allowing you to consider alternative possibilities.

For instance, your cognitive fixedness may make you think rubber is the only material for sneaker treads. What else could you use? Is there a grippier alternative you haven’t considered?

Problem-solving is all about overcoming cognitive fixedness. You not only need to foster this skill in yourself but among your team.

4. Creating a Psychologically Safe Environment

As a leader, it’s your job to create an environment conducive to problem-solving. In a psychologically safe environment, all team members feel comfortable bringing ideas to the table, which are likely influenced by their personal opinions and experiences.

If employees are penalized for “bad” ideas or chastised for questioning long-held procedures and systems, innovation has no place to take root.

By employing the design thinking framework and creative problem-solving exercises, you can foster a setting in which your team feels comfortable sharing ideas and new, innovative solutions can grow.

How to Build Problem-Solving Skills

The most obvious answer to how to build your problem-solving skills is perhaps the most intimidating: You must practice.

Again and again, you’ll encounter challenges, use creative problem-solving tools and design thinking frameworks, and assess results to learn what to do differently next time.

While most of your practice will occur within your organization, you can learn in a lower-stakes setting by taking an online course, such as Design Thinking and Innovation . Datar guides you through each tool and framework, presenting real-world business examples to help you envision how you would approach the same types of problems in your organization.

Are you interested in uncovering innovative solutions for your organization’s business problems? Explore Design Thinking and Innovation —one of our online entrepreneurship and innovation courses —to learn how to leverage proven frameworks and tools to solve challenges. Not sure which course is right for you? Download our free flowchart .

About the Author

Critical Thinking Crucial to Entrepreneurship

Apr 18, 2022

The students we serve, sometimes called Generation Next, are typically between 18 and 25 years of age and have grown up with personal computers, cell phones, the internet, text messaging and social media. They are taking their place in a world where the only constant is rapid change.  

Our entrepreneurship programs are focused on developing knowledge and critical thinking skills in an action-based, learn-by-doing setting. We see a new age of diversity coming — more diversity of backgrounds, more women and more younger people.

Characteristics we see in successful entrepreneurs which shape our thinking on programs and initiatives are:

• A sense of curiosity that allows them to continually challenge the status quo, explore different options and innovate
• A willingness to refine and validate their idea to determine whether it has potential
• The ability to adapt and keep moving forward when unexpected events occur
• The decisiveness to make challenging decisions and see them through
• The ability to build a team with complementary talents focused on a common goal
• A high risk tolerance and the ability to balance risk and reward
• Persistence, grit and the ability to deal with and learn from failure
• Critical thinking skills and a long-term focus which allows them to start, grow and sustain a business

In 1899, Charles Dewell, head of the U.S. Patent Office, recommended to President McKinley that the office should be closed because “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” History has proven and will continue to prove that vision to be woefully incorrect. Our take on the future has innovation and an increasingly diverse population of entrepreneurs playing a significant role in providing products and services across a broad range of solutions in health care, data analytics, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing, digital commerce, ease of use, social media, social and environmental responsibility, location-independent solutions serviced by more remote workers, as well as online learning, just to name a few.  

Our job is to help develop the critical thinking skills to enable Auburn students to lead and excel in these fields and many others.

Lou Bifano Director New Venture Accelerator

• Enrollment Details
• Tuition & Financial Aid
• General Track
• Hospitality and Tourism
• International Business
• International Field Study
• Testimonials
• MBA Graduate Certificates
• Leadership Conference
• WSU EMBA: Strength in Numbers
• Military Students
• Support Staff

Four Critical Skills of an Entrepreneur

November 9, 2023

View all blog posts under Articles

Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Coco Chanel, and Oprah Winfrey: what do all these household names have in common? They’re all entrepreneurs who rose to the top of their game thanks to the following important skills.

Advanced Critical Thinking Skills

It’s no coincidence that MBA programs focus on developing students’ capacity for critical thinking. Critical thinking is closely related to problem-solving, but it goes beyond that. As critical thinkers, entrepreneurs don’t merely solve problems. They solve problems in the best way.

Critical thinkers formulate a number of potential solutions to a problem and consider them all before deciding on the best one.

Superior Collaborative Skills

Many people think of entrepreneurs as individuals who’ve found success because they dared to go it alone rather than running with the pack. However, that doesn’t mean successful entrepreneurs work in isolation. Paul Allen was instrumental in Bill Gates' rise to the top. Steve Jobs might have been the public face of Apple, but Steve Wozniak was working just as hard behind the scenes.

Many successful entrepreneurs say knowing their weaknesses, as well as their strengths, is key to their achievements. When they recognize a weakness in themselves, they find people who excel in this area and work with them to achieve their goals.

Collaboration skills are crucial to this process. Successful entrepreneurs know how to communicate with the people around them. They clearly share the information they’ve gained and listen to input from others, understanding that their own ideas may not always be the best. They might be natural leaders, but they also understand how to work as part of a team.

Excellent Money Management Skills

Image via Flickr by reynermedia

You might employ an accountant or team of finance experts, but that doesn’t mean you can forget about the figures. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to have a sound understanding of your finances, cash flow, funding, and profits. You must feel confident with these numbers to feel confident making decisions about your budgets and revenue growth. Put simply, you must know how to manage money to successfully manage a business.

Superb Sales Skills

Many successful entrepreneurs don’t realize they’re using the same skills their sales team does every day. However, the clear communication, charisma, and persuasive powers sales professionals use are crucial for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs employ these skills when they negotiate with vendors, when they network with others in their industry, and when they seek out funding. Any time an entrepreneur looks to influence anyone in the business world, they’re using sales skills.

A lack of sales skills won’t just hinder your chances of success; it may even kill your business. One of the key reasons entrepreneurs fail is because they can’t secure funding. It’s easy to blame this problem on a tough economy, but in truth experts say a lack of trust is a more likely culprit. When you’re securing funding, you need to get investors to believe in you, your company, and your products or services. If you can’t, then your sales skills may need some work.

Cultivate these skills and you too may have what it takes to make it as a successful entrepreneur.

Recommended Reading:

• The EMBA Path for Entrepreneurs and Career Changers
• What Future Executives Can Learn from Poor Leadership
• 3 Ways to Better Prepare for an Executive-Level Interview

Learn more about our Online MBA programs

6.1 Problem Solving to Find Entrepreneurial Solutions

Problem solving involves more than making decisions. Problem solving is a necessary component of entrepreneurial genesis, used to manage your business and helpful in addressing everyday personal situations. Entrepreneurs must know their personal strengths and capitalize on applicable problem-solving methods to create innovative products. Moving a startup ahead of the competition requires the entrepreneur to use all problem-solving sources and skills in the entrepreneur’s tool box. Problem-solving models can be adaptive or innovative, the latter being more common among entrepreneurs. Problem-solving skills include critical thinking, communication, decisiveness, resourcefulness, business and industry awareness, and an ability to analyze data. There are various types of problem solvers, including self-regulating, theorist, and petitioner problem solvers.

6.2 Creative Problem-Solving Process

The creative problem-solving process is a logical process. The steps to the creative problem-solving process are clarify, ideate, develop, implement, and evaluate. Each step is an aid to creating a solution. The steps are repeated cyclically until the entrepreneur develops an innovative solution. When entrepreneurs experience creativity block, tools to alleviate the block are available. These tools include crowdsourcing, brainstorming, and storyboarding. Each of these tools assist the entrepreneur in innovative thinking.

6.3 Design Thinking

Design thinking in business and entrepreneurship was made prevalent by David Kelley, founder of Stanford University’s Design School and cofounder of design company IDEO. Design thinking, which espouses an HCD approach, can be applied beyond product and graphic design to include the design of social policy, business strategy, services, and digital interactions. The five stages as espoused in Stanford’s design thinking model are empathizing, defining, ideating, prototyping, and testing. There are numerous design thinking tools that help develop and carry out these processes from various organizations and companies, ranging from IDEO to Google.

6.4 Lean Processes

Lean process is a systematic process for maximizing continuous improvement through minimizing surplus or unused material in the production of a current process. With origins in manufacturing, the lean process can be applied to internal organizational processes as well as external product development. Lean process uses observation, assessment and evaluation, and whiteboarding techniques to solve problems.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/entrepreneurship/pages/1-introduction

• Authors: Michael Laverty, Chris Littel
• Publisher/website: OpenStax
• Book title: Entrepreneurship
• Publication date: Jan 16, 2020
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Book URL: https://openstax.org/books/entrepreneurship/pages/1-introduction
• Section URL: https://openstax.org/books/entrepreneurship/pages/6-summary

© Jan 4, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Elsevier - PMC COVID-19 Collection

Entrepreneurial thinking: A signature pedagogy for an uncertain 21st century

Houston peschl.

a University of Calgary Haskayne School of Business, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

Connie Deng

Nicole larson.

b University of Calgary Department of Psychology, 2500 University Dr NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

Associated Data

This paper outlines a pedagogical approach for entrepreneurship education, with a specific focus on students who do not necessarily identify as entrepreneurial. We advance seven essential and teachable entrepreneurial thinking skills (ET-7) to form future leaders: (1) problem solving, (2) tolerance for ambiguity, (3) failing forward, (4) empathy, (5) creativity with limited resources, (6) responding to critical feedback, and (7) teamwork approach. ET-7 offers an integrative framework that unites previously distinct perspectives of entrepreneurial competencies, and outlines how to teach and develop these skills in a 12-week mandatory entrepreneurship course through an innovative pedagogical approach. This approach to entrepreneurial education was built on the concept of a signature pedagogy (Shulman, 2005) and encompasses three components (i.e., the flipped classroom, learning through failure, and access to open educational resources). This pedagogical approach to entrepreneurial education supports entrepreneurial learning through experiential activities that simulate the environment entrepreneurs face. Thus, this paper contributes to the literature by outlining the entrepreneurial thinking skillset (ET-7) required to be successful in today's modern careers, along with considering the methods, tools, and pedagogy that is most likely to support ET-7 skill development.

1. Introduction

Undergraduate students will face a vast and increasing number of open, complex, dynamic, and networked problems in their future careers ( Dorst, 2015 ). For example, new graduates will work in many different sectors such as health care policy, alternative energy, and agriculture – all of which strive to innovate, and thus demand a new type of skillset and ways of thinking ( O'Connell, McNeely, & Hall, 2008 ). As such, new graduates require more than just explicit and procedural types of knowledge in order to be successful in today's changing technological, political, and social climates. We argue that all undergraduates require an entrepreneurial thinking skillset , which should not be limited to only nascent entrepreneurs. This will allow new graduates to adapt to the shifting needs of today's markets and industries. As educators, it is our responsibility to (1) identify the key competencies that will be essential for future leaders, and (2) offer the most effective methods of delivering entrepreneurial educational content in order to develop these new competencies.

Shulman (2005) defined the characteristic ways of teaching and learning competencies in a particular profession as a signature pedagogy . For a wide range of businesses, however, the previously valued professional competencies and skills are under threat from technological innovation as well as social and environmental pressure, which has led to significant disruption in many business models. For example, the impact of artificial intelligence, climate change, as well as global health and disease demonstrate that economic scenarios have radically changed over the past decade. The World Economic Forum (2019) highlighted these changing times, and commented: “Is the world sleepwalking into a crisis? Global risks are intensifying but the collective will to tackle them appears to be lacking” (p. 6). According to Shulman (2005) , uncertain social, economic, and environmental challenges provide the ideal conditions for creating a signature pedagogy. Thus, we argue that the time is ripe for refining the necessary entrepreneurial competencies required in the modern world, and for developing more innovative teaching approaches to impart these skills in the next generation of business leaders.

Our contribution is to demonstrate how to equip students with the necessary skills for managing uncertainty. We outline seven entrepreneurial skills (ET-7) and provide a practical pedagogical approach to developing them in undergraduate students. Specifically, the first author identified a set of essential and teachable skills based on a thorough literature review as well as his experience as a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and post-secondary educator. Using design thinking methods, we continuously tested, refined, and improved learning outcomes for an Entrepreneurial Thinking course at a large North American university over several years. New iterations of the course design were based on student experience and best practices from the scholarship of teaching and learning. The signature pedagogy advanced in the paper adopts multiple methods and tools including a flipped classroom, opportunities to fail forward, experiential exercises that allow for adaptive anxiety, and open educational resources. Briefly, the flipped classroom approach allows for concrete and operational learning through interrelated experiential activities. Failing forward creates a safe opportunity for students to experience failure and learn through it. Third, we developed open educational resources (see  https://failingforward.ca/ ), which promotes students’ self-directed learning readiness ( Tseng, 2013 ), as well as collaboration among a global community of entrepreneurship educators to build free content.

To date, separate streams of research for entrepreneurial skills and pedagogical methods tend to persist. Specifically, when entrepreneurial skills are delineated, pedagogical methods and tools are often not presented alongside, or lack sufficient detail for educators to replicate. Thus, it may be challenging for educators to determine the appropriate methods for developing entrepreneurial skills. We argue that entrepreneurial skills and the pedagogical methods used to teach them are uniquely intertwined, and thus should not be considered in isolation. As such, this conceptual paper aims to bridge the gap between the two, and provide an integrative framework for entrepreneurial education that considers both entrepreneurial skills as well as the associated pedagogical methods and tools used to develop such skills. In doing so, this work builds upon Boyles’ (2012) model for developing 21st century knowledge, skills, and abilities in undergraduate students. This paper also contributes to the debate around the development of a pedagogy for entrepreneurship education ( Bridge, 2017 ; Hägg & Gabrielsson, 2020 ; Jones, Penaluna, & Pittaway, 2014 ; Maritz, 2017 ; Matlay, 2017 ; Seow, Pan, & Koh, 2019 ).

In the subsequent sections we first review pedagogical methods in entrepreneurial education. Next, we review literature on entrepreneurial education and identify seven skills required to form an entrepreneurial skillset in undergraduate students who generally do not identify as entrepreneurial, which we refer to as Entrepreneurial Thinking (ET-7): (1) problem solving, (2) tolerance for ambiguity, (3) failing forward, (4) empathy, (5) creativity with limited resources, (6) responding to critical feedback, and (7) teamwork approach. These seven skills are not tacit knowledge like writing a business plan, but rather focused on skills that are essential for business leadership. Last, we outline how our signature pedagogy is able to develop ET-7 through (1) the flipped classroom, (2) experiential learning activities, and (3) open educational resources (OER), which can be used to disseminate this pedagogy globally at no cost. 1

2. The evolution of entrepreneurship education

In the past, research in entrepreneurship education focused on how to overcome the myth that entrepreneurs are born, not made ( Kuratko, 2005 ). This debate centered around a trait-based versus a competency-based approach. The trait-based approach argues that entrepreneurs are born with unique, innate traits that cannot be learned ( Farhangmehr, Gonçalves, & Sarmento, 2016 ). The competency approach, however, argues that with experience and training, entrepreneurship can be developed and learned ( Kyndt & Baert, 2015 ). In support of the trait-based approach, some research found differences in entrepreneurs’ personality traits in comparison to managers (e.g., risk propensity, Stewart & Roth, 2001 ; achievement motivation, Stewart & Roth, 2007 ; big five personality dimensions, Zhao & Seibert, 2006 ) as well as in comparison to a sample of non-entrepreneurs (achievement motivation; Collins, Hanges, & Locke, 2004 ). This research suggests that there may be some innate qualities that entrepreneurs possess, however, personality traits do not fully explain entrepreneurial activity and success. As such, factors other than personality can contribute to entrepreneurial activity and enhance entrepreneurial success. For example, individuals are not born knowing how to write a business plan or how to identify opportunities. These skills can be taught and enhanced through education ( Kyndt & Baert, 2015 ; Man, Lau, & Chan, 2002 ). Accordingly, the question has shifted from whether entrepreneurship can be taughtto how it can be taught.

Early pedagogical methods in entrepreneurship education included traditional approaches such as lectures and were aimed at nascent entrepreneurs ( Hägg & Gabrielsson, 2020 ). Such methods emphasize a behaviorist paradigm grounded on transmission and reproduction of knowledge, encouraging passivity in student learning ( Nabi, Liñán, Fayolle, Krueger, & Walmsley, 2017 ). Movement away from these passive methods signified greater recognition that entrepreneurs learn from experience ( Rae & Carswell, 2000 ), whether positive or negative ( Cope, 2011 ; Politis & Gabrielsson, 2009 ). As such, more hands-on learning emerged in the 2000s when entrepreneurship education began to emphasize real-world opportunities and experience as an effective teaching method ( Hägg & Gabrielsson, 2020 ). Problem-based learning ( Tan & Ng, 2012 ), student business start-ups, live cases, and simulations ( Kassean, Vanevenhoven, Liguori, & Winkel, 2015 ) were reported as key pedagogical methods. These methods encourage active learning through solving real-life problems, which enable knowledge and learning to be more readily transferable to the real world ( Nabi et al., 2017 ). Furthermore, these methods introduced an experimental element that traditional pedagogies lack. Scholars emphasize that experimentation is important as it allows a learner to test and validate different assumptions, and then learn from the results of these experiments ( Brush, Neck, & Greene, 2015 ). As such, the role of the student becomes increasingly involved with greater use of hands-on approaches and learning by doing, while the role of the instructor becomes more of a facilitator in the student's learning process ( Neck & Corbett, 2018 ).

These active learning methods reflect both a constructivist and experiential learning approach to teaching and learning ( Hägg & Gabrielsson, 2020 ; Nabi et al., 2017 ). First, the constructivist approach suggests that “learning involves actively participating in the construction of new understanding” ( Nabi et al., 2017 , p. 280). Relatedly, experiential learning theory defines learning as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” ( Kolb & Kolb, 2005 , p. 194). Experiential learning is a holistic integrative perspective that combines experience, perception, cognition, and behavior ( Kolb, 2015 ). In an experiential learning activity, students gain concrete experiences that enable reflective observation of the situation. This reflection is followed by an abstract conceptualization (i.e., thinking stage), which pushes students toward action (i.e., active experimentation stage). Taken together, both approaches emphasize the central role of the learner as being an active participant in learning experiences. Such approaches facilitate “deep learning whereby students develop a personal understanding of the material rather than simply retention of knowledge” ( Phillips & Trainor, 2014 , p. 106).

