Last month I reviewed (7 stars) The Entrepreneur Next Door. Following that review, I asked to interview the book's author, Bill Wagner, and he graciously accepted. Here's my discussion with him:
Free Money Finance (FMF): What led you to write The Entrepreneur Next Door?
Bill Wagner (BW): The genesis of The Entrepreneur Next Door was a coincidence between the publishing of The Millionaire Next Door and my presenting to a group of Young Entrepreneurs some 10+ years ago. I was a sponsor at an international university for the Young Entrepreneurs Organization and was presenting to 200 entrepreneurs. They were all under the age of 40 and had annual revenues in excess of $1,000,000. After surveying their personalities I realized that there was a direct link between personality and entrepreneurial success. In reading The Millionaire Next Door I found it interesting that only about 30% of their 500 or so survey respondents were actually entrepreneurs. I am a relatively analytical and curious individual and wanted to know more and have an understanding as to what drove their success, was it duplicatable and if so then how on understanding and getting the people side of business right.
FMF: Tell us in your own words what the book is about.
BW: It is the stories, the anecdotes and the research that together create a very compelling story about success, self awareness and accomplishment. Purchasers of the book are invited to www.theentreprenerunextdoor.com to complete a personality test. Test takers are determined to have one of seven different personality types. Four are more Generalist, big picture, more strategic in their thinking and orientation and three are more Specialist, more careful, by the book, more tactical with a well defined area of expertise. The Generalist are referred to as having a stronger Entrepreneurial type of personality whereas the Specialist are referred to as more of a Wantapreneurial type of personality. The book is then written from seven different perspectives so that readers are able to learn specifically about themselves. This is unique in that most writers write from their perspective and rarely write from the perspective of the reader. That plus the fact that the reader gets their own personality test is really cool stuff.
FMF: What are the core concepts of the book?
BW: Successful entrepreneurs have one of two things going for themselves. They either have the right personality to be an entrepreneur or they have the self awareness to understand the difference that exists between who they are and who they need to be. It is this GAP that allows the entrepreneur to use a cognitive process by which they can change their behaviors in order to drive the results they desire. On page eleven of the book I introduce a Five Tier Performance Pyramid that takes readers through this cognitive process. Tier I is our natural personality and we all have a natural style of personality. Tier II represents the behavioral requirements of our position. It could be an entrepreneur but it could also be the behavioral requirements for the position of a truck driver. They do not typically have the same personality. The behaviors (Tier II) represent the requirement and Tier III represent the actions that are necessary or requisite to make things happen. As we all know, Actions with a method of Metrics leaves us with planned failure. Metrics represent Tier IV and finally Tier V are the Results we are able to accomplish. It is the reader's ability to cognitively understand and embrace this Five Tier Performance Pyramid that allows them to drive positive change.
FMF: Who is the book written for?
BW: The book is written for a broad spectrum. It has a great message for existing business owners and their significant other, their employees and partners as it provides insights as to why they do what they do. Years ago, I was presenting to a group of entrepreneurs in Guatemala City and after the meeting of entrepreneurs and their respective spouses one of the spouses approached me and said, "I use to think that my husband was the rotten apple, now that I see the personalities of all of these entrepreneurs I realize that the whole bushel is rotten." This was her epiphany that her husband being different was a good thing because it allowed him to have the level of success that he required.
The Entrepreneur Next Door is also written for those that desire to go into business for themselves as it provides them with a roadmap. an objective roadmap. Our research indicates that it is easier if you have a personality that is perfect for an opportunity but what about the other 60+ percent of the population, those that are more risk averse, those that prefer taking their time and really learning a subject well those individuals can be great as a franchisee or a distributor. They can be great where the brand brings their customers to them so they don't have to be the aggressive marketer themselves.
There is a third and unexpected group that has strongly benefited from their reading of The Entrepreneur Next Door and that is existing companies and corporations. Their upper management has struggled for years with those that lack initiative which is something that entrepreneurs have in strong supply. These corporate readers always know who they have issues with, their new found understanding has provided them with the Why the issues exist, What they can do about it and How they can fix it.
FMF: Why should people buy The Entrepreneur Next Door?
BW: All of the above. This is a well written, well researched book that is funny and insightful.
As a business executive we are always looking for the "How to" and very few business books provide the how to. I belong to a CEO group, we get together once a month and discuss business issues. One of the books that we have read in the last several years is Good to Great by Jim Collins. There are two things missing. One is pictures and the second is the "How TO." If there is one thing that business executives are short on that is patience and if there is one thing they want, is they want a strong "How to." I provide readers with a strong how to.
FMF: Is there anything else you’d like to tell readers of Free Money Finance about The Entrepreneur Next Door?
BW: I still have two children to put through college. Seriously, your readers can go to my web site www.theentrepreneurnextdoor.com and click on the Entrepreneur Magazine logo in the lower right hand corner and take a free entrepreneur test. If they want to take the one that gives them the book comparison then they can buy the book online, order their book with an autograph and a personalized inscription and be on their way with a whole level of self awareness.
More seriously, I was in Kansas City a couple of years ago, I was driving a rental car, was parking the car on a hill (yes they have hills in Kansas City) so I applied the parking break. I came back a couple of hours later, it was now dark and as I got into the car to leave the interior dome light wasn't working. It was really dark and I couldn't get the parking break off. I am trying everything. The gas flap is flipping, the hood and trunk are both up. Then in desperation, I opened the glove box (why they call it a glove box is beyond me) and I pulled out the instruction manual. Sure enough, there it was, my answer on page 52. It worked. Then it dawned on me, wouldn't it be great if people came with instruction manuals? Guess what, they do...The Entrepreneur Next Door.
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