“The bane of South East Europe’s entrepreneurs is satisfactory underperformance” quipped globetrotter private equity lawyer, Irina Anghel, between a hot tomato sauce and a spicy chicken salad. Irina, who in her “spare time” co-ordinates the activities of the South East Europe Private Equity Association – is missioned to help more of such funds to flow to SEE entrepreneurs.
Company founders toiling 16 hours a day, 6-7 days a week would not easily admit to laziness. But busy-ness doesn’t always equal business. In fact, laziness coupled with ambition is the mother of creativity, that compels an entrepreneur to improve his business so that he can work less and reap more for leisure. Busy-ness may even be intellectual laziness, when it helps avoid the hardest job: thinking. Paraphrasing Claus von Clausewitz, major-general in Bismarck’s army and foremost military theoretician “diligent and stupid officers are the greatest menace to the army, while the smart and lazy are destined for the highest positions”.
So how does this relate to South east European entrepreneurs? Venture and Private Equity funds bring to them not just money but industry experts and strategic process improvements to make their companies smarter and faster growing. Satisfactory underperformance means staying in a comfort zone, even when it means working 5 to 9 (rather than 9 to 5). Institutional investors don’t want you to work harder, but push for smarter management efforts and continual institutional growth. Not longer hours overall, but more time spent outside your comfortable routines to embrace change for growth.
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