Although scholars have advocated for more action-oriented and experiential pedagogical methods in entrepreneurship education (e.g., Jones & English, 2004 ), the outcome measures used to assess the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education may not be appropriate. For example, previous research has focused on understanding the relationship between entrepreneurship education and the intention or the attitude to engage in entrepreneurial activity ( Liñán, Rodríguez-Cohard, & Rueda-Cantuche, 2011 ; Maresch, Harms, Kailer, & Wimmer-Wurm, 2016 ; Sánchez, 2013 ; Zulfiqar, Sarwar, Aziz, Ejaz Chandia, & Khan, 2018 ). Because individuals’ entrepreneurial intentions (EI) are frequently used to predict entrepreneurial activity ( Dickson, Solomon, & Weaver, 2008 ), EI has become a key outcome criteria for entrepreneurial courses ( Farhangmehr et al., 2016 ).

Interestingly, findings regarding the impact of entrepreneurship education on students' EI has been mixed, with some research finding increased EI (e.g., Rauch & Hulsink, 2015 ), decreased EI (e.g., Oosterbeek, van Praag, & Ijesselstein, 2010 ; von Graevenitz, Harhoff, & Weber, 2010 ), or no effect on EI (e.g., Fayolle & Gailly, 2015 ). A meta-analysis examining the relationship between entrepreneurship education and EI found a small positive relationship, which became non-significant when controlling for students' initial EI ( Bae, Qian, Miao, & Fiet, 2014 ). Fayolle and Gailly (2015) argued that initial beliefs and prior exposure to entrepreneurship may have a stronger influence on post EI than the entrepreneurship course itself. As such, EI may not be an appropriate measure of effectiveness. Furthermore, EI does not indicate whether the entrepreneurship education course was able to successfully impart students with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate through complex environments. In other words, the narrow focus on students’ EI overlooks the core competencies and skills that are required in order to become a successful entrepreneur ( Neck & Greene, 2011 ). Thus, we argue that other indicators such as skill development, may be more useful to measure, especially in students who do not identify as entrepreneurial.

In order to expand outcome measures beyond EI, we first need to clearly identify and delineate the specific entrepreneurial skills that are required in modern society. Furthermore, we need to recognize that not all students will become entrepreneurs, and many have no interest in doing so. Yet, organizations are continuously innovating and changing, which require leaders and employees to be adaptable, creative, tolerant to change, and have the ability to solve complex problems. Accordingly, it is important to recognize the value of these skills for undergraduate students across all disciplines, not just for those pursuing entrepreneurship. Extant literature has primarily focused on those who have self-selected into an entrepreneurship course (e.g., graduate entrepreneurship courses; Nabi & Holden, 2008 ), however, our discussion goes beyond current literature by describing how entrepreneurial skills can be developed in students who do not identify as entrepreneurial.

3. Identifying entrepreneurial thinking skills

Through a review of the literature, we identified several skills that previous work has described as necessary competencies for entrepreneurial activity 2 (e.g., Bacigalupo, Kampylis, Punie, & Van den Brande, 2016 ; Davis, Hall, & Meyer, 2016 ; Kier & McMullen, 2018 ; Morris, Webb, Fu, & Singhal, 2013 ). More specifically, subject matter experts (i.e., first author and scholars in entrepreneurial education) created an exhaustive list of entrepreneurial skills that were derived from the literature. Next, each skill was sorted into a cluster according to overlapping themes, and these categories were then named according to the content they best captured. This process allowed us to identify both unique and overlapping entrepreneurial skills that have been considered in other work. Thus, ET-7 is based on (a) the most dominant categories that emerged from the literature, (b) underemphasized skills that have the potential to add value in entrepreneurial education, and (c) skills that can be taught to undergraduate business students who are nascent entrepreneurs. In this section, we: 1) link the entrepreneurial competencies identified in the literature with our proposed ET-7 skills, and 2) describe how ET-7 adds value to the entrepreneurial education literature, as well as to educators.

3.1. Emerging themes

We focus on three previous comprehensive descriptions of entrepreneurial skills that have been linked to entrepreneurial activity (i.e., Bacigalupo et al., 2016 ; Davis, Hall, & Mayer, 2016 ; Kier & McMullen, 2018 ). Kier and McMullen (2018) drew upon the concept of imagination as a method of building cognitive skills to drive the process of generating and selecting new venture ideas. They conceptualized three distinct forms of imaginativeness: practical, creative, and social. The second framework we drew from is the Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile (EMP) from Davis et al. (2016) , which describes both personality traits and skills. However, we focus only on the skill component outlined by these authors. Lastly, Bacigalupo et al. (2016) presented the EntreComp, which is an entrepreneurial competency framework consisting of 15 skills. After carefully examining and sorting this exhaustive list of entrepreneurial skills, seven major themes emerged, which subsequently formed the ET-7 framework presented here.

• Theme 1: Problem-solving. One theme that clearly emerged from previous literature and the aforementioned frameworks was problem-solving. For example, practical imaginativeness describes the cognitive capacity to connect, make inferences, and to solve problems. Related, the EMP describes idea generation, which is the ability to create multiple and novel business ideas, and thus involves the capacity to think of multiple solutions. Problem-solving is further captured in detail within EntreComp ( Bacigalupo et al., 2016 ), which describes three relevant skills that we grouped under problem-solving: 1) spotting opportunities, which is related to imagination and the ability to identify opportunities for creating value, 2) taking initiative, in which entrepreneurs strive to achieve goals, and 3) mobilizing resources, which involves gathering and managing resources. Notably, the EntreComp captures an aspect of problem-solving that is unique but critical: the ability to gather the required resources to execute a solution. Together, these skills describe key aspects of problem-solving (i.e., identifying a problem, coming up with solutions, and executing a plan to solve the problem).
• Theme 2: Tolerance for ambiguity. Another theme that emerged from the review is tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. Recently, this theme has taken on greater significance for successful business strategy with the Covid-19 global pandemic and the ever increasing challenges climate change has on global economics and business models. Tolerance for ambiguity is clearly reflected in EntreComp's skill “coping with uncertainty, ambiguity and risk,” which helps entrepreneurs face unexpected situations that are common in the entrepreneurial context. Furthermore, the EMP describes optimism, which reflects the importance of maintaining a positive attitude, especially in contexts where there is a high level of uncertainty. Thus, tolerance for ambiguity is a skill that entails the ability to cope with and accept an uncertain future as well as the ability to maintain an optimistic attitude throughout.
• Theme 3: Failing forward. A third theme that emerged is failing forward, which reflects an individual's ability to learn from their experiences, especially from negative ones. This is reflected in EntreComp's “learning through experience” competency which emphasizes learning by doing. Similarly, the EMP also reflects this theme through two skills: 1) self-confidence, which is belief in one's skills and talents, and 2) persistence, which is the ability to bounce back and keep trying after disappointment. Furthermore, failing forward is also reflected through practical imaginativeness, such that making inferences involves the ability to extrapolate lessons from one's experiences for use in future situations.
• Theme 4: Empathy. A fourth theme that emerged is empathy. EMP named this skill interpersonal sensitivity, which is a concern for the well-being of others. Social imaginativeness maps onto this skill because it is related to considering different perspectives, intentions, and emotions of others. Consequently, these skills together describe a larger theme of empathy, which emphasizes the ability to take the perspective of another and consider their needs. EntreComp, on the other hand, does not clearly have skills that map onto empathy. For example, EntreComp delineates a partially relevant competency, “self-awareness and self-efficacy,” which reflects our belief in ourselves. While self-awareness may be useful in understanding how one's action has an impact on others, self-efficacy describes a more stable characteristic that has less overlap with one's ability to view others' perspectives.
• Theme 5: Creativity with limited resources. Being creative with limited resources was another theme that emerged as a critical competency. EntreComp reflects this clearly through their creativity competency, which involves developing purposeful ideas. Relatedly, creative imaginativeness describes this theme because it entails the creation of new ideas through drawing connections from existing knowledge. Furthermore, EMP's persistence and self-confidence skills are also important to this theme as one must also be willing to try multiple ideas and experiment with the limited resources they have. As such, these entrepreneurial skills together describe a theme of creativity with limited resources through emphasizing the ability to come up with multiple new ideas about how to improve a business model, to quickly and cheaply test these ideas, and not become constrained with the limited available means.
• Theme 6: Responding to feedback. The ability to respond to critical feedback was identified as a sixth major theme. The EntreComp captures this theme through two competencies. The first is valuing ideas, which invokes the ability to listen to others' perspectives and decide how best to proceed with the idea. The second is motivation and perseverance, which helps entrepreneurs to stay focused and not give up in situations when they receive negative or conflicting perspectives from others. Importantly, the EMP reflects this theme through: 1) future focus, which emphasizes the ability to think beyond the current context, and 2) execution, which is the ability to implement ideas. Both of which enable an individual's ability to find and act on the feedback received from others. Relatedly, practical imaginativeness is useful for responding to critical feedback by finding connections and drawing inferences from multiple sources of feedback, and may be particularly useful for feedback that lacks detail or is conflicting. As such, this theme emphasizes the ability to value and make use of feedback received.
• Theme 7: Teamwork approach. The last theme that we identified is related to teamwork. In EntreComp, this is reflected in the following skills: 1) mobilizing others, which is a leadership competence that helps entrepreneurs inspire followers to embrace their ideas, and 2) working with others, which is the ability to work collaboratively with others. However, there is less overlap with the competencies in EMP and Kier and McMullen's (2018) work, but nonetheless this theme captures a key skill that is increasingly important as new graduates are required to work in team settings ( Riebe, Girardi, & Whitsed, 2016 ). This theme describes a teamwork approach that emphasizes collaboration, perspective-taking, and a leadership oriented method of working with various individuals.

Table 1 summarizes these different conceptualizations of entrepreneurial competencies from which we shaped our pedagogical entrepreneurial thinking approach and the associated ET-7. We labelled ET-7 clearly to reflect the core underlying feature of each skill. There is not complete overlap in ET-7 and the aforementioned models, but we believe our framework sufficiently captures and summarizes the vast array of competencies delineated in prior work. Accordingly, the ET-7 offers a more all-encompassing condensed set of teachable competencies that will advance the entrepreneurial education literature. It is worth noting here that skills focusing on the managerial competencies or tacit knowledge of a profitable venture (e.g., raising financial capital, writing a business plan), were not considered as the students are required to take multiple courses to develop these skills. While students were required to complete deliverables that covered these technical skills, ET-7 emphasizes the soft skills required to tackle open and complex problems.

Entrepreneurial skills.

Note: Not all of the competencies from EntreComp mapped onto ET-7 such as financial and economic literacy as these skills are not relevant to ET. Other competencies such as planning and management, are embedded in the coursework and are not formally addressed.

3.2. The value of ET-7

While the three frameworks discussed above (i.e., imaginativeness, EMP, and EntreComp) provided a useful overview of entrepreneurial skills, they come with their own set of limitations. First, Kier and McMullen (2018) used imaginativeness to delineate the cognitive skills required of entrepreneurs, however, this was captured using three broad features of imaginativeness. As seen on Table 1 , each of them encompassed many different types of skills and thus lack sufficient detail, which leads to ambiguity in both developing and measuring such competencies. Second, while Davis et al.’s (2016) EMP delineate entrepreneurial skills with terminology that is more frequently used across disciplines, their framework also contains personality traits, which focus on innate components that are arguably less teachable. Third, Bacigalupo et al.’s (2016) EntreComp framework includes a comprehensive list that may be too detailed, complex, and nuanced. It may be challenging for educators to develop appropriate and effective methods of teaching this exhaustive list of competencies, which we argue can be trimmed into a smaller set of competencies.

Accordingly, the ET-7 addresses the aforementioned limitations by (a) integrating competencies outlined in previous frameworks, (b) focusing on teachable skills rather than stable individual differences, and (c) delineating a set of skills that are broad enough to capture the competencies required in today's modern work environment, yet offers the specificity needed to target and develop each competency in the classroom. Moreover, we felt that empathy, and teamwork approach, were not well represented in previous research, and therefore the ET-7 improves our understanding of why these additional skills are important and how they can be taught. In summary, we condensed the number of entrepreneurial competencies represented in past research and identified critical yet underemphasized skills. The resulting ET-7 framework represents teachable skills, which we argue are the cornerstones of entrepreneurial education.

As previously noted, many entrepreneurial skill frameworks lack a consideration of the pedagogical methods needed to develop these skills in students. Although enterprise and entrepreneurship education guides (e.g., QAA, 2018 ) have recommended action-based and experiential learning strategies, there is a lack of information with respect to the specific tools, activities, and methods used to target and teach specific entrepreneurial skills. This highlights a gap between the two streams of entrepreneurship literature that this paper aims to bridge. Next, we describe how these skills can be taught and reinforced in entrepreneurial courses.

4. Teaching entrepreneurial thinking

Above we reviewed previous attempts to describe the competencies required by entrepreneurs, and have linked these skills with ET-7. Although much work has been conducted to identify entrepreneurial skillsets, less work has been done on how these skills can be taught. Despite research claiming that entrepreneurial skills can be taught ( Henry, Hill, & Leitch, 2005 ; von Graevenitz et al., 2010 ), they are rarely presented alongside methods aimed to teach such skills. For example, active and experiential pedagogical methods are common in entrepreneurship education ( Hägg & Gabrielsson, 2020 ), and incorporating such methods can facilitate skill development ( Nabi et al., 2017 ). However, these pedagogical methods often lack sufficient detail to successfully implement in practice. As such, we address this gap by first describing the course context, then providing a definition of each of the ET-7 skills, which is then followed by an example of a teaching method or activity that targets the development of each skill.

4.1. Course context

The Entrepreneurial Thinking course is a mandatory 12-week course created for all second-year business undergraduate students. This course was not designed to motivate students to become successful entrepreneurs; rather, the goal was to teach them skills that a successful entrepreneur would exhibit. These skills are considered to be increasingly essential across a variety of professional roles that students may assume in their future careers. The decision to create this course was based on industry demand for new graduates to be equipped with skills that included problem solving, adaptability, working with uncertainty, and learning from failures. The challenge to meet these requirements were twofold. First, the scalability of teaching ET-7 presented a significant challenge given that the total enrolment for one academic year, across two semesters, is between 600 and 800 students. Second, many of these students did not consider entrepreneurial skills relevant to their majors (e.g., Entrepreneurship Majors represent approximately 4% of the undergraduate business student body versus Accounting Majors representing 60%). Thus, in addition to developing the ET-7 skills, the course had to be both scalable and of practical relevance across non-entrepreneurship business majors.

4.2. Skill 1: problem solving

We define problem-solving as the ability to follow an entrepreneurial method to solve complex problems and execute innovative, yet practical solutions. For example, we draw on both Kembel's (2007) Design Thinking methodology (empathize, define problem, ideate, prototype, test) and Ries' (2011) Lean Start Up method (build, measure, learn, cycle) to establish a set of steps to guide students through the process of learning and problem-solving.

Undergraduate students will face complex problems no matter what career path they follow. Problem-solving is the process that is used when searching for or creating solutions to a challenge or multiple challenges within a larger system. This skill is vital to entrepreneurs as it allows them to deal with real-life problems that need to be solved, and can ideally be monetized. As stated by Snyder and Snyder (2008) , for students to be effective in the work place, they must be able to solve problems and come up with effective solutions. However, this requires defining what is considered to be a problem. Mayer (1989) suggested that problems consist of the current state, the goal state, and obstacles between the current and goal states. The complexity and difficulty of the obstacles faced between the current and goal state may be exacerbated by the type of problem a student encounters. For example, Mayer (1989) distinguished between routine and nonroutine problems. Routine problems are familiar and often only require automatic answers or well-known procedures in order to be solved ( Mayer, 1989 ). Nonroutine problems, however, are unfamiliar in which well-known solutions and procedures cannot be applied ( Mayer, 1989 ). Solving these types of problems requires “productive thinking,” which involves adopting creative approaches, experimentation, and new ways of thinking. Education has previously focused on challenging students to solve routine problems, rather than nonroutine ones ( Mayer, 1989 ). However, in the business environment, the emphasis is largely on an individual's ability to solve non-routine problems.

Student learning experience. It is important to identify pedagogical methods that allow students to develop problem-solving skills that are transferable to the real world ( Nabi et al., 2017 ). In week one, students are required to identify a problem in society in which a solution does not currently exist, or the solution can be improved. Eighteen worksheets were developed to guide the students over the course, and served as the foundation for a flipped classroom model. The first worksheet is an “opportunity identification” exercise. This activity required students to find a problem, identify who has it, research whether solutions exist, and outline why the solutions are failing. During week two, students present their best problem and receive critical feedback from their peers. As a result of this exercise, students either abandon their problem or significantly improve their problem definition. This activity demonstrates that the process of problem solving is not static, and it continuously evolves with expanded available means ( Sarasvathy, 2001 ). In the next step, students are required to interview three individuals who have experience with their identified problem. This is guided by another worksheet to ensure students are asking the right type of questions. After conducting these interviews, students may realize that they need to evolve their problem or solution once more, which emphasizes the importance of pivoting. Thus, the focus is to develop an innovative and validated solution that engages and develops students’ problem-solving skills.

4.3. Skill 2: tolerance for ambiguity

We define tolerance for ambiguity as students’ ability to accept a degree of uncertainty, yet remain motivated to test their ideas and push them forward despite future threats and uncertainty. Students must become comfortable with uncertain outcomes, and be willing to conduct rapid and cheap experiments to gather enough information to make a decision without the certainty that it is the correct decision.

Given that entrepreneurs navigate through uncertain environments , some degree of failure is inevitable. Uncertainty is expected mainly in the early stage of a venture when the product and/or its commercial application are not yet fully developed or explored ( Politis & Gabrielsson, 2009 ). With respect to new graduates, they are likely to experience uncertainty when they begin to enter the workforce and take on new careers. Thus, the ability to adapt and develop a tolerance for ambiguous circumstances has become increasingly necessary in the global workplace ( Herman, Stevens, Bird, Mendenhall, & Oddou, 2009 ).

