Entrepreneur April 2012

HarshMariwalaWants You toScale UpThe Marico boss launches a mega mentoring projectPG 56

Don Ward on the Business of Comedy PG 66

Back to Books with Hippocampus PG 38

BUDGET ANALYSIS The Impact of Leadership PG 84

Hot Startups PG 97 PG 41

ALSO

EXCLUSIVE

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APRIL 2012 VOLUME 3 ISSUE 8 ` 100

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table of contents19

Marico’s boss Harsh Mariwala has launched an ambitious initiative to help hundreds of entrepreneurs scale up their business. An Entrepreneur exclusive. By Sourav Majumdar

56 MR. MARIWALA’S OPUS

THE BUDGET IMPACT42 ‘I AM NOT A PESSIMIST’Pranab Mukherjee says that and more to Raghav Bahl, Founder and Editor, Network 18, in an exclusive interview.

47 MIXED BAG FOR SMESWhat Budget 2012 offers Indian SMEs and emerging businesses. By Gyanendra Tripathy and Chetan Rajput

50 THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILSA clause in the Budget may derail the angel investor ecosystem.Sourav Majumdar

41

INSIGHTS19 SEVEN DON’TS FOR SUCCESSR. Jagannathan tells entrepreneurs what not to do on the road to success.

20 ON A DECISIVE NOTERichard Branson says that most good chief executives or entrepreneurs only make three or four key decisions every year.

22 PASSING THE BATONMitali Bose talks about the importance of the succession plan to ensure longevity of your venture.

24 KNOW WHEN TO LET GOGanesh Natarajan tells entrepreneurs to accept that there comes a time when you must hand over the business’s reins to someone else.

25 THE VC BUGBEAR Nandini Vaidyanathan shares some experiences of interactions with VCs.

26 HOW DOES YOUR BUSINESS BLOOM? Manish Sabharwal writes about the difference between a venture that is a dwarf and a baby.

27 FIND THE RIGHT FIT Muki Regunathan advises entrepreneurs on how to manage the various business processes along the entrepreneurship journey.

29 DOTCOM 3.0Bharat Banka takes a close look at the evolution of the web over the years.

IN CONVERSATION30 A NEW HATDries Butayert the man behind Drupal an open source content management system talks about his entrepreneurial journey. By Ankush Chibber

WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR 34 THE FLOWER SELLERS Smriti Shetty Dalvi’s venture Florista is on a path to success.By Bindi Shah

Intelligent Entrepreneur April 20126

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34

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SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR38 HIPPO ALERT!Hippocampus is adding a twist to the reading habits of Indian children. By Shonali Advani

GOING FORWARD52 EMERGING SOCIAL MEDIA SITESA quick look at the sites which rule the roost online.By Mikal E. Belicove

53 A QUESTION OF ETHICSSocial media may be weakening the moral �ber of your workplace. Find out how.By Mikal E. Belicove

54 7 SECRETS OF SELF-MADE MULTI-MILLIONAIRESThe secrets that can help you become more than just a millionaire. By Grant Cardone

OFFBEAT66 FOR A FEW LAUGHSDon Ward has high hopes of India’s �rst edition of The Comedy Store and India’s standup comedians.By Ankush Chibber

GETTING THERE69 JUST THE RIGHT DOSEG.S.K. Velu has identi�ed what the Indian healthcare market needs. By Shonali Advani

IN FOCUS72 WHERE ANGELS TREADA SEBI-approved angel fund brings good news for those seeking early-stage funding.By Shonali Advani

SPECIAL REPORT79 RAHUL BHATIA FLIES TO THE TOPThe 13th E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Awards honored the best across several business categories.By Team Entrepreneur

April 2012 Intelligent Entrepreneur 7

table of contents

ONLINE IDEAS96 7 WAYS TO WHIP YOUR WEBSITE INTO SHAPERead how to get more visitors to check out what your company has to offer.By Carol Tice

START UPS 98 ECONOMICS OF GOOD HEALTHAkash Rajpal has a solution for your woes over rising healthcare costs.By Team Entrepreneur

102 ROAD RANGERSStartups are showing the way to improve supply chain and logistics management in India.By Team Entrepreneur

