Why Introverts Make Great Entrepreneurs
wsj.com
wsj.com
Steve Wozniak isn't an entrepreneur. He's an inventor. Steve Jobs was the entrepreneur and convinced Woz to do things his way (i.e. the way that ended up working).
Marissa Mayer is not an entrepreneur, and she's not even a good CEO. I'd argue she's an absolutely abysmal CEO.
Warren Buffett is certainly not an introvert if you've ever seen him speak, and his history also suggests he's not an introvert. He was a door-to-door salesman as a young man.
It's just ridiculous to say that being introverted is a benefit in entrepreneurship. Starting a company is more about people and relationships than almost any other task in life, and it's much easier when it's something you enjoy and can do naturally.
We should not make such claims. Do you claim to have complete information on the matter?
I don't have complete information, but I don't need it. She's not paring down the company's businesses. It's still impossible to quickly answer the question, "What does Yahoo do?" She was supposed to focus to company and define it, and she hasn't.
She's also made moves that employees were upset about, such as eliminating working from home.
There have been lots of articles about how poorly Mayer is doing, and I personally have never seen one arguing the opposite. Look at this one: http://qz.com/314225/everything-we-learned-from-marissa-maye...
Most of the people I know who have 'made it' are the CTOs not the CEOs, but that's started to change since getting into e.f. and running CertSimple.
I met someone who runs one of the top 1000 websites a few weeks ago. Their company is beyond startup size but they still run it. They're the CEO not the CTO, and they're naturally very shy: but they also force themself to ask awkward questions and challenge people directly about non-technical things.
> build good relationships that can be maintained over a long time
That's basically the opposite of what "introversion" means. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion#...
I never said that.
Being introverted makes it harder to do these things, because they don't come naturally.
I think it stretches the definition of "introvert" somewhat to include people who chose to do door-to-door sales or flogging popcorn at football stadiums for fun, as Warren Buffett reportedly did.
Ironically, your comment convinced me of the opposite of the point you were trying to make. Sure, door-to-door sales and flogging popcorn involve dealing with a lot of people, but you are only dealing with them superficially. Your job is to get your product in front of as many people as possible but not to connect with them in any meaningful manner. In fact, you will need to deal with near continuous rejection or at least, indifference. It actually sounds to me like those might be better jobs for an introvert than an extrovert.
I think, however, we are also dealing with understanding the word "superficial" differently. Superficial interactions with people in the sense of meaningless small talk of no consequence is more of an extrovert thing, I agree. However, when I said "superficial," I meant that you aren't really dealing with people at all, but rather hands from which you take money and into which you insert popcorn. There is very little real human interaction in that scenario even if you are technically around people all day.
EDIT: And in the door-to-door salesman scenario (which, I agree, sounds like hell), you are still spending the vast majority of your time alone in your own head walking from house to house.
Agreed, introverted people can probably cope with selling popcorn on autopilot surprisingly easily if they don't have related issues with crowds or self-confidence. But is running round a stadium shouting at people the first thing the average teenage introvert thinks of as a fun way to make money, even in a pre-internet age?
When I first started on my current role, we were required to undertake a five-day leadership `bootcamp`. It's meant for superintendents (i.e. team leaders), in which the primary objective is to identify our own communication / working styles and recognising others.
This was done through various tests (e.g. Myer-Briggs) and team exercises. The whole week is spent to prepare us to manage our team and work effectively in a team with people from various backgrounds.
A good explanation that was given during the bootcamp, was that Extroverts draw their energy from their surroundings (external), e.g. feedback from other people, whilst Introverts draw it internally.
Introverts can be very sociable and `work the room` just like Extroverts, it's just that it takes more effort for them as compared to extroverts.
TL,DR; There is a misconception of what Introverts and Extroverts are. Introversion vs Extroversion are simply traits and not mutually exclusive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk
I think his contribution to the early Microsoft was underrated. But I think Gates realized it. Maybe that is the real reason why he replaced Gates. But lacking a trusted tech partner to tell him when he was wrong might explain the Ballmer record as CEO ;<).
It is this; having a wealthy father. We are force feed these stories about what it takes to become wealthy, or become entrepreneurs, but when I dig deep, there's always a wealthy family member who helped at just the right time. Usually that family member helped out in ways other ways, on top of free money. They offered things--like really good advice, family lawyer, family accountant, family friends/connections, free place to start a business, etc.
If you happen to be that modern day Horatio alger, I tip my hat to you. The rest of us used credit card money, and usually had just one shot to make it big.
Introverts can be great speakers and very social beings. It's just that doing so bears a cost that extroverts never understand.
Introversion manifests itself in that interacting with people and presenting yourself in the public will drain your energy levels. Introverts need to recharge themselves alone (or with immediate family only) for a few days after being overly social. If Buffett would just prefer to stay home and do his own things for a couple of days after presenting at each of his quarterly reports, he's likely to be an introvert.
(P.S. please express your disagreement using evidence and reason, not downvotes. Thanks.)
I disagree. If you're looking for an exact 1-to-1 mapping of that phrase to the wiki article, you won't find it. However, you have to read multiple sentences and if you interpret them together, it does say that[1]:
++ Some popular psychologists have characterized introverts as people whose energy tends to expand through reflection and dwindle during interaction.
++ , though he or she may enjoy interactions with close friends.
++ Introverts prefer solitary to social activities, but do not necessarily fear social encounters like shy people do.
I think the wiki article on "introversion" describes me quite well. I would characterize myself as extremely introverted. However I'm not shy at all and I have given presentations at Las Vegas conferences. I have no problem making eye contact with the audience and deliver the talks without stuttering. However, I get more stimulation from seeing a news flash about a gcc compiler beta release or reading a book rather than the typical banter at social situations.