Other associated concepts are Intolerance of Ambiguity (IA) and Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), which are both defined as cognitive processes employed in the interpretation of the environment ( Grenier, Barrette, & Ladouceur, 2005 ). For some individuals, uncertainty and ambiguity are more likely to trigger cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions such as discomfort, anxiety, and the avoidance of a situation. Importantly, Grenier et al. (2005) explained that IA is related to stimulus in the present (“here and now”), while IU embraces threat components located in the future. Differentiating between these concepts highlight aspects of ambiguity that are essential for students to develop; a future tolerance for ambiguity as well as in the present.

Student learning experience. During week three, students present their problem, solution, and customer segment to multiple external advisors who are business and technical professionals. Prior to this event, the students are given a worksheet to help them prepare a 30-second pitch of their idea. During the event, each student presents their pitch to the advisors and the advisors rapidly ask them questions and challenge the student's idea. At the end of the pitch, the student receives a simple score card in the form of traffic lights. All green lights mean the student can persist with the idea, yellow suggests that the student needs to conduct more research, and red means there are significant flaws. This activity enables students to gather multiple, often conflicting information and advice, which creates uncertainty in how to proceed next. The key element in this experiential activity is that students must make a decision on whether they will pivot their idea, persevere with their idea, or abandon their idea completely and start with a new idea. They then have to write a graded personal reflection on their decision making process and identify next steps.

4.4. Skill 3: failing forward

We define failing forward as the ability for students to learn from their failures, and reflect on how to prevent or minimize the failure from occurring in the future. This skill is developed when students understand how to minimize loss if their idea fails. Learning from failure is crucial because it creates a mindset of perseverance. Politis and Gabrielsson (2009) highlighted the significance of experiential learning as it related to failures, and recognized that failure plays an important role for learning and personal development. Learning from failure, however, cannot be considered an automatic process ( Shepherd, 2003 ). How an individual interprets and responds to failure is an attitude that should be considered in a learning context ( Politis & Gabrielsson, 2009 ). As Shepherd (2003) argued, business failure promotes a negative emotional response (e.g., grief) which delays the individual's learning. To learn from failure, entrepreneurs should recover from the negative emotional response, and use the information about their failure to revise their existing knowledge ( Shepherd, 2003 ).

Muehlfeld, Urbig, and Iitzel (2017) found that when compared to others, entrepreneurs had a higher likelihood of persisting in the face of failures. These authors further discuss that “rather than simply being averse to losses, their persistence when faced with adversity may partially result from accepting losses as an inevitable part of exploratory learning” (p. 535). It is crucial to shift the managerial mindset that links failure with its negative associations ( Cannon & Edmondson, 2005 ); failure is part of what allows entrepreneurs to create their path of learning, and thus fail forward. The classroom can be considered the perfect place to develop the failing forward skill. In the classroom, inexperienced entrepreneurs may find a secure and controlled environment to test and pivot their ideas, without any of the financial, social, and psychological costs associated with business failure ( Ucbasaran, Shepherd, Lockett, & Lyon, 2013 ).

Student learning experience. We have positioned many of our experiential exercises to create student experiences that result in adaptive anxiety. This means that the students are put into situations where they have incomplete information and would ideally like to have more information in order to make a decision about their next step. Every week, we ask the students to conduct a small experiment to learn more about their problem, solution, or customer segment. After the experiment is complete (e.g., building a landing page and getting customers to sign up for more information about the solution), they are asked if they will pivot, persevere, or abandon their idea. This gives students ample opportunity to experience small failures through these weekly experiments, whereby students may realize they have an untenable idea and need to abandon it. This “failure” allows them to learn quickly, move “forward,” and re-focus their valuable time and resources on a new idea, which they need to develop immediately. The key learning outcome is that the students reflect on their journey through these failures, and can still achieve a high grade despite failed ideas because the emphasis is on the process of failing forward.

4.5. Skill 4: empathy

We define empathy as a skill that allows a student to take the perspective of another person, even if they have different backgrounds or life experiences. Individuals with a higher level of empathy may be more likely to see the perspective of others, and thus may be more apt to help them ( Axtell, Parker, Holman, & Totterdell, 2007 ). As Wiggins and McTighe (2005) pointed out, empathy “is not simply an affective response or sympathy over which we have little control, but the disciplined attempt to feel as others feel, to see as others see” (p. 98). Based on this description, empathy is an important skill taught in diverse fields that entail human relationships, such as law ( Rosenberg, 2002 ), medicine ( Shapiro, Morrison, & Boker, 2014 ), and social work ( Gerdes, Segal, Jackson, & Mullins, 2011 ). Empathy is also a highly relevant skill needed in the business context. If organizations want to attract and retain customers, they must provide high-quality customer service that is based on the act of perspective-taking ( Schneider & Bowen, 2009 ). Furthermore, empathy is likely to facilitate the ability to design and deliver new products that will be adopted by customers, which is essential for maintaining competitiveness in the market (e.g., identifying the customer's pain points). The education context has recognized the importance of this skill, and more recent pedagogical approaches have highlighted this skill in the classroom (e.g., Armstrong, 2016 ).

Student learning experience. We introduce design thinking methodology in week two, during which students complete a 2-hour experiential learning activity called the gift giving exercise, created by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (n.d.). We modified the exercise significantly in order to accommodate a class of 80 students. This activity requires students to solve a problem that they have never experienced, which promotes the use of empathetic insight in finding the correct solution. This introduces the importance of asking the correct questions and understanding others’ perspective and experience. Students must then seek an individual from their customer segment to interview. To assist students, we have modified an empathy map worksheet which provides students with a list of questions to ask in order to gain a better understanding of how the customer feels, the problem they are facing, and their perspective. Students must then write a personal reflection on what they learned from this interview, and how it will inform their next steps. Many students pivot their solution, or modify their problem based on their empathy map interview.

4.6. Skill 5: creativity with limited resources

We define creativity with limited resources as the student's ability to combine their available means (e.g., their social network) to develop their ideas and conduct fast experiments to determine if they are on the correct path. Creativity is more than an innate ability; it can be achieved through hard work, experience, and searching for solutions in innovative ways ( Amabile, 1996 ; Puccio & Cabra, 2010 ). Within the entrepreneurship literature, creativity encompasses “the development of a novel idea, product or problem solution that is of value to the individual and/or a larger social group” ( Eggers, Lovelace, & Kraft, 2017 , p. 267). Importantly, creativity with limited resources is also crucial for entrepreneurs in order to overcome initial constraints involved in creating a new venture, which is often associated with a scarcity of resources ( Lin & Nabergoj, 2014 ). Among these scarce resources, capital is often one of the most important resources required to start a new business. Furthermore, resources related to the organizational infrastructure have to be built, such as corporate practices, policies, and routines ( Mosakowski, 2002 ). Consequently, entrepreneurs must be creative in how they gather and use the resources required to initiate their start-up ( Ward, 2004 ).

Based on the importance of this skill, attempts to teach creativity have been described in the entrepreneurship education literature. For example, Baker and Baker (2012) argued that pedagogical methods employed in art schools to promote creativity should be applied in business schools. These methods focus on three strategies: (1) processes that foster a climate of exploration and reflection, (2) a liberal arts education that illuminates personal and societal attributes, and increases scientific knowledge, as well as (3) observational skills that expand the student's capacity for empathy and enhances problem-solving ( Baker & Baker, 2012 ). By adopting this approach in teaching and learning practices, business schools can develop students' reflection and promote creativity through exploratory practices and observational skills.

Student learning experience. Students are required to create a prototype of their final idea by week 12 and present it to their customer for feedback. They are not allowed to spend any money, and they are given one week to create the prototype. This lack of available means forces the students to be creative in order to complete this task. Many students will reach out to peers who are in computer science or liberal arts to help them create models. For example, some students have used Lego and duct tape to make a physical representation. Once the prototype is created, students present it to their customer segment for feedback which fosters reflection and empathy.

4.7. Skill 6: responding to critical feedback

We define responding to critical feedback as the willingness and ability to listen to the input and opinions provided by others, and to integrate such feedback to make an informed decision on how to proceed. A consistent element of entrepreneurship is uncertainty; navigating this context requires the ability to be comfortable with receiving critical feedback, and the ability to seek such feedback in order to adjust appropriately to demands. Thus, the development of students' feedback orientation, or their overall receptivity to feedback ( London & Smither, 2002 ), allows students to “seek, receive, interpret, and use feedback information and indirectly shape the performance outcomes” ( Dahling, Chau, & O'Malley, 2012 , p. 532). As such, students with higher feedback orientations are more likely to find value in feedback and act on it, and are less likely to ignore feedback from their environment ( Linderbaum & Levy, 2010 ).

Feedback-seeking behavior has been studied as a way to gauge how an individual pursues his/her skill development and explore how it is related to performance or promotion ( Crommelinck & Anseel, 2013 ). For example, Yanagizawa (2008) demonstrated that employees who seek feedback reached higher levels of goal achievement and learning in comparison to employees identified as low feedback seekers. Within the entrepreneurial environment, feedback-seeking behavior is also particularly important as entrepreneurs need to be keen to identify and exploit opportunities found in their environment. Furthermore, Weaver (2006) demonstrated that students find feedback to be valuable, but often require training on how to interpret and use different types of feedback (e.g., peer feedback, investor feedback, customer feedback). As such, developing students' feedback orientation can facilitate a greater understanding of the importance of feedback and how to interpret and use it to improve ones’ business ideas.

Student learning experience. We have over 250 advisors, mentors, and alumni who guide our students through the 12-week course. Each week students are given the opportunity to give and receive feedback on their ideas. Some of the experiences are formal, where they pitch to a panel of experts and receive written and verbal feedback. Other times, we have an informal event in class. For example, we use a piece of paper that has an image of a flying pig on one side which represents a bad idea, and an image of a rocket ship on the other side which represents a good idea. Each student team presents their idea, and the class provides their feedback by displaying the respective image denoting a bad or good idea. Then the instructors randomly ask four students to give feedback to the students. We instruct them to give one piece of positive feedback followed by an “and” statement on how to improve the idea or pitch. This allows the students to learn how to give and receive feedback.

4.8. Skill 7: teamwork approach

We define teamwork approach as the ability to work with others collaboratively in a situation where there is task interdependence and shared goals. Specifically, this skill encourages students to capitalize on the unique abilities of their teammates, avoiding relationship conflict, and work productively and collaboratively in a team environment. Students will encounter teamwork in their future careers, whether it is a short-term task force or a virtual team spread across the globe, teamwork is a necessary competency for business students to learn ( Kotey, 2007 ). Although teamwork is recognized as a key skill by many employers ( Riebe, Girardi, & Whitsed, 2017 ; Volkov & Volkov, 2015 ), it should be given explicit attention in entrepreneurship programs ( Kotey, 2007 ). As Neck and Greene (2011) highlighted, “the best opportunity in the world is of little value without a strong team that can execute” (p. 64). Teamwork, however, is often poorly executed in educational settings and is more characteristic of group work rather than highly interdependent teamwork ( Volkov & Volkov, 2015 ). As Volkov and Volkov (2015) pointed out, a team should create synergy towards a shared objective, which is distinct from group work that only requires pooling of, often independently completed, deliverables. The goal of teamwork is to obtain an outcome that is better than what can be achieved by one individual alone ( Kotey, 2007 ).

Student learning experience. We have partnered with the Individual and Team Performance Lab (ITP) to use their free suite of resources to guide students through their teamwork (see www.itpmetrics.com ). First, students complete a personality test that provides a detailed report of their personality, and during the first team meeting, students use this report to discuss which of their personal characteristics may be an asset to the team. Second, midway through the project, students complete a peer feedback ( O'Neill et al., 2019 ) and team dynamics assessment ( O'Neill et al., 2018 ), which provides students with an anonymous team-level (i.e., health and functioning of the team) and individual-level (i.e., 360° ratings of team member effectiveness) feedback report. Throughout the semester, students participate in a series of workshops aimed to debrief the reports. This provides the teams with the tools and methods to improve team and individual performance in a manner that targets deficient areas identified in the feedback reports (e.g., team-level – role clarity, team conflict, monitoring goals; individual-level – commitment, communication, task focus). At the end of the term, students are required to complete a worksheet in which points are allocated to each team member, including themselves, based on their contribution throughout the course.

5. A signature pedagogy

Signature pedagogies shape the ways in which future professionals are educated in their field, along with influencing how they think, perform, and behave with integrity ( Shulman, 2005 ). As stated by Shulman (2005) in a foundational paper, signature pedagogies are pedagogies of uncertainty and create a classroom that is unpredictable and surprising. The emergence of new technology, social unrest, as well as the presence of challenging and complex problems are described by Shulman as objective conditions that call for a new approach to learning such as a signature pedagogy. Despite this, a signature pedagogy for entrepreneurship education has not yet been delineated ( Jones, 2019 ). Rather, most articles in the entrepreneurship education literature offer a review of the pedagogical methods used in classrooms (e.g., Hägg & Gabrielsson, 2020 ; Mwasalwiba, 2010 ; Sirelkhatim & Gangi, 2015 ; Solomon, 2007 ), rather than developing methods and tools used to teach entrepreneurship. As such, this section focuses on comparing our proposed pedagogy against Shulman's features of a signature pedagogy. In doing so, we connect both the literature on entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial education, to outline a clear and innovative pedagogy that can be used to develop an entrepreneurial skillset.

We focus on the core pedagogical methods that best reflect our approach to teaching ET-7. Below, we consider each of Shulman's dimensions of a signature pedagogy (i.e., surface structure, deep structure, and implicit structure) to demonstrate that our approach clearly frames and prefigures professional preparation by creating many opportunities for the students to experience adaptive anxiety ( Shulman, 2005 ), resulting in skill development.

5.1. Surface structure - A flipped classroom and experiential learning activities

The surface structure of a signature pedagogy comprise of concrete and operational acts of teaching and learning, which include ways of demonstrating or interacting with learning objectives ( Shulman, 2005 ). This is accomplished through the use of experiential learning exercises, which provide in-class and out-of-class guidance for the students, and support a flipped classroom approach. Our course is designed to promote adaptive anxiety in students, and is necessary for learning ET-7. In other words, our course was designed in such a way that students are immediately faced with a failure, and iteratively advance through the fail cycle, while being encouraged to maintain their perseverance.

To achieve this, the first author developed materials that have a foundation for creating adaptive anxiety in students ( Shulman, 2005 ). In particular, 18 in-class experiential exercises and 13 out-of-class guiding worksheets were developed and form the foundation for our flipped classroom setting. A typical 3-hour class would require the students to come prepared, having completed the reading material and out-of-class guiding worksheets. For example, the “Empathy Map Worksheet” ask students to complete an interview with their early adopter customer in-person. Here, students need to learn about what motivates their customers, who influences them, and which problem they should try to solve through their business venture. This worksheet focuses on the perspective of the customer, not the students. The student and customer perspectives are typically very different, and is likely to result in adaptive anxiety. Next, during class, students share this worksheet in their teams and with the class. The instructor facilitates in-class experiential exercises to help students gain a deeper understanding of the focal concept and associated skills. Accordingly, the instructor acts as a mentor and facilitator when students realize that their original ideas might not work, and when they need to start a new idea generation cycle.

The sample activity described above highlights an important feature of our signature pedagogy, how the student and instructor interact. The combination of experiential learning activities and a flipped classroom approach work together to create an interactive element that shifts the instructor toward the role of a facilitator. Our pedagogy relies on this interaction to help students become more engaged with the learning process. In summary, the experiential learning activities and the flipped classroom approach establish the surface structure that is required for a signature pedagogy in entrepreneurship education.

5.2. Deep structure - adaptive anxiety

The deep structure component of the signature pedagogy proposed by Shulman (2005) lies on “a set of assumptions about how best to impart a certain body of knowledge and know-how” (p. 55). Through rewarding the students in their failures by allowing a high grade for a successful or a failed idea, they learn that failure and uncertainty are manageable. They begin to develop adaptive anxiety, which we argue is a fundamental deep structure that supports the development of ET-7. For example, students start by thinking they have found a problem and solution for a customer, and thus believe their business venture will be successful. However, students may discover that the “pain point” of their customer is not what they originally thought. We insist that every aspect of the student's business model must be validated in-person with customers or technical experts – a requirement that results in many of their assumptions failing. As a result, students need to “pivot” or “abandon” their ideas quickly. This realization allows them to adapt quickly to the new information, and effectively navigate through the uncertainty of creating a viable solution that addresses the “pain point” of the customer. This continual requirement of validation through primary research results in significant adaptive anxiety. Additionally, students are provided with multiple sources of feedback (i.e., teaching assistants who are peers that have successfully completed the course as well as business mentors), which support the students outside of the classroom. This support structure is essential to ensure students do not become overwhelmed or frustrated.

By the end of the course, the students become comfortable with adaptive anxiety. We believe that this is aligned with Shulman's (2005) deep structure for pedagogy and facilitates the development of ET-7. Thus, students gain knowledge of why ET-7 is important and learn how to apply these skills in the real-world. Here, deep structure is achieved through critical dialogue that allows the students to learn from instructors, peers, industry advisors, and customers' personal experiences. Accordingly, knowledge creation and formation that is based on collective experiences and assumptions, which is imparted through adaptive anxiety, from the “know-how” of ET-7 skills.

5.3. Implicit structure - entrepreneurial thinking

According to Shulman (2005) , the implicit structure of a signature pedagogy is a moral dimension that “comprises a set of beliefs about professional attitudes, values, and dispositions” (p. 55). This is reflected in what is taught using the signature pedagogy, encouraging a disposition towards entrepreneurial thinking. Specifically, the ET-7 establish a foundation for students to develop the professional attitudes and beliefs that are required in the workforce to become a leader. Indeed, the ET-7 aims to develop individuals who can adapt to uncertainty, solve problems efficiently, and do so with a deep understanding of others’ perspectives.

