Week 3 Reading Reflection

I was very surprised by the fact that the second major source of information about the entrepreneurial mind-set is direct observation of practicing entrepreneurs. I guess when you think about the fact that we often learn from our mistakes, this fact becomes more obvious. If one is able to watch interviews, observe surveys, and read case studies that other entrepreneurs have written, he or she is going to be able to have a pretty good idea about what to do and what not to do. It’s also a good way for one to theoretically put on the entrepreneurial thinking cap. One can observe others’ mindsets. I also found it extremely interesting when he talked about creativity. Though it was initially thought to be a genetic characteristic, many people now believe that creativity can be learned.

There wasn’t any material in this chapter that I felt I was confused. In fact, I highly agreed with and liked reading the section on stress and how jobs that include a lot of risk require one to step back from their stress at times and take breaks or find things to invest time in outside of the company. I hope to follow this path and create solid time away from work to relieve stress in my future career.

I would want to ask Kuratko about opportunity orientation. While I understand that it is the constant awareness of opportunities around me, I would want to ask how he recommends building an opportunity oriented mindset. How does he recommend that one should drill that mindset into their head? Another thing that I would like to ask Kuratko about pertains to failure. He recommends building up a tolerance for failure. This too, is a concept that I understand, but the road to getting there seems impossible. Is the only way for one to become tolerant to failure to fail regularly? I want to know how else one can learn to take failures lightly.

I would disagree with Kuratko when he says that “entrepreneurs are not intimidated by difficult situations.” I personally believe that entrepreneurs may be afraid to take a risk or put themselves in a difficult spot; however, the difference is that they choose to take calculated risks despite fear.

Megan