Most of the entrepreneurs I have met are smart, but many are not always wise. That means they may show great insights into a new technology that has marginal business value, their passion may motivate team members more than customers or they may allow themselves to be pulled over the ethical line in their success drive. Wise leaders are authentic, timeless and enduring.
Of course, experience is the ultimate teacher of the differences between smart and wise. But none of us can afford to make that many mistakes, so it helps to understand the basic principles that are key to making wise as well as smart decisions. In their recent book on the subject, “From Smart to Wise,” Prasad Kaipa and Navi Radjou offer some great observations based on their years of research and consulting experience with hundreds of leaders.
I’ve summarized their basic principles here, in the context of early-stage entrepreneurs and startups, in the hope of providing a head start and fewer mistakes to recover from for every entrepreneur:
- Broaden your perspective for your passion to the greater good. Perspective is what defines us and shapes our thoughts and actions. For technologists, it drives the passion to turn new ideas into new realities. Wise leaders tend to connect their worldview and ideas to help everyone find a larger meaning in life. Steve Jobs espoused this principle.
- Act authentically and appropriately as your perspective changes. Wise entrepreneurs are sensitive to the context they operate in and fine-tune their actions accordingly while continuing to serve their higher purpose. They never forget their moral compass and maintain credibility by always bridging the saying-versus-doing gap.
- Learn to perform any role well, without forgetting who you really are. We all know a smart entrepreneur who wouldn’t give up the CEO role and lost the company. Wise leaders give up an existing role when it is time. They willingly act as trustees or servant leaders in whatever actions and roles they accept. Bill Gates seems to fit this model.
- Expand horizons to make every decision win-win versus win-lose. Smart leaders tend to make decisions instinctively, based on their own experience, with little attention to the larger context. Wise decisions win in the long run for the broader purpose as well as for the problem at hand. Don’t let practical execution or emotions sway strategic deliberations.
- Know when to hold and when to fold, with flexible fortitude. Many smart leaders tend to stick with a decision without any re-alignment to a rapidly changing external context. Wise leaders show courage in following the context and grace in letting go when appropriate. This flexible fortitude keeps them aligned with the long-term benefit.
- Act and lead with enlightened self-interest to serve others. This world is now too complex for one entrepreneur to have all the resources and products needed to satisfy their customers. That means nurturing partnerships and cooperation with competition, for the greater good. It’s a move from pure self-interest to enlightened self-interest.
- Strive to create your own authentic path to wise leadership. First adopt the six leadership elements, including perspective, action orientation, role clarity, decision logic, fortitude and motivation. Then integrate these into your own path to wise leadership, building wise cross-functional teams, wise organizations and wise communities.
Smart people impress us all with their intellectual power and uncanny ability to achieve their goals. But smartness alone is not always sufficient to keep entrepreneurs out of trouble and sustain their success. Wise entrepreneurs ultimately are the ones who create lasting value for both stakeholders and society.
Evolving from smart to wise requires nothing more than reflecting on the best practices of other wise entrepreneurs and practicing them appropriately in your own personal journey and roles. Now is the time to measure where you are along the path, and build the roadmap for your journey. Have you assessed your leadership style lately against these principles?
Image credit: CC by Christopher_Brown