In early April I was up in Boston for two conferences, one at HBS and one at MIT. They each welcomed John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as their keynote speaker, so I had a chance to hear him share his views two days in a row. The speech was excelent and pretty much the same (though at the HBS conference he did recomend all the MBA students get over to MIT to meet the Clean Tech engineers to find the next wave of innovation.)
Having successfully funded so many successful entrepreneurs, Mr. Doerr has strong views on what makes a good entrepreneur. He sees the world having two types of entrepreneurs, Mercenaries vs. Missionaries. I pasted the summarry below.
What distinguishes companies led by mercenaries from those led by missionaries? While the two might seem similar at first glance, they are in fact very different, Doerr points out. “Mercenaries are driven by paranoia; missionaries are driven by passion,” he says. “Mercenaries think opportunistically; missionaries think strategically. Mercenaries go for the sprint; missionaries go for the marathon. Mercenaries focus on their competitors and financial statements; missionaries focus on their customers and value statements. Mercenaries are bosses of wolf packs; missionaries are mentors or coaches of teams. Mercenaries worry about entitlements; missionaries are obsessed with making a contribution. Mercenaries are motivated by the lust for making money; missionaries, while recognizing the importance of money, are fundamentally driven by the desire to make meaning.”
You can find a great article and more on Mr. Doerr’s thoughts here in Knowledge at Wharton and you can see a video of him explaining it in more detail here
Sound like John Doerr agrees that Missionary entrepreneurs can make money and make a difference.
Tags: Entrepreneurship
