Think like an entrepreneur

Many people have the mindset that something has to be right or wrong, black or white. They cannot understand that it could be neither right nor wrong, or that it could be different shades of grey.

Where does this mindset come from? Could it be due to the education system? To the way that answers are marked? I have seen anecdotes that there is only one correct answer to a particular question and all other answers are wrong!

This mindset also aims to be correct all the time, i.e. to get 100 marks. Any mistake will cause the mark to be reduced.

To avoid making a mistake, most people will not take a decision when the correct answer is not given. They will only decided when the correct answer has been spelled out clearly in a SOP (standard operating procedure). If the issue is uncertain, they prefer to avoid any decision, in case they are found to be "wrong".

A different mindset

I wish to explain a different mindset - that of an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur knows that he (or she) can make a profit only when he makes a sale. It is possible to make a loss as well. His goal is to make more profit than a loss, so that there is a net gain. If he does not make any sale, he will suffer a loss due to the fixed expenses. So, the entrepreneur makes many sales (or decisions) and hope that those that turn out to be right will outweigh those that are wrong.

This entrepreneurial mindset can come to handling uncertain decisions. These decisions have to be taken. If more decisions turn out to be right, compared to those that are wrong, the decision maker is doing a good job. He does not let the opportunities pass by him.

We need to have an entrepreneurial mindset to make progress. This is to be applied not only to business decisions, but also to the social issues that need to be addressed in government.