106 SENSE AND SENSORSThe entrepreneurs at Wi�nity are heralding a new green revolution.By Shonali Advani

108 BELITAGarima Jain's venture brings wellness services to your doorsteps.By Bindi Shah

111 SCREEN TESTIshwar Jha’s product-focused startup is bringing live TV into moving vehicles.By Bindi Shah

SPEND IT126 OASIS IN INDIA’S SUN CITYThe Gateway Hotel Jodhpur captures the essence of Rajasthani high-living.By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri 130 PARK YOURSELF HEREBistro by the Park is giving the traditional local eateries in Kolkata a run for their money. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

132 REFRESHED & READYThe City and the Linea go head to head with new models. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

SUCCESS INC80 HIGH ON THE PECKING ORDERSuguna Poultry attributes its success to the contract farming model it adopted.By Shonali Advani

84 THE MASTERSLeadership lessons from those who have reached—and stayed at—the top.By Christopher Hann

87 ROLE MODELSTwo leaders, two opposite career paths.By Michelle Juergen

STRATEGY88 SPRAY POWERRajesh Aggarwal left the family business to start Insecticides India Ltd. By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri & Pranbihanga Borpuzari

MONEY91 CHOOSE WITH CARE Things you need to think about while choosing your �nancial advisor. By Ranjeet S. Mudholkar

93 SELLER'S MARKET Be well-informed about potential acquirers; they can help fund your future. By Sam Hogg

TECH DEPARTMENT94 IS THAT A TORCH?BlackBerry is targeting the lesser-earning brigade with the BlackBerry Curve 9380.By Ankush Chibber

95 ONE FOR THE FAMILYA laptop that can be a comfortable addition to your family’s gadgets.By Ankush Chibber

THE ‘HOW TO’ BUSINESS GUIDE114 Separate a Partnership Business

116 Use TV Media to Promote Your Business

118 Restructure Your Team

121 Select Appropriate CSR Initiatives

122 Build Your Image

125 Deal with a Dif�cult Investor…

REGULARS

10 FEEDBACK11 RESOURCES12 SME DOCTOR16 STUMP SPEAK18 CAPSULE134 BACKSTAGE

COVER DESIGN

ARKO PROVO MUKHERJEE

IMAGE

MEXY XAVIER

98 114

126


Some strict no-nos if you want to emerge a winner.

R. JAGANNATHAN

7 Don’ts for Success

“Don’t try to be ahead of your time.”

Photo© Neha Mithbawkar

The business world has two types of people: those who succeed, and those who don’t. The former become icons, and write books on how

to succeed. The latter become management gurus and write even more books on success. If you are a busi-nessperson or entrepreneur, don’t count on either of them to help you succeed. Just follow these 7 don’ts… Don’t expect how-to books or gurus to tell you what to do. Success stories and tips are for inspiration and analysis, not blind copying. But this rule is worth breaking for at least one book: The Halo Effect, by Phil Rosenzweig. This book demythologises suc-cess stories by pointing out that theories are retrofitted after suc-cess becomes apparent. Before the UP elections, no one knew Akhilesh Yadav would win. Now that he has won, everyone and the dog-at-the-lamp-post knows how his strategy worked. Are you any wiser? Don’t try to be ahead of your time. Many entrepreneurs try to see what they can do first, before anybody else. Peter Drucker, perhaps the one management guru every aspiring entrepreneur should read, was dismissive about visionaries. His advice: look for the future that is already here, and you are more likely to succeed.

Did Google succeed by predicting how the internet will unfold? No, they saw that people were searching for something or the other on the internet. They saw a business opportunity in helping people search the net. The rest is history. They discovered a future that was already there. Don’t look for answers, look for the right questions. Many entrepreneurs presume they have the answers and get excited by bright ideas on a new product or service. However, no business works this way. It comes from

asking the right questions. Who is my customer? Who is my competitor? How do I know my product is better than my competitors’? How will I know if I have succeeded? Is it about profits or market share or something else?