Additionally, traditional business courses have focused on developing managerial thinking and strategic thinking. This enables students to follow a “cookie-cutter” method of creating a business that drive profits for shareholders. Entrepreneurial thinking does not focus on these areas. Rather, it focuses on skills that transcend the simple profit motive of a business. Critical to this is developing perspective taking in students, and helping them understand that this is a crucial skill to have in their professional roles. Therefore, ET-7 aims to shift students’ mind toward understanding people and their concerns.

5.4. The value of a signature pedagogy for an uncertain 21st century

While we have described a signature pedagogy for teaching entrepreneurial thinking, we drew from existing methods and tools such as a flipped classroom approach, experiential learning activities, and open educational resources. Such methods and tools are not uncommon in other educational settings, however, it is the combination of these approaches and the extent to which this course relies on these methods that make this signature pedagogy novel. For example, other business courses may implement a few experiential activities (e.g., case study methods) but primarily rely on more traditional methods to transmit knowledge. The extent to which such business courses use traditional methods over active methods may signify their signature pedagogy. However, the space in which entrepreneurs operate differs significantly from typical business majors (e.g., accounting or finance) as much of the context revolves around uncertainty. As such, this course utilizes a significant number of experiential activities to simulate a turbulent and uncertain entrepreneurial environment. Indeed, Jones (2019) highlights that signature pedagogies may draw from existing pedagogical methods, but it is the unique combination of these methods that make it distinctive to entrepreneurship education.

Another important contextual element to pedagogical methods is the scale at which the methods can be delivered. For example, lecture-based methods are classified as a form of mass instruction (Elton, 1977 as cited in Gibb & Price, 2007 ) whereas tutorials, which are often held with a smaller group of students, may incorporate active methods more easily. However, due to potential timetabling constraints in higher education, the addition of a dedicated tutorial session for entrepreneurship courses may not be feasible. As such, a unique and valuable feature of our signature pedagogy is the scale at which this can be applied (i.e., the pedagogical methods and tools can be applied to larger classrooms sizes).

6. Value to educators

Our goal is to provide educators with an established method of teaching ET-7 to students. Through placing all our exercises, worksheets, assignments, and teaching methods on our open educational resource at no cost to students or educators, we hope to create a collaborative community that builds and improves on our work. A creative commons licence allows for any educator to access our content and customize it to fit their requirements. To date, we have had over a dozen educators from around the world use our material, and provide helpful feedback to improve the content for others.

7. Discussion and conclusion

This conceptual paper makes two main contributions to the entrepreneurial education literature. First, based on the first author's experience as an entrepreneur and angel investor, as well as evidence from the literature, seven teachable entrepreneurial skills were identified (i.e., ET-7). The ET-7 were selected after an extensive review of the literature, and they capture the ability to solve complex problems, deal with uncertainty, learn from failures, see things from the perspective of another, think creatively, respond to feedback, and work effectively in a team. As argued earlier, these skills are highly relevant for both future entrepreneurs and for those pursuing other career paths. Moreover, we offered examples of student learning experiences as they pertain to each of the ET-7, which allows educators to replicate these activities in their classroom with students who do, and do not, identify as entrepreneurial. Furthermore, the ease of replicating these activities in their classroom is supported by access to the OER.

The second contribution of this paper is our signature pedagogical approach to teaching the ET-7, which is based on Shulman's (2005) recommendations. We designed a signature pedagogy that supports learning through experiential activities, which emulate the uncertain turbulent context faced by entrepreneurs but can be experienced by all undergraduate students. Concrete and operational learning occurs through the use of a flipped classroom and allows instructors to work within a series of experiential activities, rather than just transmitting content. In our pedagogical approach, deep structure is based on the assumption that the best way to convey entrepreneurial knowledge is through adaptive anxiety, which provides students the opportunity to fail forward. Finally, by teaching an entrepreneurial skillset (i.e., ET-7) via the signature pedagogy, the professional attitudes, values, and dispositions of an entrepreneur can be transmitted and practiced by future generations no matter what their career choice.

Given the conceptual and descriptive nature of this paper, one limitation of this research is that we have yet to collect evidence of the effectiveness of our framework for teaching ET-7. However, this would go beyond the scope of this paper, given that our goal was to describe our set of skills, methods, and signature pedagogy. While we theorize that students’ ET-7 should be higher after taking a course that follows our signature pedagogy, we have yet to empirically examine this proposition. Thus, future work should seek to empirically examine the degree to which the ET-7 skills change when adopting this signature pedagogy. More specifically, future research could examine whether ET-7 skill levels demonstrate significant improvements in courses that adopt this signature pedagogy. This could be tested using a pre- and post-intervention design with an experimental group and a control group (i.e., students not undergoing the signature pedagogy). In addition to this, it may also be fruitful to examine which experiential activities are most effective at developing specific ET-7 skills. While these are fruitful avenues to explore, we believe that the ET-7 and our proposed signature pedagogy will promote a deeper consideration of the skills and pedagogical methods that are required in order to prepare the future generation to perform well in a wide array of professional roles.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Houston Peschl: Conceptualization, Writing - original draft, Supervision, Funding acquisition. Connie Deng: Writing - review & editing, Resources. Nicole Larson: Writing - review & editing, Methodology, Project administration.

Acknowledgement

This research was suppoprted through a grant from the University of Calgary's Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning.

1 Please contact the first author for access to the OER.

2 Prior to becoming a business school instructor, the first author spent two decades as a serial entrepreneur, starting thirteen companies as well as having participated in an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This provided personal lived experience for what skills were valuable for undergraduate business students to be prepared for any career they chose.

Appendix A Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2020.100427 .

Appendix A. Supplementary data

The following is the Supplementary data to this article:

• Amabile T.M. Westview Press; ” Boulder, CO: 1996. Creativity in context: Update to “The social psychology of creativity. [ Google Scholar ]
• Armstrong C.E. Teaching innovation through empathy: Design thinking in the undergraduate business classroom. Management Teaching Review. 2016; 1 (3):164–169. doi: 10.1177/2379298116636641. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Axtell C.M., Parker S.K., Holman D., Totterdell P. Enhancing customer service: Perspective taking in a call centre. European Journal of Work & Organizational Psychology. 2007; 16 (2):141–168. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bacigalupo M., Kampylis P., Punie Y., Van den Brande G. JRC Science for Policy Report; Luxembourg: 2016. EntreComp: The entrepreneurship competence framework. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bae T.J, Qian S., Miao C., Fiet J.O. The relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions: A meta-analytic review. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice. 2014; 38 (2):217–254. doi: 10.1111/etap.12095. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Baker D.F., Baker S.J. To “catch the sparkling glow”: A canvas for creativity in the management classroom. The Academy of Management Learning and Education. 2012; 11 (4):704–721. doi: 10.5465/amle.2010.0003. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Boyles T. 21st century knowledge, skills, and abilities and entrepreneurial competencies: A model for undergraduate entrepreneurship education. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education. 2012; 15 :41–55. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bridge S. Is “entrepreneurship” the problem in entrepreneurship education? Education + Training. 2017; 59 (7/8):740–750. doi: 10.1108/ET-02-2016-0037. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Brush C., Neck H., Greene P. In: Evolving entrepreneurial education: Innovation in the Babson classroom. Crittenden V.L., Esper K., Karst N., Slegers R., editors. Emerald Group Publishing Limited; Bingley, UK: 2015. A practice-based approach to entrepreneurship education; pp. 35–54. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cannon M.D., Edmondson A.C. Failing to learn and learning to fail (intelligently): How great organizations put failure to work to innovate and improve. Long Range Planning. 2005; 38 :299–319. [ Google Scholar ]
• Collins C.J., Hanges P.J., Locke E.A. The relationship of achievement motivation to entrepreneurial behavior: A meta-analysis. Human Performance. 2004; 17 (1):95–117. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cope J. Entrepreneurial learning from failure: An interpretive phenomenological analysis. Journal of Business Venturing. 2011; 26 :604–623. [ Google Scholar ]
• Crommelinck M., Anseel F. Understanding and encouraging feedback-seeking behaviour: A literature review. Medical Education. 2013; 47 :232–241. doi: 10.1111/medu.12075. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dahling J.J., Chau S.L., O'Malley A. Correlates and consequences of feedback orientation in organizations. Journal of Management. 2012; 38 (2):531–546. doi: 10.1177/0149206310375467. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Davis M.H., Hall J.A., Mayer P.S. Developing a new measure of entrepreneurial mindset: Reliability, validity, and implications for practitioners. Consulting Psychology Journal. 2016; 68 (1):21–48. doi: 10.1037/cpb0000045. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dickson P.H., Solomon G.T., Weaver K.M. Entrepreneurial selection and success: Does education matter? Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 2008; 15 (2):239–258. doi: 10.1108/14626000810871655. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dorst K. MIT Press; Cambridge, MA: 2015. Frame innovation: Create new thinking by design. [ Google Scholar ]
• Eggers F., Lovelace K.J., Kraft F. Fostering creativity through critical thinking: The case of business start-up simulations. Creativity and Innovation Management. 2017; 26 (3):266–276. doi: 10.1111/caim.12225. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Farhangmehr M., Gonçalves P., Sarmento M. Predicting entrepreneurial motivation among university students: The role of entrepreneurship education. Education and Training. 2016; 58 (7–8):861–881. doi: 10.1108/ET-01-2016-0019. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fayolle A., Gailly B. The impact of entrepreneurship education on attitudes and intention: Hysteresis and persistence. Journal of Small Business Management. 2015; 53 (1):75–93. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gerdes K.E., Segal E.A., Jackson K.F., Mullins J.L. Teaching empathy: A framework rooted in social cognitive neuroscience and social justice. Journal of Social Work Education. 2011; 47 (1):109–131. doi: 10.5175/JSWE.2011.200900085. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Gibb A., Price A. Compendium of pedagogies for teaching entrepreneurship. 2007. https://ncee.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Compendium-of-Pedagogies.pdf Retrieved from.
• von Graevenitz G., Harhoff D., Weber R. The effects of entrepreneurship education. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. 2010; 76 (1):90–112. doi: 10.1016/j.jebo.2010.02.015. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Grenier S., Barrette A.M., Ladouceur R. Intolerance of uncertainty and intolerance of ambiguity: Similarities and differences. Personality and Individual Differences. 2005; 39 (3):593–600. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2005.02.014. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University. (n.d.). An introduction to design thinking: "Gift-giving" edition. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57c6b79629687fde090a0fdd/t/5ccb6a7bec212d9f4f544355/1556834942164/1TheGiftGivingProjectFacilitatorsGuide-English.pdf .
• Hägg G., Gabrielsson J. A systematic literature review of the evolution of pedagogy in entrepreneurial education research. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. 2020; 26 (5):829–861. doi: 10.1108/IJEBR-04-2018-0272. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Henry C., Hill F., Leitch C. Entrepreneurship education and training: Can entrepreneurship be taught? Part II. Education + Training. 2005; 47 (3):158–169. doi: 10.1108/00400910510592211. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Herman J.L., Stevens M.J., Bird A., Mendenhall M., Oddou G. The tolerance for ambiguity scale: Towards a more refined measure for international management research. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 2009; 34 :58–65. doi: 10.1016/j.ijintrel.2009.09.004. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Jones C. A signature pedagogy for entrepreneurship education. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 2019; 26 (2):213–254. [ Google Scholar ]
• Jones C., English J. A contemporary approach to entrepreneurship education. Education + Training. 2004; 46 :416–423. doi: 10.1108/00400910410569533. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Jones P., Penaluna A., Pittaway L. Entrepreneurship education: A recipe for change? International Journal of Management in Education. 2014; 12 (3):304–306. doi: 10.1016/j.ijme.2014.09.004. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kassean H., Vanevenhoven J., Liguori E., Winkel D.E. Entrepreneurship education: A need for reflection, real-world experience and action. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. 2015; 21 (5):690–708. doi: 10.1108/IJEBR-07-2014-0123. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kembel G. d.school operator's handbook. 2007. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57c6b79629687fde090a0fdd/t/589911ba3a04117857abca73/1486426561759/dschool+operator%27s+handbook+G+Kembel+edit.pdf Retrieved from.
• Kier A.S., McMullen J.S. Entrepreneurial imaginativeness in new venture ideation. Academy of Management Journal. 2018; 61 (6):2265–2295. doi: 10.5465/amj.2017.0395. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kolb D.A. 2nd ed. Pearson Education, Inc; Upper Saddle River, NJ: 2015. Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. [ Google Scholar ]
• Kolb A.Y., Kolb D.A. Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. The Academy of Management Learning and Education. 2005; 4 (2):193–212. doi: 10.5465/AMLE.2005.17268566. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kotey B. Teaching the attributes of venture teamwork in tertiary entrepreneurship programmes. Education and Training. 2007; 49 (8–9):634–655. doi: 10.1108/00400910710834067. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kuratko D.F. The emergence of entrepreneurship education: Development, trends, and challenges. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice. 2005; 29 (5):577–598. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6520.2005.00099.x. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kyndt E., Baert H. Entrepreneurial competencies: Assessment and predictive value for entrepreneurship. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2015; 90 :13–25. doi: 10.1016/j.jvb.2015.07.002. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Liñán F., Rodríguez-Cohard J.C., Rueda-Cantuche J.M. Factors affecting entrepreneurial intention levels: A role for education. The International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. 2011; 7 (2):195–218. doi: 10.1007/s11365-010-0154-z. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Linderbaum B.A., Levy P.E. The development and validation of the feedback orientation scale (FOS) Journal of Management. 2010; 36 (6):1372–1405. doi: 10.1177/0149206310373145. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lin J., Nabergoj A.S. In: 2nd international conference on innovation and entrepreneurship. Worasinchai L., Ribière V., editors. ACPI; Bangkok: 2014. A resource-based view of entrepreneurial creativity and its Implication in entrepreneurship education; pp. 307–313. [ Google Scholar ]
• London M., Smither J.W. Feedback orientation, feedback culture, and the longitudinal performance management process. Human Resource Management Review. 2002; 12 (1):81–100. doi: 10.1016/S1053-4822(01)00043-2. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Man T.W.Y., Lau T., Chan K.F. The competitiveness of small and medium enterprises: A conceptualization with focus on entrepreneurial competencies. Journal of Business Venturing. 2002; 17 (2):123–142. [ Google Scholar ]
• Maresch D., Harms R., Kailer N., Wimmer-Wurm B. The impact of entrepreneurship education on the entrepreneurial intention of students in science and engineering versus business studies university programs. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2016; 104 :172–179. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2015.11.006. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Maritz A. Illuminating the black box of entrepreneurship education programmes: Part 2. Education + Training. 2017; 59 (5):471–482. doi: 10.1108/ET-02-2017-0018. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Matlay H. Entrepreneurial learning: New perspectives in research, education and practice. Education + Training. 2017; 59 (7/8):907–912. doi: 10.1108/ET-06-2017-0091. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mayer R.E. In: Human and machine problem solving. Gilhooly K.J., editor. Plenum; New York, NY: 1989. Human nonadversary problem solving. [ Google Scholar ]
• Morris M.H., Webb J.W., Fu J., Singhal S. A competency-based perspective on entrepreneurship education: Conceptual and empirical insights. Journal of Small Business Management. 2013; 51 (3):352–369. doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12023. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mosakowski E. In: Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset. Hitt M.A., Ireland R.D., Camp M.S., Sexton D.L., editors. Wiley-Blackwell; Malden, MA: 2002. Overcoming resource disadvantages in entrepreneurial firms: When less Is more. [ Google Scholar ]
• Muehlfeld K., Urbig D., Weitzel U. Entrepreneurs' exploratory perseverance in learning settings. Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice. 2017; 41 (4):533–565. doi: 10.1111/etap.12224. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mwasalwiba E.S. Entrepreneurship education: A review of its objectives, teaching methods, and impact indicators. Education + Training. 2010; 52 (1):20–47. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nabi G., Holden R. Graduate entrepreneurship: Intentions, education and training. Education + Training. 2008; 50 (7):545–551. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nabi G., Liñán F., Fayolle A., Krueger N., Walmsley A. The impact of entrepreneurship education in higher education: A systematic review and research agenda. The Academy of Management Learning and Education. 2017; 16 (2):277–299. doi: 10.5465/amle.2015.0026. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Neck H.M., Corbett A.C. The scholarship of teaching and learning entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. 2018; 1 (1):8–41. [ Google Scholar ]
• Neck H.M., Greene P.G. Entrepreneurship education: Known worlds and frontiers. Journal of Small Business Management. 2011; 49 (1):55–70. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-627X.2010.00314.x. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• O'Neill T.A., Deacon A., Gibbard K., Larson N., Hoffart G., Smith J., et al. Team dynamics feedback for post-secondary student learning teams. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2018; 43 (4):571–585. [ Google Scholar ]
• O'Neill T.A., Larson N., Smith J., Donia M., Deng C., Rosehart W., et al. Introducing a scalable peer feedback system for learning teams. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2019; 44 (6):848–862. [ Google Scholar ]
• Oosterbeek H., van Praag M., Ijsselstein A. The impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurship skills and motivation. European Economic Review. 2010; 54 :442–454. [ Google Scholar ]
• O'Connell D.J., McNeely E., Hall D.T. Unpacking personal adaptability at work. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies. 2008; 14 (3):248–259. doi: 10.1177/1071791907311005. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Phillips C.R., Trainor J.E. Vol. 21. 2014. Millennial students and the flipped classroom; pp. 519–530. (Proceedings of ASBBS). 1. [ Google Scholar ]
• Politis D., Gabrielsson J. Entrepreneurs' attitudes towards failure: An experiential learning approach. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research. 2009; 15 (4):364–383. doi: 10.1108/13552550910967921. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Puccio G.J., Cabra J.F. In: The cambridge handbook in creativity. Kaufman J.C., Sternberg R.J., editors. Cambridge University Press; New York, NY: 2010. Organizational creativity: A systems approach; pp. 145–173. [ Google Scholar ]
• QAA Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: Guidance for UK higher education providers. 2018. https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaas/enhancement-and-development/enterprise-and-entrpreneurship-education-2018.pdf?sfvrsn=15f1f981_8 Retrieved from.
• Rae D., Carswell M. Using a life-story approach in researching entrepreneurial learning: The development of a conceptual model and its implications in the design of learning experiences. Education + Training. 2000; 42 (4):220–228. [ Google Scholar ]
• Rauch A., Hulsink W. Putting entrepreneurship education where the intention to act lies: An investigation into the impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial behavior. The Academy of Management Learning and Education. 2015; 14 (2):187–204. [ Google Scholar ]
• Riebe L., Girardi A., Whitsed C. A systematic literature review of teamwork pedagogy in higher education. Small Group Research. 2016; 47 (6):619–664. [ Google Scholar ]
• Riebe L., Girardi A., Whitsed C. Teaching teamwork in Australian university business disciplines: Evidence from a systematic literature review. Issues in Educational Research. 2017; 27 (1):134–150. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ries E. Crown Business; New York, US: 2011. The lean startup: How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. [ Google Scholar ]
• Rosenberg J.D. Teaching empathy in law school. University of San Francisco Law Review. 2002; 36 (3):621–658. [ Google Scholar ]
• Sánchez J.C. The impact of an entrepreneurship education program on entrepreneurial competencies and intention. Journal of Small Business Management. 2013; 51 (3):447–465. doi: 10.1111/jsbm.12025. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sarasvathy S.D. Causation and effectuation: Toward a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Academy of Management Review. 2001; 26 (2):243–263. [ Google Scholar ]
• Schneider B., Bowen D.E. Modeling the human side of service delivery. Service Science. 2009; 1 (3):154–168. doi: 10.1287/serv.1.3.154. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Seow P., Pan G., Koh G. Examining an experiential learning approach to prepare students for the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) work environment. International Journal of Management in Education. 2019; 17 (1):62–76. doi: 10.1016/j.ijme.2018.12.001. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shapiro J., Morrison E.H., Boker J.R. Teaching empathy to first year medical students: Evaluation of an elective literature and medicine course. Education and Health. 2014; 17 (1):73–84. doi: 10.1080/13576280310001656196. [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Shepherd D.A. Learning from business failure: Propositions of grief recovery for the self-employed. Academy of Management Review. 2003; 28 (2):318–328. [ Google Scholar ]
• Shulman L.S. Signature pedagogies in the professions. Dædalus. 2005; 134 (3):52–59. [ Google Scholar ]
• Sirelkhatim F., Gangi Y. Entrepreneurship education: A systematic literature review of curricula contents and teaching methods. Cogent Business & Management. 2015; 2 (1) [ Google Scholar ]
• Snyder L.G., Snyder M.J. Teaching critical thinking and problem solving skills. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal. 2008; 50 (2):90–99. [ Google Scholar ]
• Solomon G. An examination of entrepreneurship education in the United States. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development. 2007; 14 (2):168–182. [ Google Scholar ]
• Stewart W.H., Roth P.L. Risk propensity differences between entrepreneurs and managers: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2001; 86 (1):145–153. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Stewart W.H., Roth P.L. A meta-analysis of achievement motivation differences between entrepreneurs and managers. Journal of Small Business Management. 2007; 45 (4):401–421. [ Google Scholar ]
• Tan S.S., Ng C.K.F. A problem-based learning approach to entrepreneurship education. Education + Training. 2012; 48 (6):416–428. doi: 10.1108/00400910610692606. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Tseng C.C. Connecting self‐directed learning with entrepreneurial learning to entrepreneurial performance. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. 2013; 19 (4):425–446. doi: 10.1108/IJEBR-08-2011-0086. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ucbasaran D., Shepherd D.A., Lockett A., Lyon S.J. Life after business failure: The process and consequences of business failure for entrepreneurs. Journal of Management. 2013; 39 (1):163–202. doi: 10.1177/0149206312457823. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Volkov A., Volkov M. Teamwork benefits in tertiary education: Student perceptions that lead to best practice assessment design. Education + Training. 2015; 57 (3):262–278. doi: 10.1108/ET-02-2013-0025. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ward T.B. Cognition, creativity, and entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing. 2004; 19 (2):173–188. doi: 10.1016/S0883-9026(03)00005-3. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Weaver M.R. Do students value feedback? Student perceptions of tutors' written responses. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 2006; 31 (3):379–394. doi: 10.1080/02602930500353061. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Wiggins G., McTighe J. 2nd ed. Association for Supervision and Curriculm Development; Alexandria, VA: 2005. Understanding by design. [ Google Scholar ]
• World Economic Forum The global risks report 2019. 2019. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Global_Risks_Report_2019.pdf Geneva, Switzerland. Retrieved from.
• Yanagizawa S. Effect of goal difficulty and feedback seeking on goal attainment and learning. Japanese Psychological Research. 2008; 50 (3):137–144. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5884.2008.00370.x. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zhao H., Seibert S.E. The big five personality dimensions and entrepreneurial status: A meta-analytical review. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2006; 91 (2):259–271. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Zulfiqar S., Sarwar B., Aziz S., Ejaz Chandia K., Khan M.K. An analysis of influence of business simulation games on business school students' attitude and intention toward entrepreneurial activities. Journal of Educational Computing Research. 2018:1–25. doi: 10.1177/0735633117746746. [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]

