Bajan Sun Magazine - Caribbean Entrepreneurs Vol 1 Issue 11 | Page 12

JAN 2015 One Trait of Successful Entrepreneurs T he popular search for traits that predict business success is inevitably and fatally flawed for one simple reason: it’s not personal characteristics that make businesses successful, but their products and services that beat the competition. presence. Some were so boring they could put you to sleep while others could captivate an audience with their engaging stories. They ran the gamut from geeks with Ph.D's to marketing and financial wizards. None of the great business leaders I’ve known and worked with over the decades were defined by who they were. They were defined by what they did. They were defined by their work. Simply put, they were better at their jobs than the vast majority of their peers. While they dif not fit any particular model, I can certainly share some interesting observations and insights that may have influenced their rise to such lofty positions in the business world. Other than that, they were unique, and they certainly did not fit any of the popular notions we hear about these days. They spanned the spectrum from painfully shy and introverted to classic icons that exude executive For one thing, they were all brilliant. They were all hungry for knowledge and experience. They all had common sense. That’s the closest thing to a common intrinsic characteristic I can offer. I don’t really think of it as unique because – well, there’s simply no way to sugarcoat this so I’m not going to try – smarts are a necessity. www.bajansunonline.com/MAGAZINE/ | [email protected] | @BajanSunOnline