I have long held a view that great sportsmen and great entrepreneurs share a common motivation. They are not driven by a love of winning but by a hatred of losing. An extension of that theory is that entrepreneurs are also driven by the thrill of the battle and not by the reward. There is a big difference.
As an example of this consider some of the great sportsmen of the modern era - Ian Botham for example. I don’t doubt that “Beefy” loved to win – especially if the opposition was Australia. But he seemed to produce his most dogged performances when the chips were down. There was none more memorable than his batting heroics in the Ashes test at Headingly in 1981 when England faced certain defeat having followed on. Botham’s incredibly determined 149 not out dragged England back to a position from where they won the match.
Another iconic sporting success born of a fear of losing was Seb Coe in the 1980 Olympic 1500m final. Defeat would have consigned him to the history books as a failure having botched the 800m final days before. His arch rival Steve Ovett, still basking in the glory of his 800m gold medal couldn’t match Coe’s fierce determination, driven on by the pain of his earlier failure.
Others who were able to find something extra to pull victory from the jaws of defeat are Seve Ballesteros, Jimmy Connors and Chris Ewbank,
There is a direct parallel between this “refuse to lose” attribute and being an entrepreneur. I don’t believe that the great entrepreneurs are those that like to succeed. Entrepreneurs are not driven by making money. They are driven by something more instinctive and fundamental and it comes to the fore when the chips are down. The great businessmen that I know have a glint in their eye when times get challenging - they love the fight.
I am not saying that entrepreneurs don’t enjoy the rewards that come from their efforts. But I know from speaking to a number of them that they simply regard the big pay day that comes from selling a business as an indication that they have done a good job. I speak from first-hand experience when I say that the real excitement comes not from the rewards of an exit. The real thrills come months or years earlier when you were fighting to win that deal that was slipping away or scrapping to establish your dominance over a competitor or fighting to get to break-even with the cash reserves running low. In sporting parlance it is those occasions that are like the pivotal moment in a boxing match or middle distance race when victory or failure is determined. The exit is more akin to the medal ceremony. Very gratifying but not the bit we revel in.