Don’t multi-task. One of the enduring myths of business is that you get better productivity out of multi-tasking yourself or your employees. Or your

organization. I recommend Drucker’s classic The Effective Executive for all entrepreneurs. The takeout is simple: no one is capable of doing more than one or two major tasks effectively. Don’t forget the compounding principle. The key to winning over competitors is relative speed of change. It does not matter if your competitor is producing more than you today; what mat-ters is whether you are growing, cutting costs and improving market share faster. Bajaj Auto forgot this when it saw Hero Honda coming up from behind in the 1980s and 1990s. ‘We are the biggest in scooters,” they boasted. But they forgot one simple thing: Hero was growing

faster, gaining market share faster. Now, Hero is No 1, Bajaj’s scooters are gone and Honda is the overwhelm-ing leader in scooters. Don’t forget luck. Many big businesses court failure because they don’t keep an eye out for luck. IBM practi-cally gifted the operating software to Microsoft, and lost out in PCs, a product it had invented. But luck isn’t all. Once you see it, you have to capitalize on it. Don’t forget to ignore all the above if something else works better. Ultimately, only you can know what success is and how to define it.

R. Jagannathan is the Editor of Firstpost.com


INSIGHTSRINGSIDE VIEW

To read more, grab the April 2012 issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

Intelligent Entrepreneur April 201238 Intelligent Entrepreneur April 201238

social entrepreneur

March 2012 Intelligent Entrepreneur 39

Hippocampus has added a new twist to Indian children’s reading habits.

SHONALI ADVANI

GET BOOKED

HIPPOALERT!

Umesh Malhotra, 43, always wanted to be his own boss and start something on his own steam. So, he quit his high-paying career at Infosys in the U.S. to start

Bangalore Labs, an IT infrastructure company. Just three years later, he sold the startup to gain another experience. “I thought an IT startup would be different but 80 percent of the time, I felt my work day was similar to what happened at Infosys,” recalls Malhotra, CEO and Co-Founder, Hippocampus. This was in May 2002. His wife Vimala, now 49, was toying with the idea of starting a library for children in Bengaluru. This was on the back of a casual promise to their then nine-year-old son, Tarutr,

who was upset at leaving his library in the U.S. behind. The idea didn’t seem impossible, especially since Umesh was

in sync with Vimala’s views.

Kick-starting operationsMoving on to July 2002; the couple deep-dived

and turned the library idea into a reality. Hippocampus, launched in March 2003,

is named after a part of the brain which is “critical for the formation of those kinds of memories which can be consciously declared,” as defined by Scholarpedia. The library was set up in Koramangala as a learning center for children, aided by a number of different activities.

Those nine months between July 2002 and March 2003 were criti-

cal for the Malhotras, who used it to build an inventory of books, a tough task

because Indian publishing was limited and they had to import 2,500 of the total 6,000 books

Photo© MaximageApril 2012 Intelligent Entrepreneur 39To read more, grab the April 2012 issue of Entrepreneur

To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

MARICO’S INNOVATION-DRIVEN BOSS HARSH MARIWALA

LAUNCHES AN AMBITIOUS INITIATIVE TO HELP HUNDREDS OF ENTREPRENEURS SCALE UP THEIR

BUSINESSES.

By Sourav Majumdar

OpusMr.Mariwala’s

AN ENTREPRENEUR EXCLUSIVE

56 Intelligent Entrepreneur April 2012

cover story

April 2012 Intelligent Entrepreneur 57Photo© Mexy Xavier 5757To read more, grab the April 2012 issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

off beat[Different Strokes]


D on Ward started his profes-sional life in the printing business, where he worked for

various newspapers in London. Ward was an intertype photosetter, a trade now lost to the trenches of time with the birth of the digital era. At night, he says, to get rid of the boredom that was his job, Ward joined an entertainment group. “There were eight of us. I could learn to dance and sing a little, do sketches and comedy,” he says, emphasizing that he was really not any good. Ward then branched off to set up a double act with a partner called the “Two Dons,” which he claims met with some success. “We got bookings here and there, and made a decent name for ourselves.” Ward reveals an interesting tidbit here—he was not born with the name Don.

Ronald McDonald?His first name was in fact Ronald. Ward changed it for two reasons—for the dou-ble act and also because Equity, the U.K. trade union for professional performers and creative practitioners, already had a Ronald Ward registered.

