Why it’s impossible to “create” entrepreneurs – a core part of the human condition

By Alec Hogg

Watching Elon Musk‘s brilliant presentation on plans to colonise Mars reminded me his genius is not only an ability to see further than the rest of us. Super-entrepreneur Musk has conditioned his mind to overcome the biggest blockage to unleashing the potential we all possess – our inherent aversion to loss.

After his first three rockets exploded, a near bankrupt Musk was within one more failed launch from losing everything. Yet he found the resilience to once more put it all on the line, resisting the loss-aversion condition which afflicts mankind. The fourth rocket was successful – and the rest is history.

In 2009, Wharton professors Devin Pope and Maurice Schweitzer scientifically proved the point when publishing their now famous paper after analysing 2.5m putts by golfers on the PGA Tour. They found the professionals sunk significantly more identical putts when going for par, than for birdie – loss aversion trumping the prospect of gain.

The professors concluded human beings are “risk seeking in losses and risk averse in gains…” Entrepreneurs need to be hard-wired the other way around – motivated by their potential success rather than what could be lost. That is why these business creators account for such a tiny slice of the population. And also why well intentioned bureaucratic schemes to “create” them will always fail.

Elon Musk, chief executive officer for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), speaks during the 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016. Musk's vision for building a self-sustaining city on Mars will require full rocket reusability, refueling the spacecraft in orbit and propellant production on the Red Planet. Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
Elon Musk, chief executive officer for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), speaks during the 67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016. Musk’s vision for building a self-sustaining city on Mars will require full rocket reusability, refueling the spacecraft in orbit and propellant production on the Red Planet. Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
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