There’s been a common denominator — a fabric, if you will — reflected in my training of literally thousands of students: Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, acting and doing. While many think it’s simply about starting a company, the entrepreneurial approach is equally as empowering and transformational in clubs, church groups, communities and states as it is in a business.
I don’t intend to comment here on whether any one political candidate
is better or worse than any other, nor do I suggest that any political party is better or worse than another. Rather, I want to illustrate how entrepreneurship as a way of thinking is as applicable to politics as it is to business (or any other activity). At the risk of being misunderstood, I suggest that Mr. Donald Trump is a political entrepreneur. He has applied entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial principles to the planning, design, and conduct of his presidential campaign, while every other candidate has pursued his or her campaign in the same way as campaigns have traditionally been run. For those of you willing to continue reading, allow me to explain my statement.
Opportunity Recognition and Guerrilla Skills
Early on in his campaign, Mr. Trump declared he’d build a wall to prevent of Mexicans, who he described as mostly criminals and rapists, from crossing the U.S. border. Most would think this would not do much to endear him to Latinos. However, in the weeks before the Arizona primary, Mr. Trump perceived an overlooked possibility (opportunity recognition, an entrepreneurial competency), namely that legal Latinos were upset and strongly against the illegal Latinos because the legals, mostly U.S. citizens, endure significant prejudice that they believe is due to the illegals. Imagine the discomfort, even concern, of being a Latin-born U.S. citizen in Arizona coming up to a stop sign at night and noticing a police car directly behind. Could that elicit concern, even fear? Having recognized this as an opportunity, Mr. Trump targeted all Arizonian Latinos registered to vote, both Republican and independent, with a very inexpensive robocall (a guerrilla tactic, another entrepreneurial competency, in which unconventional, low-cost tactics are used to do more with less) that stated, “Mr. Trump loves Latinos; he does not like illegal Latinos, though, because of the unfair disadvantage they bring to all legal Latinos. Please help Mr. Trump to protect your interests by preventing illegals from crossing the border into Arizona.” The result: Mr. Trump won the Arizona primary by a wide margin, and according to him (author unable to corroborate with voting data), he garnered the majority of the Republican and independent Latino vote. Remember, this was done after the pundits declared that Mr. Trump had alienated the entire Latino population with his “I’ll build a wall” declaration.
Opportunity Recognition, Creative Problem-Solving and Conveying a Compelling Vision
Perceiving that the general electorate, both Republican and Democrat, was disenchanted with politics and politicians (opportunity recognition, already described as an entrepreneurial competency), Mr. Trump rebranded himself as the anti-politician (creative problem-solving whereby one relates previously unrelated notions to produce a novel, useful outcome). Most pundits and politicians initially criticized and even laughed at him and his approach. He then crafted his position story that told voters exactly what they wanted to hear. He wasn’t a politician; he was a businessman who knew how to win. He was beholden to no one, as he self-financed his campaign. He criticized us as a nation that has been losing at everything, and he wanted to bring his winning ways to the nation. While again criticized by the pundits for lack of clarity, the electorate didn’t care about clarity. It was a compelling story; he created a compelling vision (another entrepreneurial competency), which thus far has resonated with the electorate.
Resilience as an entrepreneurial competency refers to one’s ability to cope with stress and even thrive in the face of adversity. Mr. Trump has been criticized, ridiculed, laughed at, and generally spurned by a wide array of people both outside and within his party. On the day of the Indiana primary, Mr. Ted Cruz went on TV and branded Mr. Trump a pathological liar, a serial philanderer and an anti- conservative set on duping the American public. Re ecting resilience, Mr. Trump simply stated that the outburst by Mr. Cruz, “proves what I’ve been saying: Mr. Cruz doesn’t have the temperament to be president.”
On the Sunday prior to the Indiana primary, The New York Times published an article enumerating a large list of nationally prominent Republican luminaries who indicated they had no interest in being considered for Mr. Trump’s vice presidential running mate. And, following the Indiana primary in which Mr. Trump won an outsized victory that forced both Mr. Cruz and Mr. John Kasich to discontinue their campaigns, the highest ranking republican, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, said he didn’t support Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign. Even former rst lady and Republican Laura Bush indicated that she would support Mrs. Clinton over Mr. Trump. But, self-efficacy, also an entrepreneurial competency, is a hallmark of Mr. Trump, reflecting his high degree of self-confidence in his ability to accomplish any particular task.
Mr. Trump has undertaken every aspect of his presidential campaign in an entrepreneurial way that re ects entrepreneurial competencies. That approach has powered him through what was initially a field of 13 candidates to be the presumptive Republican nominee, a feat unthinkable a scant two months ago. Whether you love or hate him, consider him a buffoon or cunning, believe he’d drive the country into an abyss or not, Mr. Trump is a political entrepreneur