• Advisory Board
• Business Coaches
• New Venture Creation Track
• Family Business Management Track
• Application Process
• Life at MIDAS
• +91 98502 02666
• [email protected]

Critical thinking for Entrepreneurs: Its importance, and how to develop it?

• July 19, 2022
• Entrepreneur

The Indian economy has recently seen an escalation in the number of aspiring entrepreneurs coming up with a breakthrough idea or product to change the world. At present, emerging small businesses and entrepreneurs are the reason countries globally are capable of keeping their GDP afloat. Employment opportunities are created, and new ideas as products and services emerge, making life convenient for the ordinary person.

Now there is this thing about a business entrepreneur . It is easy to hop on the bandwagon of running a business and be fascinated with the idea of managing people. But it is not always sunny, and failure is a constant threat. But the first instinct is always risk aversion which demands patience, perseverance, and critical thinking, which rule the entrepreneurial domain.

In a day and age where the internet validates the existence of a sustainable business, business owners have to be thought leaders, not only inspiring their employees/ team in the firm and the people outside of it. While the world is watching and competitors are patiently waiting for them to fall, an entrepreneur’s critical thinking and problem-solving abilities are relentless weapons of success.

So if you are still wondering about the importance of critical thinking for entrepreneurs , it’s time you scroll to stop and continue to read what we have to say about it.

Importance of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking skills are taught to us from an early age to analyze situations and situations practically. It is easy to get high on emotions, especially when circumstances appear to be against you. That’s where a skill set like critical thinking intervenes to see the problem from an objective perspective and make decisions that orient with your business.

Abilities like critical thinking & problem solving are significant factors in business concerning market research. It is quite a challenge for an entrepreneur to grab people’s attention and make a noise in the market, whether they are a solopreneur or running a family business. That’s why critically evaluating the ideal buyer’s persona ensures better business strategy optimization.

It is not just about making a good business plan but interacting with people outside the business, which would require excellent communication skills. Believe it or not but critical thinking facilitates effective communication, which is the basis of growing a business and keeping it sustainable for a long time.

Moreover, to expand your brand and keep the growth consistent, it is essential to have examined beliefs more from a logical viewpoint. With the speed breakers a crucial aspect of business, making the right call by taking a bird’s eye view of the matter transforms the narrative. So, it isn’t only about making revenue in a business but keeping the integrity and business image stable.

How to develop Critical thinking ability as a business entrepreneur?

Be observant and careful, always ask questions.

There is a reason why children can grasp more information and retain knowledge than adults. They are curious about details and do not hesitate to ask questions. A business entrepreneur needs to be constantly curious and ask questions. Ask questions about the report presented by your marketing team; when you do that, it gives you a deeper insight into critically analyzing it for the welfare of your business.

Be Open-Minded

Be open to change and newer ideas from the people in your team. A good entrepreneur is a leader for their employees, encouraging them to share their thoughts. When you hear others’ opinions, you will know about different possibilities and make the right decision.

Entrepreneurship is a long and thoughtful journey where abilities like critical thinking and problem solving would always resolve conflict and keep the functioning of a business smooth. At MIDAS, we teach the value of entrepreneurship which is more than just managing operations and people. To know more, check out our one-year Post graduate diploma in entrepreneurship.

8 Reasons Why Family Business Fails in India

Family business succession planning: 2022 guide, related posts, impact of entrepreneurial education on the sustainability of family-owned businesses.

• February 3, 2023

The Importance of Governance and Mentoring in Inspiring Students to Pursue Entrepreneurship

• February 1, 2023

Theoretical Frameworks for Successful Entrepreneurship

• January 30, 2023

Comments are closed.

Download Brochure

Mr.Chirag Gujarati is a serial entrepreneur in the education sector and committed towards helping startups reach their full potential. As a Business Coach, his expertise lies in Design Thinking, Lean Start-up, Product Development and Strategy; where he has been working since the past eight years.

With his 40 years of experience & expertise, he teaches the techniques of management & strategy. He guides the new generation and helps them to manage startups and has brought cultural transformation in organisations. He has also designed & delivered several senior leadership programs.

The visionary behind the MIDAS School of Entrepreneurship, Prof. Pooja Shah is the torchbearer of young entrepreneurial minds in India. Being a Personal Master Coach herself, she has developed a one-of-a-kind course that dives deep into yourself, and makes you realise your true potential called ‘Transcend’ With a global perspective for an Indian business, Ms Pooja Shah has been a revolutionary to scale MIDAS to new heights.

Prof Parag Shah is an experienced entrepreneur and a pioneer in the field of entrepreneurship education. He is the Founder-Director of FLAME University and the Managing Director of Oxford Golf and Country Club ranked the best golf course in Asia

What Is Entrepreneurial Thinking

Ten Theses and Provocations

• First Online: 03 May 2018

Cite this chapter

• Fritz Fleischmann 2  

Part of the book series: Springer Reference Wirtschaft ((SRW))

12k Accesses

2 Citations

This paper offers “ten theses on entrepreneurial thinking” to highlight personal, institutional, social, and methodological aspects that characterize an entrepreneurial approach to economic and social problem-solving. Ranging from the self-evident to the more challenging, the ten theses claim that entrepreneurial thinking (ET) is (or should be) characterized by the following attributes:

ET is hopeful thinking.

ET is melioristic thinking; it wants to make something better.

ET is holistic thinking, in the sense of connective thinking.

ET is action-oriented and team-oriented; it has a multiplier effect.

ET enables leadership, by embracing possibility.

ET is emancipatory thinking – a force against alienation.

ET is social and ethical thinking.

ET is heuristic and dialectical thinking; it rejects the hubris of certainties.

ET is utopian thinking.

ET is about connective problem-solving.

Expanding beyond the confines of business and economics, ET can become a transformative force for the common good.

An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, on October 4, 2009. Keeping the tone of the original presentation, rather than constructing a more conventional academic paper, has been a conscious decision. I thank Katrin Fischer for her critical comments on this revised and expanded version.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Durable hardcover edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Among the many summaries available, one of the most concise is given at the beginning of Speth’s book (1-2), where we also find an illuminating sample “of the ‘collapse’ books” (5) on the market in 2008. Since then, the number has increased dramatically, as we struggle to comprehend what we have done and what lies ahead. Among the most incisive are Guterl, Hamilton, Kolbert, and McKibben (2010 and 2014). There is also an abundance of blogging on the subject, the best of which is to be found at www.grist.org .

In recent years, the concept of emancipation has been developed and critically examined in a number of studies within the discipline of academic entrepreneurship (see, in particular, Rindova et al., and Verduijn et al.). Not surprisingly, Verduijn et al. caution us “that entrepreneurship’s emancipatory quest is anything but self-evident; it will constantly be challenged, contained and co-opted by different obstacles and forces” (106). By focusing on aspects of alienation and agency, rather than claims of efficacy, I emphasize the sense of potential immanent in my notion of entrepreneurial thinking.

“In einer höheren Phase der kommunistischen Gesellschaft, nachdem die knechtende Unterordnung der Individuen unter die Teilung der Arbeit, damit auch der Gegensatz geistiger und körperlicher Arbeit verschwunden ist; nachdem die Arbeit nicht nur Mittel zum Leben, sondern selbst das erste Lebensbedürfnis geworden; nachdem mit der allseitigen Entwicklung der Individuen auch ihre Produktivkräfte gewachsen und alle Springquellen des genossenschaftlichen Reichtums voller fließen - erst dann kann der enge bürgerliche Rechtshorizont ganz überschritten werden und die Gesellschaft auf ihre Fahne schreiben: Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!” ( Kritik des Gothaer Programms, Part I.) All original German texts are given here in footnotes; English translations or paraphrases are mine.

“Nach meiner Theorie ist ein Mensch entfremdet, dessen Selbst- und Weltbezug gestört ist. Er fühlt sich fremd seinem eigenen Leben gegenüber, seinen Handlungen oder seinen Wünschen gegenüber, er ist beziehungslos gegenüber der sozialen, aber auch der dinglichen Welt, die ihn umgibt.”

“Nicht entfremdet zu sein … bezeichnet eine bestimmte Weise des Vollzugs des eigenen Lebens. Es wäre ein Leben, in dem man selbstbestimmt seine Projekte verfolgt, die man sich dabei zu eigen macht und mit denen man sich identifizieren kann.”

“Nicht-Entfremdung ist weder ein harmonisch-konfliktfreier Zustand noch ist es identisch mit dem, was manche Menschen als ‘Glück’ bezeichnen, aber vielleicht ist es das Einzige, was wir über das gute Leben sagen können oder sollten.”

In her honors thesis, “Redefining Success: Towards a Philosophy of Entrepreneurship,” in which she connects interviews with entrepreneurs to key philosophical concepts taken from such thinkers as Aristotle and John Stuart Mill, Dana Pansen has concluded that those entrepreneurs “who are successful do consider the effect of their actions on the entire community, even if that stretches as far as the entire world” (Pansen 24).

In a 1912 commencement speech at Brown University entitled “Business - A Profession,” Louis D. Brandeis (later known as Justice Brandeis and the man after whom Brandeis University is named) said, “Real success in business is to be found in achievements comparable … with those of the artist or scientist, of the inventor or the statesman. And the joys sought in the profession of business must be like their joys …”

Because he criticized the suppression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956, he was forced to retire from his chair at the University of Leipzig in 1957 and left East Germany in 1961.

“Die Wurzel der Geschichte aber ist der arbeitende, schaffende, die Gegebenheiten umbildende und ueberholende Mensch. Hat er sich erfasst und das Seine ohne Entaeusserung und Entfremdung in realer Demokratie begruendet, so entsteht in der Welt etwas, das allen in die Kindheit scheint und worin noch niemand war: Heimat.”

Not surprisingly, Wendell Berry, in our own time, has also emphasized the concept of home; see, among other places, his essay “Major in Homecoming” in What Matters” (pp. 31–36) and his magnificent novel Jayber Crow (2000).

Babson College Faculty Taskforce. 2009. Themes for educating the next generation of Babson Students. White Paper released 26 Sep 2009.

Google Scholar  

Benson, C., und L. Schlesinger. 2009. Entrepreneur-in-chief? http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/obama-entrepreneur-in-chief/story.aspx?guid=%7…3/8/2009

Berry, Wendell. 2010. What matters? Economics for a renewed commonwealth . Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint.

Bloch, Ernst. 1985. Das Prinzip Hoffnung. Geschrieben 1938–1947 in den USA, Gesamtausgabe Band 5. Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Wissenschaft 554. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1959.

Brandeis, L. D. 1912. Business – a profession. http://www.law.louisville.edu/library/collections/brandeis/node/203

Buderi, R. 2009. Flying high at Babson: Len Schlesinger wants to create the equivalent of the airline industry’s star alliance for teaching entrepreneurship. http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/09/29/flying-high-at-babson-len-schlesinger-wants-to-create-the-equivalent-of-the-airline-industry%e2%80%99s-star-alliance-for-teaching-entrepreneurship/2/

Daly, Herman E. 2010. „Foreword“. InWhat matters? Economics for a renewed commonwealth , Hrsg. Wendell Berry, ix–xiv. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint.

Faltin, G. 2008. Kopf schlägt Kapital . Munich: Hanser Verlag.

Book   Google Scholar  

Faltin, G. 2013. Brains versus capital: Entrepreneurship for everyone [English rendering and update of Kopf schlägt Kapital] . Berlin: Stiftung Entrepreneurship.

Felber, C., interviewed by Walter Hölbling. 2009. Im Widerstreit der Werte. Tiroler Sonntag 25 Jan 2009: 9.

Fleischmann, F. 2006. Entrepreneurship as emancipation: The history of an idea. Lecture delivered at the Free University of Berlin. 12 Jul 2006. https://www.youth-competition.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Entrepreneurship_as_Emanzipation_Fleischmann.pdf

Fleischmann, F. 2008. Entrepreneurship as a way of life. Keynote address delivered at the “Kongress ‘Studieren – Forschen – Gründen,’” German Ministry of Economics and Technology, Berlin, 1 Oct 2008. https://www.exist.de/imperia/md/content/exist-news/nachrichten/exist-kongress_fleischm.pdf

Godwyn, M., und D. Stoddard. 2011. Minority women entrepreneurs: How outsider status can lead to better business practices . Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Greenleaf, R.K. 1977. Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness . New York: Paulist Press.

Guterl, F. 2012. The fate of the species: Why the human race may cause its own extinction and how we can stop it . New York: Bloomsbury.

Hamilton, C. 2010. Requiem for a species: Why we resist the truth about climate change . London: Earthspan.

Hobsbawm, E., interviewed by Arno Luik. 2009. Es wird Blut fliessen, viel Blut. 17 May 2009. http://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/maerkte/700669.html

Jaeggi, R., interviewed by Christian Weber. 2009. Ferngesteuert durchs eigene Leben. 19 Apr 2009. http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,619354,00.html

Khurana, R., und N. Noria. 2008. It’s time to make management a true profession. Harvard Business Review 86:70–77.

Kimball, K. 2010. The dirty life: A memoir of farming, food, and love . New York: Scribner.