It also takes "more effort" on my part to lubricate social interaction with pleasantries (e.g. "how are you?", "how's the weather?", "how are the kids?", etc) rather than to sit quietly and study two web frameworks to determine which one is better. (Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/602/)
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraversion_and_introversion#...
He's a complete social butterfly and absolutely loves being the center of attention. He's constantly telling jokes and making people laugh.
That said, his partner Charlie Munger is definitely a lot more inline with the classical definition of an introvert.
I've met some very, very insecure extroverts. They'll crack jokes all day and make a lot of noise, then go home and are desperate for company to distract themselves from their own ideas. Met some very confident extroverts, too.
Also met some insecure introverts, people who had social anxiety. Also met some very confident introverts who will go out, shake hands and converse, then spend hours alone going over what they learned while they were out.
But after that I need solitude to recharge which I believe is opposite to an extrovert who feel energized with these interactions.
Per his own biography:
He found it extremely difficult to approach women when he was younger. He simply was unable to do it.
He used to hide in the corner at college parties, and would wait for others to introduce themselves. Once he became comfortable with people or a situation, he could open up.
He was terrified by public speaking, and was completely unable to do it. He had to force himself to get better at it, so he could be effective in business.
He kept heavily to himself growing up, had a couple of friends, and spent his time reading investing books from the public library.
From his own descriptions of his pre-20s youth, he was a classic introvert.
When I'm out socializing, I'm often the life of the party. I was called a "social butterfly" over the weekend at a tailgate. I'm usually the guy at the party or whatever being loud, having a good time, talking to everyone and getting all of them to have a good time too.
I also have no trouble talking to people. I often just strike up conversations with strangers in lines, elevators, just walking down the street, etc. I can approach the pretty girl and talk to her, and not be nervous about it. I can speak in public, and I've been essentially a "door-to-door salesman" (cold calls instead of doors, but you get what I mean).
But, at the end of the day, I need to have my "anti-social" time. I get burnt out on all of the stuff above, and if I do it too much, I'll get annoyed and tired, and end up not being very fun to be around. After too much partying, I need a few nights to just chill at home and relax, maybe with the people closest to me (at most).
I'm outgoing. But I'm also introverted.
Introversion is a quality that can't be (easily) changed. Being outgoing is a skill that one can learn.
As an entrepreneur, you have to talk to and interact with people constantly. If you won't do that, you won't make your early sales, dig up opportunities by networking, or do as much customer discovery as you need.
I started a company with an introvert, and he simply never saw the value in going out and talking to people without a goal. You have to do that. Some of the best opportunities will arise when you aren't looking for anything in particular.
When you're weighing cost/benefit of socializing, if the cost is very high, you'll do a lot less socializing. That's a problem when starting a company.
An introvert can still network all day and talk with people; but if you go home and watch Netflix you might be an introvert, if you go out to a bar with some buddies, you're probably an extrovert.
Introverts care A LOT about people and relationships. They are choosy about who they spend time with. Keeping the right people around you, at the start of a company, seems like a good strategy to me.
In order to get to know the right people in the first place, you have to go through a lot of people. Someone who knows 10,000 people will have a much better pool to choose from than someone who knows 1,000.
My point was just that starting a company is a game of creating relationships. If you dislike meeting people, making small talk, following up, etc. (or if it makes you really tired), you're going to do less of that.
None of this is a jab at introverts. As I said, Woz is an introvert and an incredibly important inventor in the history of computing. He's just not a great entrepreneur, which is fine! Most people aren't, and it's a dubious honor to begin with.
Buffett was most definitely an introvert. He constantly talks about how extremely shy he was growing up. He was so shy he was unable to do public speaking effectively. He famously took a Dale Carnegie course on public speaking and forced himself to become less introverted.
"Warren Buffett Used To Throw Up Before Public Speaking"
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-warren-buffett-learned-pu...
"People from his childhood recalls that he was usually distant from the crowd and discussed philosophical issues with his close friends. Later on he became a Buddhist and practiced meditation, which is a deciding factor in my opinion. The fact the he was a good salesman doesn't necessarily suggest his extroversion."
Like the article said, introverted people are better leading self-motivated employees who don't need a lot of direction. Which means he has more time to focus on the things that matter.
I think until recently introverts needed extroverts to run the business, raise money etc. But today cost to run business is pretty low and it is no longer case. All we need today to start decent business is a laptop and bit of savings.
Today Tesla could probably stay at home (or tropical island), run his business from Austria, manufacture parts in China and find customers all around the world. No need for Edison.
Generalisation when there is no need - that's what the article is about.
Stuff like this implies it's clear-cut. But I don't even know whether I'm an introvert or an extravert. I strongly identify with traits at both ends of this supposed spectrum. And I don't see myself as someone who 'swings' between the two, nor do I see my traits as conflicting. I just don't identify with this spectrum at all. And I can't confidently place other people on it either. It feels willfully vague and pseudosciencey to me.
I see a bunch of personality traits that are roughly groupable into "quiet" and "loud" traits, that's all. I'm struggling to find anything concrete or useful in the theory.
- "I'm an extrovert and actively comment"
- "I'm an extrovert and do not actively comment"
- "I'm an introvert and actively comment"
- "I'm an introvert and do not actively comment"
That would be my guess as well since introverts "Usually only speak when they have something to say, after they've had a chance to process information internally" (from the article). I think its interesting to frame the discussion on HN differently based on whether its mostly extroverts or interoverts participating.