What entrepreneur do you admire?

In our ice-breaker introductory session of Entrepreneurial Strategies, students identified entrepreneurs whom they admire. The list included Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, WWE founder Vince McMann (!), Bill Gates, Henry Ford, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Interestingly, several students admired Chris Gardner (the protagonist of The Pursuit of Happyness) as a model entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are quite distinct from managers in the personal practices and mindset they assume: entrepreneurs set the work climate, engage in opportunity-seeking behaviors, and constantly strive for new insights to move their ventures forward (McGrath & MacMillan, 2000). That "venture" can be your team's project, your start-up company, or even your career (Mr. Gardner is the gentleman on the left).