Kolbert, E. 2014. The sixth extinction: An unnatural history . London: Bloomsbury.

McKibben, B. 2010. Eaarth: Making a life on a tough new planet . New York: Times Books.

McKibben, B. 2013. Oil and honey: The education of an unlikely activist . New York: Henry Holt.

Muller, J.Z. 1993. Adam Smith in his time and ours: Designing the decent society . New York: The Free Press (Macmillan).

Pansen, D. 2014. Redefining success: Toward a philosophy of entrepreneurship , 103 pp. Undergraduate Honors Thesis, Babson College.

Pipher, M. 2013. The green boat: Reviving ourselves in our capsized culture . New York: Riverhead Books.

Rindova, V., D. Barry, und D.J. Ketchen Jr. 2009. Entrepreneuring as emancipation. Academy of Management Review 34(3): 477–491.

Article   Google Scholar  

Sarasvathy, S. D. 2005. What makes entrepreneurs entrepreneurial? Darden Business Publishing Technical Note # UVA-ENT-0065.

Speth, J.G. 2008. The bridge at the edge of the world: Capitalism, the environment, and crossing from crisis to sustainability . New Haven: Yale University Press.

The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. 2009. Remarks by the President on a new beginning. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Cairo-University-6-04-09/ .

Thoreau, H. D. 1854. Walden; Or, life in the woods. http://thoreau.eserver.org/walden00.html#toc

Verduijn, K., P. Day, D. Tedmanson, und C. Essers. 2014. Emancipation and/or oppression? Conceptualizing dimensions of criticality in entrepreneurship studies. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research 20(2): 98–107.

Zander, R.S., und B. Zander. 2000. The art of possibility: Transforming professional and personal life . Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Babson College, Babson Park, Wellesley, MA, 02457, USA

Fritz Fleischmann

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fritz Fleischmann .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Stiftung Entrepreneurship, Berlin, Germany

Günter Faltin

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature

About this chapter

Fleischmann, F. (2018). What Is Entrepreneurial Thinking. In: Faltin, G. (eds) Handbuch Entrepreneurship. Springer Reference Wirtschaft . Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-04994-2_2

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-04994-2_2

Published : 03 May 2018

Publisher Name : Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden

Print ISBN : 978-3-658-04993-5

Online ISBN : 978-3-658-04994-2

eBook Packages : Business and Economics (German Language)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

VentureWell

Bringing Critical Thinking Into the Entrepreneurship Classroom: Six Techniques

Through the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) workshop series, funded by the National Science Foundation, social scientists collaborated with entrepreneurship educators to bridge the gap between their areas of expertise. The resulting white papers provide research-based insights and classroom techniques for inclusive entrepreneurship educators. This ongoing series currently covers Teamwork , Motivation , and Critical Thinking. Stay tuned for more topics!

“Critical thinking is not only closely intertwined with entrepreneurship, but it is also a meta-skill to master other entrepreneurship skills/abilities.”—Carla Firetto, Abdullah Konak

Successful entrepreneurs not only have to engage in entrepreneurship processes—the knowledge and skills to turn an idea into a business—they also need an entrepreneurial mindset that looks for problems and solutions. Critical thinking is crucial to both of these elements. Throughout the entrepreneurial journey, from customer discovery to idea generation to business model innovation and beyond, critical thinking skills are necessary to engage these complex tasks in a meaningful, useful fashion.

Entrepreneurship education must therefore include critical thinking skills, and fortunately, the messy nature of starting a business is the perfect subject matter for teaching critical thinking.

Carla Firetto and Abdullah Konak have outlined six tools that entrepreneurship educators can use that teach both entrepreneurship and critical thinking.

Download the full white paper “Theoretical Perspectives on Critical Thinking: Implications for Entrepreneurship Education Research and Practice.”

Carla Firetto , assistant professor of Educational Psychology at Arizona State University Abdullah Konak , distinguished professor of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University, Berks

1. Encourage Students To Probe Their Own Decision-Making

Asking questions in a purposeful and intentional manner pushes students to develop their critical thinking skills to figure out answers. Thousands of years after its invention, the Socratic method still works. In particular, ask students to clarify their ideas, probe their own reasoning, and consider different viewpoints as they work through a complex project. In entrepreneurship, being able to identify inconsistencies and question assumptions is essential to the process, and will improve students’ decision-making skills. The questions you ask them become the questions they learn to ask themselves.

2. Teach Logic Through Guided Role-Play Activities

Group discussion and debate are the most common ways that reflection and argumentation—asking students to express their thoughts and reactions and also to construct logical arguments—show up in the classroom. But these are highly flexible tools for teaching critical thinking and can be put into practice in many different formats: spoken or written, individually or in groups, led by instructors or led by students, or as self- or peer-assessments. In entrepreneurship classes, consider combining reflection and argumentation with role-playing when you ask students to evaluate one another’s ideas and projects. Try out tools like Bono’s Six Hats and other role playing scenarios to facilitate structured reflection and argumentation. Role-playing can make argumentation or critiques more fun, less confrontational, and easier for students to engage with and learn from.

3. Dig Into Problem- and Project-Based Learning

Active learning is crucial to entrepreneurship education, and it is a powerful tool for teaching critical thinking. As the authors write, “Critical thinking skills can be developed by interacting with and learning about a thought-provoking subject matter without explicitly introducing critical thinking.” When students engage with a hands-on, real-world entrepreneurship project or problem, the complexity of the task demands that they apply critical thinking in order to succeed.

4. Untangle the Complexity of Building a Business with Case Studies

By presenting real-world business scenarios with multiple perspectives and dilemmas, case studies allow students to analyze complex situations. To enhance critical thinking skills, ask students to identify key aspects of the case, consider various viewpoints, and evaluate alternatives and consequences. Push these skills even further by holding discussions that encourage students to reflect on their analytical processes.

5. Offer Experiential Learning Through Virtual Simulations

Simulations and interactive games are increasingly popular in entrepreneurship education for their ability to simulate real-world business scenarios. They offer multiple decision pathways and unexpected events, and they allow students to explore various strategies and see the outcomes of their choices play out. These dynamic, immersive learning environments stimulate critical thinking. Games that involve role-playing and strategic decision-making are particularly effective in fostering critical thinking skills.

6. Connect Students with Mentors To Build Their Skills

Mentors play a key role in experiential learning and entrepreneurship. They help students internalize their experiences by providing guidance, feedback, and constructive criticism, which then enhances problem-solving and decision-making skills. In entrepreneurship education, mentorship is often linked with extracurricular activities like student competitions, incubators, and accelerators. In these settings—or in classroom-based experiential learning projects with mentors—the mentors encourage students to explore new ideas and also provide a reality check through constructive criticism. Mentors help students focus and develop their skills effectively.

7. The Ability To Think Critically

Critical thinking is, of course, not only useful in entrepreneurship. Once learned, the habits of critical thinking can be applied to any endeavor, any problem. Teaching critical thinking is essential to teaching entrepreneurship; successful entrepreneurs will use these skills every day as they face unexpected situations and are called on to make important decisions under imperfect circumstances.

The reverse is also true. Entrepreneurship is a wonderful vehicle for teaching critical thinking. Not every student in an entrepreneurship class will found a company… or three. But every single student will benefit from learning critical thinking and honing their critical thinking skills on this challenging and engaging material.

Dig into the research and get more insights and classroom tools. Download the white paper “Theoretical Perspectives on Critical Thinking: Implications for Entrepreneurship Education Research and Practice.”

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under IUSE Grant No. 2220329.

• classroom techniques
• inclusive innovation

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

Share Podcast

A Better Framework for Solving Tough Problems

Start with trust and end with speed.

• Apple Podcasts

When it comes to solving complicated problems, the default for many organizational leaders is to take their time to work through the issues at hand. Unfortunately, that often leads to patchwork solutions or problems not truly getting resolved.

But Anne Morriss offers a different framework. In this episode, she outlines a five-step process for solving any problem and explains why starting with trust and ending with speed is so important for effective change leadership. As she says, “Let’s get into dialogue with the people who are also impacted by the problem before we start running down the path of solving it.”

Morriss is an entrepreneur and leadership coach. She’s also the coauthor of the book, Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems .

Key episode topics include: strategy, decision making and problem solving, strategy execution, managing people, collaboration and teams, trustworthiness, organizational culture, change leadership, problem solving, leadership.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

• Listen to the full HBR IdeaCast episode: How to Solve Tough Problems Better and Faster (2023)
• Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast
• Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org .

HANNAH BATES: Welcome to HBR On Strategy , case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, hand-selected to help you unlock new ways of doing business.

When it comes to solving complicated problems, many leaders only focus on the most apparent issues. Unfortunately that often leads to patchwork or partial solutions. But Anne Morriss offers a different framework that aims to truly tackle big problems by first leaning into trust and then focusing on speed.

Morriss is an entrepreneur and leadership coach. She’s also the co-author of the book, Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader’s Guide to Solving Hard Problems . In this episode, she outlines a five-step process for solving any problem. Some, she says, can be solved in a week, while others take much longer. She also explains why starting with trust and ending with speed is so important for effective change leadership.

This episode originally aired on HBR IdeaCast in October 2023. Here it is.

CURT NICKISCH: Welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review. I’m Curt Nickisch.

Problems can be intimidating. Sure, some problems are fun to dig into. You roll up your sleeves, you just take care of them; but others, well, they’re complicated. Sometimes it’s hard to wrap your brain around a problem, much less fix it.

And that’s especially true for leaders in organizations where problems are often layered and complex. They sometimes demand technical, financial, or interpersonal knowledge to fix. And whether it’s avoidance on the leaders’ part or just the perception that a problem is systemic or even intractable, problems find a way to endure, to keep going, to keep being a problem that everyone tries to work around or just puts up with.

But today’s guest says that just compounds it and makes the problem harder to fix. Instead, she says, speed and momentum are key to overcoming a problem.

Anne Morriss is an entrepreneur, leadership coach and founder of the Leadership Consortium and with Harvard Business School Professor Francis Frei, she wrote the new book, Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leaders Guide to Solving Hard Problems . Anne, welcome back to the show.

ANNE MORRISS: Curt, thank you so much for having me.

CURT NICKISCH: So, to generate momentum at an organization, you say that you really need speed and trust. We’ll get into those essential ingredients some more, but why are those two essential?

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah. Well, the essential pattern that we observed was that the most effective change leaders out there were building trust and speed, and it didn’t seem to be a well-known observation. We all know the phrase, “Move fast and break things,” but the people who were really getting it right were moving fast and fixing things, and that was really our jumping off point. So when we dug into the pattern, what we observed was they were building trust first and then speed. This foundation of trust was what allowed them to fix more things and break fewer.

CURT NICKISCH: Trust sounds like a slow thing, right? If you talk about building trust, that is something that takes interactions, it takes communication, it takes experiences. Does that run counter to the speed idea?

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah. Well, this issue of trust is something we’ve been looking at for over a decade. One of the headlines in our research is it’s actually something we’re building and rebuilding and breaking all the time. And so instead of being this precious, almost farbege egg, it’s this thing that is constantly in motion and this thing that we can really impact when we’re deliberate about our choices and have some self-awareness around where it’s breaking down and how it’s breaking down.

CURT NICKISCH: You said break trust in there, which is intriguing, right? That you may have to break trust to build trust. Can you explain that a little?

ANNE MORRISS:  Yeah, well, I’ll clarify. It’s not that you have to break it in order to build it. It’s just that we all do it some of the time. Most of us are trusted most of the time. Most of your listeners I imagine are trusted most of the time, but all of us have a pattern where we break trust or where we don’t build as much as could be possible.

CURT NICKISCH: I want to talk about speed, this other essential ingredient that’s so intriguing, right? Because you think about solving hard problems as something that just takes a lot of time and thinking and coordination and planning and designing. Explain what you mean by it? And also, just  how we maybe approach problems wrong by taking them on too slowly?

ANNE MORRISS: Well, Curt, no one has ever said to us, “I wish I had taken longer and done less.” We hear the opposite all the time, by the way. So what we really set out to do was to create a playbook that anyone can use to take less time to do more of the things that are going to make your teams and organizations stronger.

And the way we set up the book is okay, it’s really a five step process. Speed is the last step. It’s the payoff for the hard work you’re going to do to figure out your problem, build or rebuild trust, expand the team in thoughtful and strategic ways, and then tell a real and compelling story about the change you’re leading.

Only then do you get to go fast, but that’s an essential part of the process, and we find that either people under emphasize it or speed has gotten a bad name in this world of moving fast and breaking things. And part of our mission for sure was to rehabilitate speed’s reputation because it is an essential part of the change leader’s equation. It can be the difference between good intentions and getting anything done at all.

CURT NICKISCH: You know, the fact that nobody ever tells you, “I wish we had done less and taken more time.” I think we all feel that, right? Sometimes we do something and then realize, “Oh, that wasn’t that hard and why did it take me so long to do it? And I wish I’d done this a long time ago.” Is it ever possible to solve a problem too quickly?

ANNE MORRISS: Absolutely. And we see that all the time too. What we push people to do in those scenarios is really take a look at the underlying issue because in most cases, the solution is not to take your foot off the accelerator per se and slow down. The solution is to get into the underlying problem. So if it’s burnout or a strategic disconnect between what you’re building and the marketplace you’re serving, what we find is the anxiety that people attach to speed or the frustration people attach to speed is often misplaced.

CURT NICKISCH: What is a good timeline to think about solving a problem then? Because if we by default take too long or else jump ahead and we don’t fix it right, what’s a good target time to have in your mind for how long solving a problem should take?

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah. Well, we’re playful in the book and talking about the idea that many problems can be solved in a week. We set the book up five chapters. They’re titled Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and we’re definitely having fun with that. And yet, if you count the hours in a week, there are a lot of them. Many of our problems, if you were to spend a focused 40 hours of effort on a problem, you’re going to get pretty far.

But our main message is, listen, of course it’s going to depend on the nature of the problem, and you’re going to take weeks and maybe even some cases months to get to the other side. What we don’t want you to do is take years, which tends to be our default timeline for solving hard problems.

CURT NICKISCH: So you say to start with identifying the problem that’s holding you back, seems kind of obvious. But where do companies go right and wrong with this first step of just identifying the problem that’s holding you back?

ANNE MORRISS: And our goal is that all of these are going to feel obvious in retrospect. The problem is we skip over a lot of these steps and this is why we wanted to underline them. So this one is really rooted in our observation and I think the pattern of our species that we tend to be overconfident in the quality of our thoughts, particularly when it comes to diagnosing problems.

And so we want to invite you to start in a very humble and curious place, which tends not to be our default mode when we’re showing up for work. We convince ourselves that we’re being paid for our judgment. That’s exactly what gets reinforced everywhere. And so we tend to counterintuitively, given what we just talked about, we tend to move too quickly through the diagnostic phase.

CURT NICKISCH: “I know what to do, that’s why you hired me.”

ANNE MORRISS: Exactly. “I know what to do. That’s why you hired me. I’ve seen this before. I have a plan. Follow me.” We get rewarded for the expression of confidence and clarity. And so what we’re inviting people to do here is actually pause and really lean into what are the root causes of the problem you’re seeing? What are some alternative explanations? Let’s get into dialogue with the people who are also impacted by the problem before we start running down the path of solving it.

CURT NICKISCH: So what do you recommend for this step, for getting to the root of the problem? What are questions you should ask? What’s the right thought process? What do you do on Monday of the week?

ANNE MORRISS: In our experience of doing this work, people tend to undervalue the power of conversation, particularly with other people in the organization. So we will often advocate putting together a team of problem solvers, make it a temporary team, really pull in people who have a particular perspective on the problem and create the space, make it as psychologically safe as you can for people to really, as Chris Argyris so beautifully articulated, discuss the undiscussable.

And so the conditions for that are going to look different in every organization depending on the problem, but if you can get a space where smart people who have direct experience of a problem are in a room and talking honestly with each other, you can make an extraordinary amount of progress, certainly in a day.

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah, that gets back to the trust piece.

ANNE MORRISS: Definitely.

CURT NICKISCH: How do you like to start that meeting, or how do you like to talk about it? I’m just curious what somebody on that team might hear in that meeting, just to get the sense that it’s psychologically safe, you can discuss the undiscussable and you’re also focusing on the identification part. What’s key to communicate there?

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah. Well, we sometimes encourage people to do a little bit of data gathering before those conversations. So the power of a quick anonymous survey around whatever problem you’re solving, but also be really thoughtful about the questions you’re going to ask in the moment. So a little bit of preparation can go a long way and a little bit of thoughtfulness about the power dynamic. So who’s going to walk in there with license to speak and who’s going to hold back? So being thoughtful about the agenda, about the questions you’re asking about the room, about the facilitation, and then courage is a very infectious emotion.

So if you can early on create the conditions for people to show up bravely in that conversation, then the chance that you’re going to get good information and that you’re going to walk out of that room with new insight in the problem that you didn’t have when you walked in is extraordinarily high.

CURT NICKISCH: Now, in those discussions, you may have people who have different perspectives on what the problem really is. They also bear different costs of addressing the problem or solving it. You talked about the power dynamic, but there’s also an unfairness dynamic of who’s going to actually have to do the work to take care of it, and I wonder how you create a culture in that meeting where it’s the most productive?

ANNE MORRISS: For sure, the burden of work is not going to be equitably distributed around the room. But I would say, Curt, the dynamic that we see most often is that people are deeply relieved that hard problems are being addressed. So it really can create, and more often than not in our experience, it does create this beautiful flywheel of action, creativity, optimism. Often when problems haven’t been addressed, there is a fair amount of anxiety in the organization, frustration, stagnation. And so credible movement towards action and progress is often the best antidote. So even if the plan isn’t super clear yet, if it’s credible, given who’s in the room and their decision rights and mandate, if there’s real momentum coming out of that to make progress, then that tends to be deeply energizing to people.

CURT NICKISCH: I wonder if there’s an organization that you’ve worked with that you could talk about how this rolled out and how this took shape?

ANNE MORRISS: When we started working with Uber, that was wrestling with some very public issues of culture and trust with a range of stakeholders internally, the organization, also external, that work really started with a campaign of listening and really trying to understand where trust was breaking down from the perspective of these stakeholders?

