Three Toxic Traits Every Entrepreneur Should Avoid

The statistics of new businesses that fail depend on the region you are looking at. In the United States, it is said that 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. Only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more. Although these statistics only apply to the US, most reasons businesses fail can be considered universal since they apply to any part of the world. Some of these reasons are;

Our focus is on the last reason - Poor management or leadership. This is because while the focus may be on finance, policies, and industry advantage, most successful businesses are often so because of their leader. The leader’s personality, leadership style, and mindset often set the foundation of a business, especially during its early stages. So the leader or founder can set up the business for success or failure. Here are five mentalities that founders should avoid if they want to succeed.

A Culture of Overworking

Stories of overworked employees passing out on the streets of Japan once hit the internet. The situation was so dire that it got its name - Karoshi. This word closely translated means “Death by overwork”. Although Karoshi had been an underlying issue in Japan’s toxic work culture, it soon became a worldwide phenomenon after the death of an employee Matsuri Takahashi in 2015. Before coming suicide, Takahashi had left a trail of tweets that proved just how bad the situation was.

Overworking is not only a Japanese problem, it is also common to see many startups embrace this kind of work culture. Elon Musk proudly talks about how he used to work 100 hours a week. However, overworking employees can give the business a negative reputation due to high employee turnover.

Thinking You Have All The Answers

Another stumbling block for founders is believing they have it all figured out. Being the smartest person in the room doesn’t guarantee success as an entrepreneur, especially if this is your first attempt at owning a business. Initial success can be misleading and in many ways result in overconfidence which is a recipe for failure. To avoid this, entrepreneurs should learn to seek a second opinion from a coach, a mentor, or a team member who could provide a different perspective. Diversity in perspective will help you avoid mistakes from blindspots in your thinking.

Promoting Crab mentality

The term crab mentality refers to a situation where individuals pull down each other in an attempt at success. The outcome is often the same, nobody wins. At first, this may seem like a good way to encourage competitive spirit among employees. But it also destroys team spirit as everybody looks out for themselves instead of the overall good of the company. Aside from ruining the company from within by creating a toxic work environment, the crab mentality can also destroy its relationship with other companies in the same industry. A healthy competition within companies is often encouraged. But things can become nasty real quick like in an all-out price war. In that case, there is no benefit for either business involved.

Speaking of price wars, here is an article that dives deep into the topic

Also, you can read our last publication by clicking the link below;

That’s all for now folks.

Until next time, stay inspired and keep chasing your dreams!

Cheers,

Alex