The double act, however, did not last long. Out on his own, Ward says he got to a standard where he could host rock and roll shows and worked with people like Cliff Richards and the Dallas Boys. He went on tour with them, but the job itself was terrible. “I had to stand in front

of the curtains entertaining the crowd as the band tuned up,” he says.

Ward carried on this gig for a few years, even though it did not pay too much, as it gave him good exposure to the live entertainment arena. One of his last jobs was at the Windmill Theatre. In those days, the theater had arty nude shows, and comics to break the tension.

For the gents, of course“It was most unusual. You would have a statuesque woman standing naked on the stage absolutely still. And the comic would have to stand there and tell jokes,” he recalls. Ward was sacked because he made a joke so funny that the woman moved, laughing. “This was illegal. As long as she was still, it was art. If she

moved, it was a performance, and the theater could loose its license,” he says.

He then got a job at the Keyhole Club, which was a gentleman’s club, to put it lightly. This is where the final

foundations of Ward, the Comedy Store man, were laid. “I was getting paid to learn how to run a club. This was a very important phase for me, especially since I was only in my early 20s,” he says.

The place did very little business eventually, says Ward, and it closed. But the girl at the show who he was going out with, and a technician, decided to open another club of the same type called the Sunset Strip. Ward sold it eventually but it gave him his first crack at a busi-ness. The trio split up eventually and Ward bought another club called the Gargoyle Club at the heart of London’s Soho district.

The Yankee inspirationIn 1978, Ward went to the U.S. and saw what standup comedians were doing there—a new variant called observa-tional comedy, which is based on mak-ing remarks about commonplace aspects of everyday life. Back in ’78, this form was just breaking through at American clubs. Ward came back to the U.K. and formed a partnership to launch his first Comedy Store at the Gargoyle in ’79.

The standup acts at the Gargoyle were hugely successful and soon devel-oped an underground following. Ward kept moving to bigger stages to host his shows and even developed a full comedy week, designed to ensure footfalls across the seven days. By 2000, he had opened

One of the top entertainment entrepreneurs in the U.K., Don Ward has high hopes of India’s first edition of The Comedy Store and India’s standup comedians.

ANKUSH CHIBBER

LaughsFOR A FEW

“By developing local talent, we will also create a pool of Indian comedians to perform abroad.”—Charlotte Ward, Head of Marketing and Operations, The Comedy Store


another place in Manchester. In its his-tory, the Comedy Store has played host to many of the best standup comedians.

India callingIndia is not the first country Ward has taken The Comedy Store to. He has

arrangements in the Middle East and Germany. The India foray got initi-ated when Ward met up with Amar Aggarwal of the Spa Group, who has previously brought brands like Lladro to India. Ward was not too impressed by New Delhi when he first visited India in

2009 to meet Aggarwal. “Mumbai blew me away though. I was very impressed with this city,” he says.

Charlotte Ward, Ward’s daughter and the India operations manager, says that the first phase of expansions saw them touring India with a series of standup

FUN-TASTIC: Don Ward

Photos© Mexy Xavier To read more, grab the April 2012 issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in


G S.K. Velu stumbled onto the field of medical technology through a mix of fate and

circumstances. Velu, the 42-year-old Managing Director of Trivitron Healthcare and Vice-Chairman, Metropolis Healthcare, wears mul-tiple hats today, as he juggles the

number of businesses he runs. Born in Aralvoimozhy, a village near Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Velu dreamt of becoming a practicing doc-tor. But he opted for a pharmacy degree from BITS Pilani, in 1984, after a losing the medical college seat by a few marks. He secured admission to IIM Bangalore

Photo© Sharp Image

G.S.K. Velu has hit the nail on what ails the Indian healthcare market.

SHONALI ADVANI

BUSINESS DIAGNOSIS


getting there


Intelligent Entrepreneur April 2012102Photo© Neha Mithbawkar

TRANSPORT TALK: Kaushik Somanathan (l.) and Rajan Ramnarayan of FleetXchange

CHAIN REACTIONS

102

Road Rangers Startups are trying to show the way to improve supply chain and logistics management in India.