So whether it was female employees or regulators or riders who had safety concerns getting into the car with a stranger. This work, it starts with an honest internal dialogue, but often the problem has threads that go external. And so bringing that same commitment to curiosity and humility and dialogue to anyone who’s impacted by the problem is the fastest way to surface what’s really going on.

CURT NICKISCH: There’s a step in this process that you lay out and that’s communicating powerfully as a leader. So we’ve heard about listening and trust building, but now you’re talking about powerful communication. How do you do this and why is it maybe this step in the process rather than the first thing you do or the last thing you do?

ANNE MORRISS: So in our process, again, it’s the days of the week. On Monday you figured out the problem. Tuesday you really got into the sandbox in figuring out what a good enough plan is for building trust. Wednesday, step three, you made it better. You created an even better plan, bringing in new perspectives. Thursday, this fourth step is the day we’re saying you got to go get buy-in. You got to bring other people along. And again, this is a step where we see people often underinvest in the power and payoff of really executing it well.

CURT NICKISCH: How does that go wrong?

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah, people don’t know the why. Human behavior and the change in human behavior really depends on a strong why. It’s not just a selfish, “What’s in it for me?” Although that’s helpful, but where are we going? I may be invested in a status quo and I need to understand, okay, if you’re going to ask me to change, if you’re going to invite me into this uncomfortable place of doing things differently, why am I here? Help me understand it and articulate the way forward and language that not only I can understand, but also that’s going to be motivating to me.

CURT NICKISCH: And who on my team was part of this process and all that kind of stuff?

ANNE MORRISS: Oh, yeah. I may have some really important questions that may be in the way of my buy-in and commitment to this plan. So certainly creating a space where those questions can be addressed is essential. But what we found is that there is an architecture of a great change story, and it starts with honoring the past, honoring the starting place. Sometimes we’re so excited about the change and animated about the change that what has happened before or what is even happening in the present tense is low on our list of priorities.

Or we want to label it bad, because that’s the way we’ve thought about the change, but really pausing and honoring what came before you and all the reasonable decisions that led up to it, I think can be really helpful to getting people emotionally where you want them to be willing to be guided by you. Going back to Uber, when Dara Khosrowshahi came in.

CURT NICKISCH: This is the new CEO.

ANNE MORRISS: The new CEO.

CURT NICKISCH: Replaced Travis Kalanick, the founder and first CEO, yeah.

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah, and had his first all-hands meeting. One of his key messages, and this is a quote, was that he was going to retain the edge that had made Uber, “A force of nature.” And in that meeting, the crowd went wild because this is also a company that had been beaten up publicly for months and months and months, and it was a really powerful choice. And his predecessor, Travis was in the room, and he also honored Travis’ incredible work and investment in bringing the company to the place where it was.

And I would use words like grace to also describe those choices, but there’s also an incredible strategic value to naming the starting place for everybody in the room because in most cases, most people in that room played a role in getting to that starting place, and you’re acknowledging that.

CURT NICKISCH: You can call it grace. Somebody else might call it diplomatic or strategic. But yeah, I guess like it or not, it’s helpful to call out and honor the complexity of the way things have been done and also the change that’s happening.

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah, and the value. Sometimes honoring the past is also owning what didn’t work or what wasn’t working for stakeholders or segments of the employee team, and we see that around culture change. Sometimes you’ve got to acknowledge that it was not an equitable environment, but whatever the worker, everyone in that room is bringing that pass with them. So again, making it discussable and using it as the jumping off place is where we advise people to start.

Then you’ve earned the right to talk about the change mandate, which we suggest using clear and compelling language about the why. “This is what happened, this is where we are, this is the good and the bad of it, and here’s the case for change.”

And then the last part, which is to describe a rigorous and optimistic way forward. It’s a simple past, present, future arc, which will be familiar to human beings. We love stories as human beings. It’s among the most powerful currency we have to make sense of the world.

CURT NICKISCH: Yeah. Chronological is a pretty powerful order.

ANNE MORRISS: Right. But again, the change leaders we see really get it right, are investing an incredible amount of time into the storytelling part of their job. Ursula Burns, the Head of Xerox is famous for the months and years she spent on the road just telling the story of Xerox’s change, its pivot into services to everyone who would listen, and that was a huge part of her success.

CURT NICKISCH: So Friday or your fifth step, you end with empowering teams and removing roadblocks. That seems obvious, but it’s critical. Can you dig into that a little bit?

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah. Friday is the fun day. Friday’s the release of energy into the system. Again, you’ve now earned the right to go fast. You have a plan, you’re pretty confident it’s going to work. You’ve told the story of change the organization, and now you get to sprint. So this is about really executing with urgency, and it’s about a lot of the tactics of speed is where we focus in the book. So the tactics of empowerment, making tough strategic trade-offs so that your priorities are clear and clearly communicated, creating mechanisms to fast-track progress. At Etsy, CEO Josh Silverman, he labeled these projects ambulances. It’s an unfortunate metaphor, but it’s super memorable. These are the products that get to speed out in front of the other ones because the stakes are high and the clock is sticking.

CURT NICKISCH: You pull over and let it go by.

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah, exactly. And so we have to agree as an organization on how to do something like that. And so we see lots of great examples both in young organizations and big complex biotech companies with lots of regulatory guardrails have still found ways to do this gracefully.

And I think we end with this idea of conflict debt, which is a term we really love. Leanne Davey, who’s a team scholar and researcher, and anyone in a tech company will recognize the idea of tech debt, which is this weight the organization drags around until they resolve it. Conflict debt is a beautiful metaphor because it is this weight that we drag around and slows us down until we decide to clean it up and fix it. The organizations that are really getting speed right have figured out either formally or informally, how to create an environment where conflict and disagreements can be gracefully resolved.

CURT NICKISCH: Well, let’s talk about this speed more, right? Because I think this is one of those places that maybe people go wrong or take too long, and then you lose the awareness of the problem, you lose that urgency. And then that also just makes it less effective, right? It’s not just about getting the problem solved as quickly as possible. It’s also just speed in some ways helps solve the problem.

ANNE MORRISS: Oh, yeah. It really is the difference between imagining the change you want to lead and really being able to bring it to life. Speed is the thing that unlocks your ability to lead change. It needs a foundation, and that’s what Monday through Thursday is all about, steps one through four, but the finish line is executing with urgency, and it’s that urgency that releases the system’s energy, that communicates your priorities, that creates the conditions for your team to make progress.

CURT NICKISCH: Moving fast is something that entrepreneurs and tech companies certainly understand, but there’s also this awareness that with big companies, the bigger the organization, the harder it is to turn the aircraft carrier around, right? Is speed relative when you get at those levels, or do you think this is something that any company should be able to apply equally?

ANNE MORRISS: We think this applies to any company. The culture really lives at the level of team. So we believe you can make a tremendous amount of progress even within your circle of control as a team leader. I want to bring some humility to this and careful of words like universal, but we do think there’s some universal truths here around the value of speed, and then some of the byproducts like keeping fantastic people. Your best people want to solve problems, they want to execute, they want to make progress and speed, and the ability to do that is going to be a variable in their own equation of whether they stay or they go somewhere else where they can have an impact.

CURT NICKISCH: Right. They want to accomplish something before they go or before they retire or finish something out. And if you’re able to just bring more things on the horizon and have it not feel like it’s going to be another two years to do something meaningful.

ANNE MORRISS: People – I mean, they want to make stuff happen and they want to be around the energy and the vitality of making things happen, which again, is also a super infectious phenomenon. One of the most important jobs of a leader, we believe, is to set the metabolic pace of their teams and organizations. And so what we really dig into on Friday is, well, what does that look like to speed something up? What are the tactics of that?

CURT NICKISCH: I wonder if that universal truth, that a body in motion stays in motion applies to organizations, right? If an organization in motion stays in motion, there is something to that.

ANNE MORRISS: Absolutely.

CURT NICKISCH: Do you have a favorite client story to share, just where you saw speed just become a bit of a flywheel or just a positive reinforcement loop for more positive change at the organization?

ANNE MORRISS: Yeah. We work with a fair number of organizations that are on fire. We do a fair amount of firefighting, but we also less dramatically do a lot of fire prevention. So we’re brought into organizations that are working well and want to get better, looking out on the horizon. That work is super gratifying, and there is always a component of, well, how do we speed this up?

What I love about that work is there’s often already a high foundation of trust, and so it’s, well, how do we maintain that foundation but move this flywheel, as you said, even faster? And it’s really energizing because often there’s a lot of pent-up energy that… There’s a lot of loyalty to the organization, but often it’s also frustration and pent-up energy. And so when that gets released, when good people get the opportunity to sprint for the first time in a little while, it’s incredibly energizing, not just for us, but for the whole organization.

CURT NICKISCH: Anne, this is great. I think finding a way to solve problems better but also faster is going to be really helpful. So thanks for coming on the show to talk about it.

ANNE MORRISS:  Oh, Curt, it was such a pleasure. This is my favorite conversation. I’m delighted to have it anytime.

HANNAH BATES: That was entrepreneur, leadership coach, and author Anne Morriss – in conversation with Curt Nickisch on HBR IdeaCast.

We’ll be back next Wednesday with another hand-picked conversation about business strategy from Harvard Business Review. If you found this episode helpful, share it with your friends and colleagues, and follow our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, be sure to leave us a review.

When you’re ready for more podcasts, articles, case studies, books, and videos with the world’s top business and management experts, you’ll find it all at HBR.org.

This episode was produced by Mary Dooe, Anne Saini, and me, Hannah Bates. Ian Fox is our editor. Special thanks to Rob Eckhardt, Maureen Hoch, Erica Truxler, Ramsey Khabbaz, Nicole Smith, Anne Bartholomew, and you – our listener. See you next week.

• Subscribe On:

Latest in this series

This article is about strategy.

• Decision making and problem solving
• Strategy execution
• Leadership and managing people
• Collaboration and teams
• Trustworthiness
• Organizational culture

Partner Center

109 of the Best Books On Entreprenurship (Part 1)

F or entrepreneurs, adaptability and knowledge are key currencies. The practice of reading stands out as an indispensable asset for visionary leaders . Beyond the bustling schedules and relentless pursuits of success, entrepreneurs find themselves drawn to the profound impact that books can have on their professional journey. This article explores the compelling reasons why reading is not just a leisurely pursuit but a strategic imperative for those navigating the unpredictable landscapes of business ownership. Additionally, we’ll look at the best books on entrepreneurship.

From acquiring in-depth industry insights and fostering continuous learning to gaining inspiration, honing critical thinking skills, and fostering personal development, the act of reading emerges as a cornerstone for entrepreneurial excellence. In this 2-part article series, we are here to answer, not just why you should read, but what you should read.

1. Knowledge Acquisition:

Reading exposes entrepreneurs to a wealth of information and knowledge. Books cover a variety of topics, including business strategies, industry trends, leadership skills, and personal development. Entrepreneurs can gain insights from the experiences and expertise of successful individuals in their fields.

2. Continuous Learning:

The business landscape is dynamic and ever-evolving. Reading allows entrepreneurs to stay updated on the latest trends, technologies, and market changes. Continuous learning is crucial for adapting to new challenges and opportunities, enabling entrepreneurs to make informed decisions.

3. Inspiration and Motivation:

Biographies, success stories, and motivational literature can inspire and motivate entrepreneurs. They truly are some of the best books on entrepreneurship. Learning about the journeys and triumphs of others can instill a sense of determination, resilience, and creativity, helping entrepreneurs overcome obstacles and stay focused on their goals.

4. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving:

Reading encourages critical thinking and the development of problem-solving skills. Entrepreneurs encounter various challenges in their ventures, and exposure to diverse perspectives through literature can enhance their ability to analyze situations, make strategic decisions, and find innovative solutions.

Having laid the groundwork for understanding why reading is an indispensable ally for entrepreneurs our expedition now ventures further into the realms of the best books on entrepreneurship. These carefully curated recommendations span genres and authors, each offering a unique perspective and a wealth of insights for entrepreneurs seeking guidance and inspiration. From timeless classics to contemporary bestsellers, these books serve as beacons, illuminating the paths to strategic thinking, leadership excellence, and business mastery. Join us as we navigate this literary landscape, unveiling the titles that stand as pillars in the library of entrepreneurial wisdom—books that promise not just to inform but to transform the very fabric of how entrepreneurs approach their ventures and shape the future of their endeavors.

1. Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

In “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” Robert Kiyosaki contrasts the contrasting financial philosophies of his biological father and the father of his best friend. This personal finance classic challenges traditional views on money, advocating for financial education, investment, and entrepreneurial thinking to achieve true wealth.

2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey

Stephen R. Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” outlines a holistic approach to personal and professional effectiveness. Covey presents seven transformative habits that guide individuals toward greater productivity, effectiveness, and personal growth.

3. Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” explores the factors contributing to exceptional success. Examining the lives of high achievers, Gladwell reveals the role of cultural background, opportunities, and external factors in shaping extraordinary outcomes, challenging the notion of success as solely an individual achievement.

4. Purple Cow – Seth Godin

In “Purple Cow,” Seth Godin urges businesses to stand out in a crowded market by being remarkable. The book emphasizes the importance of innovation and creativity in creating products or services that are so exceptional they capture attention and distinguish themselves from the ordinary.

5. Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” is a timeless guide to achieving success and wealth. Hill distills the principles of success he gleaned from studying successful individuals, emphasizing the power of a positive mental attitude, goal-setting, and persistence.

6. The Art of War – Sun Tzu

“The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military treatise, has transcended its origins to become a classic in strategy and leadership. While originally focused on warfare, its principles have been widely applied to business and life, offering insights into strategic thinking and effective decision-making.

7. The 48 Laws of Power – Robert Greene

Robert Greene’s “The 48 Laws of Power” delves into the dynamics of power and influence throughout history. Each law offers a strategy for navigating complex social and professional situations, making it a thought-provoking guide for those seeking to understand and wield power.

8. Start with Why – Simon Sinek

In “Start with Why,” Simon Sinek emphasizes the importance of understanding and communicating the “why” – the core purpose and beliefs – of individuals and organizations. By inspiring a sense of purpose, Sinek argues that leaders can create lasting impact and build strong connections.

9. The 4-Hour Workweek – Timothy Ferriss

Timothy Ferriss challenges traditional notions of work in “The 4-Hour Workweek.” Offering a blueprint for designing a life of freedom and efficiency, Ferriss shares strategies for automating businesses, outsourcing tasks, and maximizing productivity to achieve more with less effort.

10. The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas J. Stanley

“The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J. Stanley dispels common myths about wealth, revealing that many millionaires live modestly and prioritize financial discipline. The book offers insights into the habits and characteristics of everyday millionaires, providing a guide for building lasting wealth.

11. The Richest Man in Babylon – George S. Clason

Set in ancient Babylon, George S. Clason’s “The Richest Man in Babylon” imparts timeless financial wisdom through parables. The book offers practical advice on wealth-building and money management, providing insights that remain relevant for achieving financial success in the modern world.

12. The Lean Startup – Eric Ries

“The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries introduces a revolutionary approach to entrepreneurship. Ries advocates for the lean startup methodology, emphasizing continuous innovation, customer feedback, and agile development. The book has become a guide for startups and established companies, promoting efficiency and adaptability in business .

13. The Magic of Thinking Big – David J. Schwartz

In “The Magic of Thinking Big,” David J. Schwartz explores the transformative power of mindset. Encouraging readers to think beyond limits, the book emphasizes the importance of self-belief, optimism, and proactive thinking in achieving personal and professional success.

14. The E-Myth Revisited – Michael E. Gerber

Michael E. Gerber’s “The E-Myth Revisited” dispels common myths about entrepreneurship and business ownership. Gerber introduces the concept of the “entrepreneurial myth” and provides insights into building scalable and successful businesses by systematizing operations and focusing on key roles.

15. Influence – Robert B. Cialdini

Robert B. Cialdini’s “Influence” delves into the psychology of persuasion. Exploring the principles that guide human decision-making, Cialdini identifies key factors that influence people and offers practical insights for individuals looking to enhance their persuasive abilities in various contexts.

16. How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie’s classic “How to Win Friends & Influence People” remains a cornerstone in interpersonal communication. Offering timeless advice on building relationships and influencing others positively, Carnegie’s principles continue to guide individuals in personal and professional interactions.

17. Think Like a Monk – Jay Shetty

Jay Shetty’s “Think Like a Monk” draws on his experiences as a former monk to provide insights into mindfulness, purpose, and fulfillment. The book encourages readers to adopt monk-like principles to navigate life’s challenges and cultivate a mindset that leads to inner peace and success.

18. Lean In – Sheryl Sandberg

“Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg addresses gender dynamics in the workplace and encourages women to pursue leadership roles. Sandberg combines personal anecdotes with research to explore the challenges women face and offers practical advice for navigating professional environments and achieving success.

19. Crush It – Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Crush It” is a motivational guide for turning passion into a successful career. Vaynerchuk emphasizes the power of personal branding , social media, and hustle in creating opportunities and achieving professional goals in the digital age.

20. The $100 Startup – Chris Guillebeau

In “The $100 Startup,” Chris Guillebeau explores the world of entrepreneurship with a focus on low-cost, high-impact businesses. Drawing on real-life examples, the book provides practical advice for individuals looking to start small businesses and achieve financial independence with minimal investment.

21. Rework – Jason Fried

“Rework” by Jason Fried challenges conventional business wisdom and encourages a pragmatic and unconventional approach to work. Fried advocates for simplicity, efficiency, and a focus on what truly matters, providing insights for entrepreneurs and business leaders seeking a different perspective on success.

22. The Power of Broke – Daymond John

Daymond John’s “ The Power of Broke ” celebrates the advantages of starting a business with limited resources. Drawing on his own experiences, John showcases how a mindset of resilience, creativity, and resourcefulness can turn challenges into opportunities for entrepreneurial success.

23. The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” explores the phenomena that lead to the sudden and widespread adoption of ideas or trends. Gladwell identifies key factors that contribute to a tipping point and examines how small changes can lead to significant impacts in various social and cultural contexts.

24. Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant – Robert T. Kiyosaki

Building on the principles from “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” Robert T. Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant” introduces the concept of the Cashflow Quadrant, categorizing individuals into Employee (E), Self-Employed (S), Business Owner (B), and Investor (I). The book explores different approaches to generating income and building wealth in each quadrant.

25. Zero to One – Peter Thiel – Blake Masters

In “Zero to One,” Peter Thiel, along with Blake Masters, challenges conventional thinking on innovation. Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, explores the secrets of creating and capturing unique value in a world of competition, advocating for the importance of innovation and monopoly in building successful ventures.

26. The ONE Thing – Gary Keller – Jay Papasan

Gary Keller and Jay Papasan’s “The ONE Thing” advocates for a simplified and focused approach to productivity. The book emphasizes the power of identifying and prioritizing the most impactful tasks, helping individuals and businesses achieve greater results by concentrating on what truly matters.

27. The Startup Owner’s Manual – Steve Blank – Bob Dorf

The Startup Owner’s Manual” by Steve Blank and Bob Dorf serves as a comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs navigating the complexities of launching and growing a startup. The book provides practical insights, tools, and strategies based on the principles of lean startup methodology.

28. The Intelligent Investor – Benjamin Graham – Jason Zweig – Warren Buffett

Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor,” updated by Jason Zweig, is a classic in value investing. Known as the “investor’s bible,” the book provides timeless principles for making sound investment decisions, with commentary from Warren Buffett, who considers Graham a significant influence on his own investment philosophy.

29. The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Ben Horowitz

In “The Hard Thing About Hard Things,” Ben Horowitz, a successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist, shares candid insights into the challenges of leading and managing a business, particularly during tough times. The book provides practical advice on navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship.

30. Steve Jobs – Walter Isaacson

Walter Isaacson’s biography of “Steve Jobs” provides a comprehensive and intimate look into the life of the co-founder of Apple. Drawing on extensive interviews with Jobs and those close to him, Isaacson captures the innovative spirit and complex personality of this tech icon.

31. Built to Last – Jim Collins – Jerry I. Porras

“Built to Last” by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras explores the characteristics of enduring and successful companies. Drawing on research, the book identifies key principles and practices that contribute to the long-term success and sustainability of exceptional organizations.

32. Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking, Fast and Slow” delves into the dual systems of thought that govern human decision-making. Kahneman explores the interplay between intuitive, fast thinking and deliberate, slow thinking, offering profound insights into human behavior and cognitive biases.

33. Shoe Dog – Phil Knight

In “ Shoe Dog ,” Nike co-founder Phil Knight recounts the journey of building one of the world’s most iconic brands. The memoir provides a compelling narrative of entrepreneurship, detailing the challenges, triumphs, and lessons learned in the evolution of Nike.

34. Linchpin – Seth Godin

Seth Godin’s “Linchpin” challenges individuals to become indispensable in their workplaces and lives. The book encourages readers to embrace their unique qualities, be artists in their work, and create extraordinary value by becoming linchpins in their respective fields.

35. The Power of Your Subconscious Mind – Joseph Murphy

“The Power of Your Subconscious Mind” by Joseph Murphy explores the potential of the subconscious mind in shaping one’s reality. Murphy delves into the power of positive thinking, visualization, and affirmations, providing tools for personal development and achieving life goals.

36. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson

Mark Manson’s “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” challenges conventional self-help advice by advocating for a more realistic and nuanced approach to life. The book encourages readers to focus on what truly matters and embrace life’s challenges to find genuine fulfillment.

37. Tools of Titans – Timothy Ferriss

In “Tools of Titans,” Timothy Ferriss distills insights from his popular podcast, “The Tim Ferriss Show.” The book features interviews with successful individuals from various fields, sharing their strategies, habits, and tools for achieving excellence in their personal and professional lives.

38. Too Big to Fail – Andrew Ross Sorkin

Andrew Ross Sorkin’s “Too Big to Fail” provides a gripping account of the 2008 financial crisis and the events leading to the bailout of major financial institutions. The book offers a detailed and insightful narrative, shedding light on the complexities of global finance during a tumultuous period.

39. Business Adventures – John Brooks

“Business Adventures” by John Brooks is a collection of essays that explores pivotal moments in the business world. Originally published in The New Yorker during the 1960s, these timeless stories offer insights into the challenges, successes, and complexities faced by various companies, providing valuable lessons for business enthusiasts.

40. The Outsiders – William Thorndike

William Thorndike’s “The Outsiders” profiles eight unconventional CEOs who defied conventional wisdom and achieved exceptional results for their companies and shareholders. The book challenges traditional management practices and highlights the importance of capital allocation and strategic decision-making.

41. Blue Ocean Strategy – W. Chan Kim – Renée Mauborgne

“Blue Ocean Strategy” by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne introduces a groundbreaking approach to business strategy. The authors advocate for creating uncontested market space, or “blue oceans,” by innovating and offering unique value propositions, diverging from traditional competition-focused strategies.

42. Bad Blood – John Carreyrou

John Carreyrou’s “Bad Blood” provides a riveting account of the rise and fall of Theranos, a health technology company that claimed to revolutionize blood testing. Carreyrou exposes the deception and unethical practices within the company, offering a cautionary tale about the consequences of corporate fraud.

43. Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman

“Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman explores the importance of emotional intelligence in personal and professional success. Goleman introduces the concept of EQ (emotional quotient) and highlights how understanding and managing emotions can contribute to effective leadership and interpersonal relationships.

44. Thrive – Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington’s “Thrive” advocates for a new definition of success that goes beyond traditional measures. The book encourages readers to prioritize well-being, wisdom, and wonder in addition to wealth and career achievements, fostering a more fulfilling and balanced life.

45. Titan – Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow’s biography “Titan” delves into the life of John D. Rockefeller, one of the most influential figures in American business history. The book provides a comprehensive and detailed account of Rockefeller’s rise to wealth and power, as well as his impact on the oil industry and philanthropy.

46. The Smartest Guys in the Room – Bethany McLean – Peter Elkind

“The Smartest Guys in the Room” by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind investigates the collapse of Enron, one of the most infamous corporate scandals in history. The book uncovers the unethical practices and financial manipulation that led to the downfall of the energy giant.

47. Guerilla Marketing – Jay Conrad Levinson

Jay Conrad Levinson’s “Guerilla Marketing” revolutionizes traditional marketing approaches by advocating for cost-effective, unconventional strategies. The book provides practical tips and creative ideas for small businesses to compete successfully against larger competitors in the marketing arena.

48. When Genius Failed – Roger Lowenstein

“When Genius Failed” by Roger Lowenstein recounts the story of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) and its catastrophic collapse in 1998. Lowenstein explores the financial complexities and risks that led to the fund’s downfall, offering lessons about the perils of unchecked financial innovation.

49. First, Break All The Rules – Marcus Buckingham – Gallup Organization

Marcus Buckingham and the Gallup Organization present “First, Break All The Rules,” offering insights into effective management practices based on Gallup’s extensive research. The book challenges traditional management conventions, providing a fresh perspective on leadership and employee engagement.

50. Traction – Gabriel Weinberg – Justin Mares

“Traction” by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares serves as a practical guide for startups seeking to gain traction in the market. The book outlines various channels for customer acquisition, helping entrepreneurs identify and focus on the most effective strategies for scaling their businesses.

51. Deep Work – Cal Newport

In “Deep Work,” Cal Newport explores the benefits of focused and undistracted work in an age of constant connectivity. Newport presents strategies for cultivating deep work habits, allowing individuals to achieve higher levels of productivity and creativity in an increasingly distracting world.

52. So Good They Can’t Ignore You – Cal Newport

Cal Newport’s “So Good They Can’t Ignore You” challenges the conventional advice to “follow your passion” and advocates for a craftsman mindset. Newport argues that passion is developed through skill mastery and meaningful work, encouraging readers to focus on acquiring valuable skills to achieve success.

53. The Answer – John Assaraf – Murray Smith

“The Answer” by John Assaraf and Murray Smith combines personal development and business advice. Assaraf shares his journey from struggling with poverty to achieving success and provides insights on overcoming mental barriers, setting goals, and creating a mindset for wealth and abundance.

54. Grinding It Out – Ray Kroc

Ray Kroc’s autobiography, “Grinding It Out,” chronicles the founding and growth of McDonald’s, the iconic fast-food franchise. Kroc’s story provides a firsthand account of entrepreneurial persistence and innovation, offering lessons on business strategy and building a global brand.

Video by Rick Kettner on YouTube

As we draw the curtains on the first part of our exploration into the pivotal role of reading in the entrepreneurial realm, we find ourselves amidst a tapestry of insights and revelations. From the foundational importance of continuous learning and strategic thinking to the inspiration derived from the narratives of successful individuals, it becomes evident that reading is not a mere pastime for entrepreneurs—it is a strategic imperative. As they navigate the complexities of business ownership, entrepreneurs equipped with a well-curated reading habit stand fortified against the uncertainties of the ever-evolving landscape.

Join us in the second part, where we will delve deeper into specific literary landscapes that offer nuanced guidance for entrepreneurial success. In this collective journey of turning pages and embracing wisdom, entrepreneurs lay the groundwork for not just business triumphs but a holistic and enduring impact on their personal and professional landscapes.

Images provided by John Ray Ebora and picjumbo.com; Pexels; Thanks!

The post 109 of the Best Books On Entreprenurship (Part 1) appeared first on Under30CEO .

#006 The SECRET Power of Curiosity and Asking Questions for Lifelong Learning The Raw Leader

Learning to ask questions is one of the most important skills you can gain. It’ll make you a better author and better speaker - it’ll definitely make you a better coach and it’ll also make you a better entrepreneur. In this episode, we explore the profound impact of questions on personal growth, leadership, and problem-solving. Discover the three golden rules of asking questions and explore key categories of questions that can transform your approach to communication and decision-making. Key Takeaways: * Understand the significance of curiosity and questioning in personal and professional development. * Learn how questions build relationships, promote critical thinking, and empower individuals. * Discover the three golden rules of asking questions * Explore different types of questions, including clarifying, empathetic, coaching, option, and trajectory questions and how to leverage them for maximum impact

• Episode Website
• More Episodes

Top Podcasts In Education

Full-Time Hustler

From side-hustle to full-time success, harnessing critical thinking and problem-solving in entrepreneurship.

In the entrepreneurial world, the ability to navigate through uncertainty and challenging situations with agility and precision defines success. Critical thinking and problem-solving are not just skills; they are essential tools that every entrepreneur needs to master. In today’s post, we delve deep into how these abilities impact your journey and the strategies you can use to sharpen them.

The Role of Critical Thinking in Entrepreneurship

Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating information to reach an objective conclusion. For entrepreneurs, this means not just identifying problems but actively seeking innovative solutions that are robust yet flexible. It’s about questioning assumptions, dissecting problems, and making decisions that are informed by both data and foresight. The ability to think critically helps entrepreneurs foresee potential challenges and react to unexpected changes in the market or business environment efficiently.

Challenges That Demand Critical Thinking

From deciding when to pivot your business strategy to solving daily operational challenges, critical thinking is indispensable. Entrepreneurs often face situations like entering new markets, which requires an understanding of complex factors like cultural nuances, regulatory landscapes, and competitive pressures. Other common scenarios include crisis management, financial planning, and innovation—all requiring a high degree of analytical thinking and strategic planning.

Problem-Solving Frameworks

Entrepreneurs can benefit from structured problem-solving frameworks to navigate business challenges effectively. Techniques such as the 5 Whys, SWOT Analysis, and the Lean Startup Method provide systematic approaches to dissect problems and devise actionable solutions. Each framework offers unique advantages that can help clarify thinking, prioritize actions, and optimize outcomes.

Case Studies: Success Through Problem-Solving

Real-world examples of companies like Airbnb, Netflix, and Toyota illustrate the power of effective problem-solving. These companies faced significant challenges that they overcame through innovative thinking and strategic problem-solving, setting themselves apart as leaders in their respective industries.

Tools and Techniques for Enhancing Critical Thinking

Several tools can enhance an entrepreneur’s ability to think critically. Digital mind maps, for instance, help visualize problems and solutions, facilitating deeper analytical thinking. Online courses on platforms like Coursera or LinkedIn Learning can also build your skills in logical reasoning and strategic decision-making.

Barriers to Effective Problem-Solving

Recognizing and overcoming barriers such as cognitive biases and emotional interference is crucial. Entrepreneurs must strive for objectivity and be aware of how personal biases and emotions can affect their decision-making processes.

Q&A Segment

Addressing common questions from the entrepreneurial community helps clarify doubts and expands understanding. Questions like how to improve decision-making in high-pressure situations or how to manage team dynamics effectively are vital for entrepreneurial success.

Final Remarks

Critical thinking and problem-solving are more than just business skills; they are essential for anyone looking to thrive in the ever-changing landscape of entrepreneurship. By fostering these skills, entrepreneurs can navigate the complexities of business with greater ease and confidence.

Thank you for reading, and be sure to tune in to the podcast for more insights. Don’t forget to visit our blog for more articles and follow us on our journey at Full-Time Hustler!

Discover more from Full-Time Hustler

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

More From Forbes

4 hacks to enhance creative thinking in your career using chatgpt.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

AI and creativity are not odd bedfellows, according to research, and not only does it not hamper ... [+] creativity, experts say, but it can match the creativity of humans.

It is generally believed that AI hampers creativity or at best leads to mediocrity. In a survey by EduBirdie , one in six of 2,000 Gen Z say they believe AI does indeed hamper creativity, and 31% of them think it stifles critical thinking. But science-backed research shows that state-of-the-art generative artificial intelligence (AI) can actually match humans in creativity tests and is at the cusp of augmenting the creativity for knowledge workers.

Ksenia Hubska, data lead at EduBirdie , agrees with the science and is confident that naysayers might just be missing out on AI’s full potential to enhance creativity. Hubska explains that employees and employers can use AI to simulate various workplace scenarios, enhancing their skills and preparedness. As an example, she says they can practice sales calls, client meetings and workplace disputes. And for those working with text, she says AI can be an invaluable assistant. “Journalists, PR professionals, copywriters and marketers can rewrite texts in different styles, adjust tones and reorganize structures to meet specific needs,” she continues. “By analyzing these modifications, employees can enhance their own writing, nurturing creativity and precision.”

She adds that AI is a valuable tool for brainstorming and feedback, especially in marketing, product development and research. “It can assist in generating new ideas, suggest questions and offer unbiased input on drafts and presentations,” according to the EduBirdie data lead. “This helps professionals refine their work, fostering creativity and continuous improvement.” To assist the younger generation in using this powerful tool, Hubska shared with me by email four essential hacks for boosting creativity with the help of AI.

1. Simulating scenarios

Hubska says if you’re out of ideas, asking AI tools to act out a hypothetical scenario with you can help kick start your creativity and problem-solving. “You can test different ideas, unearth challenges and explore potential outcomes, she posits. “Immersing yourself in role play will allow you to sharpen your presentation skills, hone your critical thinking, and make informed decisions—without any real-world consequences."

She presents these prompt examples:

• Let’s act out a scenario where I believe [position] and you dispute my opinion.
• Simulate a scenario where I’m pitching [idea]. What key points should I emphasize to secure support?

Reacher Season 3 Casts A Villain That Looks Like He Ate Reacher

Netflix’s new #1 movie is an overlooked, must-watch crime comedy thriller, why is chief boden leaving chicago fire eamonn walker s exit explained, 2. linguistic enhancements.

Hubska says you can ask ChatGPT to rewrite a text in different styles, improve its tone or reorganize the structure to meet particular needs. She cautions, however, not to copy and paste the results without learning from it. “Read over its work to see what changes it made, and use it to improve your writing style and prompt linguistic creativity,” she explains. “With enough practice, you won’t need AI's help to think of the perfect pun or creative word combinations"

Prompt examples:

• Generate a creative wordplay that combines [concept] and [concept].
• Rewrite this text in the style of a stand-up comedy routine.

3. Supported brainstorming

Hubska points out that ChatGPT or other AI tools can provide basic insight into market trends and industry happenings, but it falls short when asked to analyze complex ideas or come up with creative solutions. “You can’t expect it to do the hard work for you, but with the right prompt, it can help to get your brain going and creativity flowing,” she notes. “Rather than asking AI to tell you the answers, try asking it to think of questions you should ask yourself."

• Describe five effective brainstorming techniques to help me generate more creative ideas.
• Share some thought-provoking questions or prompts that could help me explore [topic].

4. Detailed feedback

Hubska acknowledges that feedback is critical to evaluating performance, spotting mistake, and improving ourselves, but there isn’t always an expert around to help. “Or there wasn’t, until now,” she adds. “Using ChatGPT, you can seek valuable unbiased feedback on your ideas, projects and presentations at any time. Ask ChatGPT for its input on areas you can improve, alternative perspectives to consider, and how you can refine your work. Additionally, ask it to play the part of your audience and generate questions they might ask in response to your pitch or presentation, ensuring you’re ready for the real thing."

• Provide feedback on this draft and suggest ways to improve it.
• How would you make this presentation more engaging and impactful?

Hubska insists that employees and employers can use AI to simulate various workplace scenarios, enhancing their skills and preparedness. They can practice sales calls, client meetings and workplace disputes,” she points out. “For those working with text, AI can be an invaluable assistant. Journalists, PR professionals, copywriters and marketers can rewrite texts in different styles, adjust tones and reorganize structures to meet specific needs.”

She informs us that employees can enhance their own writing, nurturing creativity and precision by analyzing these modifications, adding that AI is a valuable tool for brainstorming and feedback, especially in marketing, product development and research. “It can assist in generating new ideas, suggest questions and offer unbiased input on drafts and presentations,” she concludes. “This helps professionals refine their work, fostering creativity and continuous improvement.”

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Join The Conversation

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. 

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

• False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
• Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
• Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
• Content that otherwise violates our site's  terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

• Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
• Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
• Actions that otherwise violate our site's  terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

• Stay on topic and share your insights
• Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
• ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
• Protect your community.
• Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service.