Think Like an Entrepreneur

Humans at Work with Michael Glazer

Dr. John Mullins, London Business School Professor and best-selling author, discusses how anyone – in organizations of all sizes – can put the counter conventional mindsets of entrepreneurs into practice to get ahead in their career development.

For more than 20 years, John Mullins has delivered inspirational workshops and executive education programs to members of the world’s leading communities of entrepreneurs – the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), and Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) – as well as to the angel investor and venture capital communities globally. His latest release is titled Break the Rules!: The Six Counter-Conventional Mindsets of Entrepreneurs That Can Help Anyone Change the World.

If you enjoy the show, please rate it on Spotify or iTunes and write a one-sentence review. Your ratings and reviews help more people like you discover the podcast!

Episode Highlights

1:36 The pandemic's effects on the entrepreneurial landscape

5:45 Mindset differences between conventional leaders and entrepreneurs

7:14 Viewing events as opportunities vs risks or threats

9:20 Saying "Yes, we can" in the face of unfamiliar challenges

11:47 How to decide whether to say yes to unfamiliar challenges

16:04 Benefits of adopting a "problem first" mindset

20:57 Deciding when it's time to switch to plan B...or C.

22:29 Don't focus on moving the needle to expand a business.

27:43 Building a business for long-term success.

John’s view on the greatest unmet wellbeing need at work today

"If I think about London Business School as a workplace where I work I think the greatest need is one that was caused by the pandemic [by making] us all to go remote and and discover some of the upsides of working from home, of which there are many.

But we've all forgotten about what we lose by not being around the water cooler and not having those chats, hallway conversations and all of what comes with being physically connected to others. I think that's actually a well-being issue.

We need to feel [like we're] part of a culture and that we belong and that we contribute and add value to where we work. And I think those who work only remotely today are going to find it unfulfilling. At some point, in the short term, they'll say, "well, gee, isn't this great, I can walk my dog anytime." There are those who take advantage of the the remote working to do [other] full time jobs, and don't tell anybody that they're doing that.

But I think the people who are working solely remotely at some point are going to say, "you know, this isn't fulfilling enough." And, I think they want to get back to where they're around people more. I think that's the biggest wellbeing challenge we face today."

What “working with humans” means to John

“At the end of the day, every every business is a human organization. Entrepreneurs only succeed because of the entrepreneurial teams they build around them. It's not a solo sport. Contrary to the popular perception, it's a team sport.

And, you've got to learn as an entrepreneur, how to motivate other people, you've got to motivate the people who work for you. You've got to motivate customers to buy from you. You've got to motivate suppliers to sell to you. And those are human endeavors. All of them. And they are central to building a successful business of whatever size, lifestyle or otherwise.”

Resources

Follow: John on LinkedIn

Read: Break the Rules!: The Six Counter-Conventional Mindsets of Entrepreneurs That Can Help Anyone Change the World