TEAM ENTREPRENEUR

April 2012 Intelligent Entrepreneur 103Infographic© Pradeep Belhe

Road Rangers L ogistics isn’t exactly known to be one of India’s strengths. Transportation and distribution

are known woes to almost every manu-facturer in the country. Most believe that a foreign investment in logistics is one of the only ways out of the prob-lem. Startups in the country have been thinking otherwise and are trying to show the way. Road freight transport is a fragmented and mostly unorganized section of the logistics framework in the country. A number of truck owners oper-ate through a network of brokers and transport companies that then transport goods for FMCG companies etc. A few startups have come up in the space to help manage the sector better and use technology as a facilitator to organize the operations here.

Fragmented sectorThe Indian Angel Network incubated a startup, the Indian Road Transport Exchange, while the IIM Bangalore incubator also incubated a startup FleetXchange and holds 5 percent equity in the company.

Sadeesh Raghavan of the Indian Angel Network says, “There is huge scope for startups to operate in this segment, since the sector is unorganized and a lot needs to be done to organize it better.”

Kaushik Somanathan, Founder, FleetXchange explained that the reason for the sector to be fragmented lies in the nature of the asset ownership. Many farmers, in the early years, who sold land for industrial activity invested in pur-chasing trucks and tied up with compa-nies to transport their goods to various parts of the country. Most truck owners even today have a few vehicles that are then managed by brokers for transporta-tion of manufactured products through logistics companies.

N. Subramanian of FedEx, which last year acquired AFL Pvt. Ltd. and Unifreight Pvt. Ltd. that have been logis-tics and distribution companies in the country for a number of years, says: “The industry has been dependent on brokers all over India.” He adds that it is essential

SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGEMENT COMPANIES, TRANSPORTERS

Fleet owned by the transport company

Trucks hired from the spot market

Brokers

Truck Owners

Branch of�ces, warehouses, retailers - consignee

MANUFACTURER

A CLOSE LOOK AT HOW THE SECTOR WORKS

for anyone entering this space to be neutral and the most urgent need lies in more transparency in operations.

Brokering dealsPricing in the market has been mostly left to market forces. Brokers, who were managing the fleet of trucks for the truck owners and coordinating with transport companies, often kept trucks idle to create price fluctuations and make profits. This lack of transpar-ency has cost both truck owners and transporters alike. Truck owners who

are based in all parts of the country manage through the network of brokers who take responsibility for doing back-ground checks and ensure safe deliv-ery of the goods and finance the truck owners’ operating costs. This makes the role of the broker indispensable to the system. Also, since it is a tough job for transport companies to coordinate with a large number of individual truck own-ers based in various parts of the country, the brokers take on this job.

This is the segment that has invited some startup activity. Startups are

start ups


THERE IS ONLY ONE THING in common between HTC and BlackBerry. They both launch more devices than anyone can keep track of. Last month, we got an opportunity to review the recently launched BlackBerry Curve 9380. We wish we could benchmark it against previous Curve variants, but there have been so many over the past few years, we fear a meltdown if we attempted this.

What worksThe 9380 is really a cheaper Torch. In its design and form factor, it takes off from its elder cousin except a few tweaks to make it more affordable. We were actu-ally in the midst of reviewing the Torch 9860 when we received the 9380 and were amazed to see how similar they were, but also how much Research in Motion (RIM) tried to make them different.

The 9380 does have design niggles here and there. For example, the flat surface keys that refuse to be pressed at times and the screen lock button that will fight you for it. The screen itself is quite vibrant despite the relatively low resolu-tion. The trackpad works smoothly. The form factor on the back continues to be standard RIM fare with a pop-out back covering a memory card slot as well as the battery. The 9380 comes with a 5MP camera that shoots just about okay with its LED flash. Overall, the device does not feel heavy or slippery either. Just right.

Smooth servicesThe interface on this device has seen a step up. The 9380 runs BlackBerry OS 7 on an 806MHz processor, which was surprisingly smooth and glitch-free. It does not hang much, save when you try to download on a slow 2G connec-tion and the download stops midway. The onscreen keyboard just about cuts it. Switching between applications and services was also quick and smoother than the Torch variants.

We have never thought of any BlackBerry device as a great media consumption device, but the 9380 does a fair job of it. The audio is crisp and clear when heard on earphones, and other-wise. The video player also plays most formats surprisingly without much lag.

