Name of the Game: Independent Day

Everywhere you turned this past week, there was some article or another discussing the significance of and reverence for July 4. And rightly so, as it’s been said that the collaborative work product of our Founding Fathers formed the basis of a most compelling political system. Plus, it’s an inclusive celebration — definitely not a contrived Hallmark event — shared by all Americans.

So, we again celebrated our war for independence which largely was about our mission as a new country to differentiate ourselves from the thinking and systems of Britain. While technically “rebels,” the Founding Fathers were not impetuous, anarchic or undisciplined in arriving at a decision and then acting: they were thinkers, and deep thinkers at that, reading, writing, discussing and debating until they were ready to do the real work of nation building. They studied all forms of government, sourcing the Ancients as well as the Enlightenment philosophers, to get their best understanding of the tensions between individual freedoms and protection of the collective good.

Those particular tensions still exist in the political conversation but interestingly, they’re now coming to bear in the world of business. Same tensions but much different context: again citing Daniel Pink, we’ve progressed from the Knowledge Age to the Conceptual Age. At one time, not long ago, knowledge was proclaimed king and was the difference between business (and individual career) success and, well, the opposite. So much of that capital has since been automated or outsourced and open-sourced that it is no longer a determining factor: having knowledge is a given, the price of admission.

Now it’s more about how we leverage our best thinking to apply that knowledge. We’ve just experienced a veritable tectonic shift — in real time — and the calamity that was the last few years tells us that we can’t rely on the old ways. Nope, the world moves too quickly for that so it’s become mandatory, no joke, that we sharpen, broaden and accelerate our thinking.

It turns out critical thinking skills are very much associated with an entrepreneurial mindset (The Skills Portal), which makes sense. What we’ve come to know as these critical skills include the abilities to think contextually, inferentially, proactively, creatively, innovatively, to see what’s in the gaps, to naturally question the status quo and to exhibit an intense solution-focus. Definitely skills for the unpredictability of the 21st Century and a mindset that allows entrepreneurs to see opportunity even in the worst times.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the differences between the best practices of entrepreneurs relative to those of corporate managers and how to cross pollinate the two.

Entrepreneurs are fiercely independent — often to a fault — and always looking to differentiate themselves, their products/services and their companies. Once they’ve gotten the taste they would probably rather die than to go to work for someone else. Corporate managers, on the other hand, are employed at the pleasure of others and have to walk that slippery slope of conformity every day.

With 20-20 hindsight, we know that conformity aka inbred, intersubjective thinking, was partially responsible for our recent economic meltdown. That kind of thinking is the kiss of death for entrepreneurs who have to keep innovating, keep differentiating to remain competitive. For the most part, corporations (and shareholders) value stability and for eons have rewarded conforming behaviors. To a large degree they still do except now it’s called “alignment.” Fine as far as subscribing to a common mission goes but the danger comes when “group think” sets in, causing everyone to sport the same blindspots. Entrepreneurs have blind spots too – goodness knows enough businesses fail — particularly in imposing structure or managing people.

Regrettably, the characteristics and personalities of entrepreneurs and professional managers are often misguidedly seen as mutually exclusive rather than complementary.

Corporate structure, stability and resources can provide their own kind of freedom as enlightened leaders offer employees the space to innovate. And entrepreneurship is not about the absence of structure: it’s about deploying critical thinking skills to differentiate, to see and then flex to changing circumstances and, more importantly, to see around the corner to prepare for the unexpected

Instead of facing off, better they try to incorporate, much like the Founding Fathers, the best of each — this new world’s going to need it.