i love this quote from will rogers (1879-1935):

even if you are on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there

i came across it in the back of bill bolton’s new booklet the entrepreneur and the church. bill’s an amazing guy – he set up the st john’s innovation centre in cambridge and helped launch loads of businesses out of it. he also held a UNESCO chair in innovation so he knows a thing or two! he’s written a couple of books on entrepreneurship (talent temprament and technique and the entrepreneur in focus). it might seem strange to have a book on entrepreneurship and the church but as he argues – why not? he sees entrepreneurial activity in the areas of economic, spiritual and social capital and suggests that at times of change we particularly need entrepreneurial talent. at cms we are very interested in mission and entrepreneurship – pioneers in mission have been very entrepreneurial.

one of the things bill has developed is a sort of diagnostic tool profiling the facets of an entrepreneur. he did this by building on research from gallup that they passed onto him. he identifies 6 attributes that make up the word FACETS –

Focus – delivers on the opportunity
Advantage – selects the right opportunity
Creativity – sees many opportunities
Ego – brings motivation and courage
Team – multiplies effectiveness
Social – finds a cause

the entrepreneur will be strong in the first 4 and the other two give a different slant. the grove booklet is a great intro and follow up with his others if you fancy more in depth. we hope to get bill to do a series of blah events in 2007 so watch this space….