The 9380 still does well what its family does i.e. provide a host of fast and reliable messaging services. You have the usual suspects in the BlackBerry Messenger, Google Talk, etc. Also of note is the inte-gration feature that syncs with Google and Facebook accounts. BlackBerry Maps are still useless for Indians.

Touch talkBattery-wise, the 9380 does just about a fair job as it lets you push it up to six hours of average use of calls, push mails, and instant messaging. It is not great, but we suspect will cut it with regular BlackBerry users. So, should you buy it? We are not entirely convinced at the price point of 1̀9,000-odd if you are in the market for a touchscreen phone. HTC, Sony and Samsung can dish you better Android fare for that money. But if you want to stick to BlackBerry and move on to touchscreens, this is a reliable buy.

IS THAT ATORCH?BlackBerry wants the younger, less-earning brigade, to get their Torch on with the BlackBerry Curve 9380.

ANKUSH CHIBBER

CURVE 9380PRICE `19,620DIMENSIONS 109 x 60 x 11.2 mm WEIGHT 98 gSCREEN SIZE 3.2 Inches, multitouch screenCONNECTIVITY Wi-Fi, Edge, 3G, GPRS MESSAGING IM , MMS, Push Mail, GmailBATTERY 6 hrs on regular use

tech department


[Business on the go]

April 2012 Intelligent Entrepreneur 111Photo© Neha Mithbawkar

TESTSCREEN

Entertainment on the move gets a new fillip, thanks to the efforts of an enterprising startup.

BINDI SHAH

LIVE WIRE


STEERING TOWARDS PROFITS: Ishwar Jha

start ups


Select Appropriate CSR InitiativesThis will help maintain a healthy image for your company.

TEAM ENTREPRENEUR

The aim of associating with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities is to ensure your company takes respon-

sibility for the impact of its operations on all stakeholders. While this may seem like an added cost to you, the benefits of associating with the right initiatives can take your busi-ness a long way. Before you get started, here are some pointers you should keep in mind.

Think about the resultsWhether it is to mitigate the impact of your business operations or to integrate your business closely with the local community

or just as a corporate philanthropy measure, lay down the results you are hoping to achieve before you embark on the CSR road. Ideally, it will be help-ful to aim towards achiev-

ing results that help both your company and local communities or any stakeholders in your

business.

Prepare a budgetWorking on the tight budget of a startup, getting involved with

CSR activities may seem like an added cost. You

could set aside a percentage of profits or your turnover to invest in CSR.

Also, you could set aside a part of your marketing budget

and plan your activities in a way such that it directly benefits the

environment or society, while helping further your marketing efforts. Either way, make sure you have a strict budget to invest

in CSR activities before you get started.

Involve your employeesOne of the benefits of associating with CSR activities can be a higher employee satisfac-tion, leading to increased employee reten-tion. You could encourage your employees to donate to a cause so that they feel involved in the CSR process. However, it is important for you to ensure throughout the process that associating with the activities does not impact the core activities of your business.

Select an activityKeeping in mind the results you wish to achieve, select an activity and a partner to associate with accordingly. If you are in the manufacture of sporting equipment or in sports education, you could look to work-ing with schools or underprivileged chil-dren to create awareness about the benefits of playing a sport. This can help the children or school students while creating a better image for your business. It can also result in an increased awareness for your brand. You could select an NGO to associate with that works in the space you wish to focus your activities on. Then partner with them to take your initiatives forward.

Ascertain impact & compare resultsAlong the way, check the initiatives under-taken by your competitors. Keep in mind the results you were looking to achieve and make an assessment of the impact your CSR activi-ties have brought about. Share the results with local communities and your employ-ees to create goodwill for your company. This will help you ascertain what you are doing right and wrong along the way and aid you in deciding whether you should increase your company’s investment in CSR activities.

how to[… do just about anything]

April 2012 Intelligent Entrepreneur 121Illustration© Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur To read more, grab the April 2012 issue of EntrepreneurTo Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

1. Which of your games are you bringing to this quiz?

A. A Game (10) B. B Game through Z Game

(-10)

2. When there’s an awkward silence at dinner, do you �ll it?

A. Yes (+5) B. No (-3)

3. If yes, what do you �ll the silence with?

(Mark all that apply.) A. Instruction (+3) B. Advice (+3) C. Support (+3) D. Counsel (+3) E. “I can’t take this.” (-3)

