Essentials of Entrepreneurship ..

Recently at an award ceremony in Chennai, N Shankar, the energetic Chairman of the Sanmar group from Chennai spoke on Entrepreneurship. E'ship cannot be learnt or inherited, it has to be learnt the hard way by getting the knocks from real world. E'ship is the ability to see beyond and willing to tread where on one else has so far and the outcome is uncertain.

E'ship is of two types: one is radical in nature where a radical idea no one has thought of earlier is implemented, eg. Steve Jobs Apple, Bill Gates from Microsoft etc. The second E'ship is around the idea of managing an existing opportunity with special brand of drive, management and organisational ability., for eg. the likes of Narayana Murthy of Infosys, Premji from Wipro etc..

According to him there are four essentials of Entrepreneurship. They are identification, organisation, management and sustenance.

Identification relates to the identification of the opportunity and the activities that need to be carried out in the business with the expectation of profit.

Organisation relates to the setting up of the resources - men, money and machinery.

Management relates to managing these resources. Managing human resources can be real challenging as it is the differentiating factor between a successful and not so successful industry. Attracting and retaining the right talent and giving them the right environment to work are the key elements. Appropriate compensation, job satisfaction and career progression is vital to retain the right talent.

Sustenance is that which keeps the business going despite challenges and hurdles from time to time. In Sanmar it has been the environment given to employees to take decisions independently, not penalising them for any mistakes, but encouraging them to be responsible for their decisions in the long run.

India is a paradise for entrepreneurs as there are lot of untapped opportunities for them to tap and emerge successful in the end. Success depends on the entrepreneurship capabilities like vision, management, staying power and that undefinable quantity, be it perseverence or not giving up quality or fighting spirit, without which it is not possible to succeed.

ge..( basic content from The Hindu, 29 November 2010, suitably modified by the author)