Traditionally, the majority of entrepreneurs have been logical thinkers, problem solvers, with full attention to details. These are the stereotypical left-brain engineers. Yet I see a big shift from the knowledge age, with its left-brain foundation, to a critical focus today on visualization, creativity, relationships, and collaboration, which are more in the domain of right-brainers.
Of course, the best solution would be a new wave of so-called whole-brain thinkers, but this term is usually reserved for Einstein and Picasso, and no entrepreneurs that I can name. Even right- brain dominant adults are hard to find, according to many expert views. They say most children start out this way, but after their years in school, less than ten percent retain their high creativity.
That means we need all the help we can get to bring out the right-brain attributes we need to be the best entrepreneurs in this challenging new age. Fortunately, there are resources available to help, like the classic book by right-brain entrepreneur Jennifer Lee, “Building Your Business The Right-Brain Way,” which teaches you to capitalize on these strengths, and still build a business.
Obviously, there are places for right-brain thinking as well as left-brain thinking, as it relates to starting and building a business. Lee offers the following guiding principles to right-brain thinkers who need to balance their focus, but I’m convinced that the same principles apply to every entrepreneur-minded person:
- Be uniquely you and embrace your creativity. Creativity is the key word here. Engineering creativity, like innovate low-cost solutions, needs to be combined with marketing creativity, like viral social media campaigns, to build a sustainable competitive advantage today. Be visual and imaginative, but don’t forget the business details.
- Dream big but start small. Don’t be seduced by the bigness of your right-brain vision and expect everyone to follow, based on the strength of your passion alone. Challenge your left-brain side to break things down into manageable pieces and structure a practical plan to unfold things over time. It doesn’t all have to happen at the same time.
- Keep it simple and focused. Opt for easy, broad strokes instead of detailed, complicated solutions. The advantage goes to right-brain thinking on this one. Too many entrepreneurs (engineers) I know define the ultimate system and processes that even a large company can’t afford, and no startup has the money or time to execute.
- Take action, make it real, and tweak as you go. Be willing to take action and put yourself out there, even when you don’t feel ready and even if your idea is not yet perfect. You’ll actually learn more and gain more clarity the more you interact with your idea and get feedback. Neither right-brain nor left-brain entrepreneurs will success without action.
- Look for the learning and repeat what works. Always have your eyes peeled for valuable new insights to help you continuously improve. Then, when you find something that works, keep doing it until it doesn’t work anymore. Don’t be afraid of using your intuition and feelings to guide you with customers, but don’t ignore real data.
- Consider where you are headed and don’t get ahead of yourself. Stay ahead of the curve but don’t advance so fast that you overwhelm yourself. Make sure you have a solid foundation first to support your future vision. Left-brain logical and sequential thinking usually has the edge on this one. Some creative people are always working in the future.
- Recognize where you’ve come from. Even as you move forward, also acknowledge how far you’ve come, and celebrate each step of the way. Recognizing past achievements and reflecting on your success helps keep your circuitous progress in perspective. Thomas Edison found his best learning was from his failures.
- Know thyself. Building a business is a journey accompanied by personal growth. Understand what makes you tick, and be willing to courageously move past your comfort zone. When you transform yourself, you transform your business. Success in business is often about knowing when and who to ask for help.
As you can see, it’s hard for most of us to be adequately right-brained and left-brained at the same time. Thus I always recommend that two heads are better than one, meaning seek a co-founder who supplements your natural skills and tendencies. It’s hard to beat entrepreneur teams like Bill Gates (engineer) and Steve Ballmer (marketing) in the early days at Microsoft.
So my conclusion is that while the opportunities are growing for right-brain thinkers, the ideal entrepreneur is still a team that can work together to accomplish whole-brain thinking, and whole-team execution. Have you assessed the thinking-balance and the effectiveness of your team and yourself in your own business lately?
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