4. Which desk accessory do you most desire?

A.Impractically small telescope (+2)

B.Impractically small globe (0)

C. Impractically small samurai sword/letter

opener (-3) D. Impractically small

guillotine (-10)

5. Have you ever been the lead singer in a band?

A. Yes (+7) B. No (0)

6. If you answered yes, was your band an indie-pop band?

A. Yes (-8) B. No (0)

7. Which of the following books have you read?

(Mark all that apply.) A. The Art of War by military

general Sun Tzu (+10) B. The Art of Loving by social

psychologist Erich Fromm (+3) C. The Art of Paper Crafting by

graphic artist Mary Engelbreit (0)

8. Please doodle something in the space provided in the next column:

9. Did your doodle involve any of the following?

A. Arrows (+2) B. Light bulb (+5) C. Mountain (+7) D. Squiggles (+1) E. Yourself on a battle steed

(-10)

10. What color is your tie? A. Red (+5) B. Beige (-5)

11. What will you be calling your big speech at the leadership conference?

A. Leadership Dynamics (0) B. The Dynamics of Leadership

(-3) C. Dynamics! Leadership! (-5) D. LeadershipDynamics (-7) E. Something more evocative than the above (+10)

12. When you speak in public, you tend to:

A. Shine (+10) B. Shake (-5) C. Twitch (-10) D. Pass out (-20)

13. Which do you most often bite? A. The bullet (+5) B. The big one (-5)

14. How do you refer to the people who report to you?

A. Employees (+2) B. Staff (+2) C. Team (+2) D. People (+1) E. Heads (-5) F. My guys (-10)

15. Which word did Winston Churchill invoke at the end of this line from his “�ght on the beaches” speech in 1940: “You ask, What is our aim? I can answer in one word: …”

A. Victory! (+5) B. Vision! (-1) C. Achievement! (-3) D. Rightsizing! (-4)

16. Which executive poster do you most identify with?

A. Soaring eagle (+5) B. Solitary lion (+3) C. Sleepy ape (-3)

17. “Oh, no! An iceberg!” A. “Hard rudder!” (+10) B. “Nudge her to the left a

little.” (-10)

18. Fill in the blanks: Leaders are ____ not ____. A. born, made (+5) B. made, born (0) C. borned, born (-10)

19. Which of these positions would you be best suited for on a football team?

A. Quarterback (+10) B. Running back (+5) C. Linebacker (+3) D. Fetal (-10)

20. How many times in the last week have you used the term “best practices”?

A. More than 10 (0) B. Less than 10 (0)

21. Do you know what “best practices” means? Does anyone?

A. Yes (0) B. No (0)

22. The word endeavor is a: A. Noun (0) B. Verb (-5)

23. Quick! Pick a European leader.

A. Merkel (+5)

24. When is an obstacle not an obstacle?

A. When it’s a stepping stone. (+5)

B. When it’s a stepping stone! Boom! (-5)

25. Boom? A. Boom. (-5)

26. Which is the highest possible percentage of effort one person can offer a company?

A. 100 percent (+5) B. 110 percent (+3) C. 200 percent (+1) D. 1,000 percent (0)

27. If you would have selected “in�nity percent,” are you:

A. Under the age of 12 (+5) B. Over the age of 12 (-20)

28. To which level are you about to take your organization?

A. The next level. (+5) B. The Next Level. (+3) C. The! Next! Level! (0) E. That level over there. It’s

more like a plane, really. Or a way station. Thoughts, anyone? (-5)

©Entrepreneur Inc. All rights reserved.

Add up the points to find out if you’re a leader or a follower.

ROSS MCCAMMON

How great a leader are you?

KEY

More than 30 points:

For you, this quiz is but a distraction from leading.

20-30 points:

Let’s put it this way: You aren’t a follower.

1-19 points:

Let’s put it this way: You aren’t not a follower.

Fewer than 0 points:

That’s The Art of War by Sun Tzu, available wherever more frivolous books are sold.

ROSS MCCAMMON is an articles editor at Esquire and a regular contributor to Entrepreneur.


back stage

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Documents

Entrepreneur April 2012