Olympians win Gold Medals. Actors and actresses are honored at Cannes or the Academy Awards. Scientists vie for the Nobel Prize. But for business achievement, the pinnacle is Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award.
Real business champions must master an intricate combination of many different skills and strengths, and— when they are tested in the fire of entrepreneurship—they must perform these skills consistently and superbly over long stretches of time. The Entrepreneur Of The Year (EOY) judges, many of whom are previous honorees, know a champion when they see one and know how to help you become a champion, too.
In this book, EOY judges explain how they started and managed successful companies, what criteria they use to evaluate the Entrepreneur Of The Year contenders, what practices the most effective entrepreneurs follow, and how your business can meet these criteria by using similar concepts.
These judges are standard bearers because of their accomplishments as entrepreneurs, as the creators and chief executives of high growth businesses that make significant contributions to their communities. They have already survived the scrutiny of EOY competition and triumphed.
Here, Entrepreneur Of The Year judges reveal exactly what they look for when assessing companies and entrepreneurs. This will give you the knowledge you need to examine your own endeavor with their clear-eyed sense of purpose. You are invited to put your business under the same microscope. But this is not only a diagnostic exam—it is the gateway to action, to moving your company forward.
This book begins with its title chapter, "You Be the Judge: Inside the Process," a firsthand tour of the deliberative, thorough judging process. Judges explain the key criteria they use—the six categories in which every Entrepreneur Of The Year winner must excel. You have a front-row seat inside the competition, so you can participate from the perspective of both the entrepreneurs and the judges. The cultural context of this competition, a 17-year-old adventure in entrepreneurship, is the context of business itself: brilliant ideas, rapid change, uncertain times, great opportunities and hard practicalities.
The judges reveal their criteria, step-by-step, and offer relevant advice, illustrated by corporate case histories, in four chapters covering leadership, team building, innovation, and finance.
In "Leadership: Make It So," the judges explain how to put your entrepreneurial spirit to work toward concrete accomplishment. This challenging task requires vision, passion, commitment, and risk taking, all focused strategically. In the words of Star Trek Captain Jean Luc Picard, leadership is the ability to take your dream and "make it so."
In "Team Building: Putting People First," the judges set out the managerial practices that lead to the alignment, profitability, and longevity they expect from EOY companies. They emphasize building a strong management team, including advisors, boards of directors, and executives. Next, the judges discuss serving the rest of your company’s stakeholders: your employees, your customers, and your community. They describe successful methods EOY winners use to attract, reward, and retain productive, effective workers. In this evaluation, they show you how developing a cohesive corporate culture and providing meaningful community service benefits your company and your bottom line.
"Innovation: Breaking the Mold" discusses how entrepreneurs must embody creativity and implement originality throughout their organizations. Judges talk about innovation as it applies at the beginning of a venture and during the company’s continued survival and growth. Innovation also demands the ability to inspire, to adapt, to diversify, to change to be flexible, and to overcome adversity—so the judges explain how to put those difficult skills to work.
In the final chapter, "Financial Performance: Money Matters," EOY judges reward entrepreneurs who create long-lasting growth and profitable businesses based on wise planning and strategic thinking. The judges aren’t shy about praising strong financial practices and condemning weak ones, such as stubborn refusal to adjust to changing circumstances.
The Entrepreneur Of The Year judges note that selection criteria categories are always fluid. Excellent entrepreneurship crosses the lines between categories. Traits that help an entrepreneur craft a winning fiscal strategy might also boost his or her ability to set up an innovative supply line or establish an effective employee incentive program.
But, in the end, it doesn’t matter that the key categories blend or overlap. According to the judges, entrepreneurs win EOY recognition only if they perform superbly in every arena.
Many books, Web sites, and academic studies cover the management secrets of entrepreneurs, but the EOY judges add a distinguished and distinctive voice to this discourse. Not only are they award-winning businesspeople, but they have also studied other successful business leaders. They are graduates of the hands-on "University of Entrepreneurship," with a deep understanding of how entrepreneurs start with ideas and create enduring businesses.
Each year, EOY judges sort through the detailed applications of thousands of worthy candidates to identify each year’s leading regional entrepreneurs and the Entrepreneur Of The Year. After learning how the judges ssess performance and what winning entrepreneurs actually do, you can go back to your desk, examine your business, and understand, starting now, that you too can be a champion.
Gregory K. Ericksen Ernst & Young Global Director Entrepreneur Of The Year
