What makes a Researcher a Good Entrepreneur choice?

By

Manoj Kumar Singh Director and CEO, SINGH BIOTECH LLP

Twitter: @man_biotech Website: www.singhbiotechllp.com

Source: www.peerie.com

How could a researcher be a better choice for running a company? These are two

different set of people who have totally distinct field of expertise.

A researcher dwells into the questions why and how things happened, trying to find the

answers to it. An entrepreneur thinks more on what and how goals can be achieved. He

plans his strategy around this goal.

When these two names are taken together we will have a totally different picture of

both into our mind. One picture of a researcher who is wearing a white apron working in

the laboratory carryout experiments for his research or is somewhere in the field

collecting his samples with utmost precision. An Entrepreneur is seen as more formally

suited individual sitting in his cabin marshaling his team towards a goal or is sweating

out in the field to sell his product.

However to this common disbelieve that a research is different from the entrepreneur,

maximum number of worlds entrepreneurs are actually researchers who worked to find

the solutions to the problems, ending up as the successful entrepreneurs. Some of the

best examples of present era are Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Vinod Dham, John Craig Venter,

Mark Zuckerberg, Dr. Roger Newton and many more.

A researcher comprise of great skill sets which when added with the management and

business development skills becomes the perfect combination for running a business

successfully. There cannot be any comparison between a researcher and an

entrepreneur; in fact they both encompass similar sets of skills. A mere degree in

management doesn’t make you are good manager but an experience does:

1. Both are Good Planners- Be it planning for research or for business it requires a

well planned layout to know how to move ahead. A researcher and an

entrepreneur know importance of planning and how to plan to achieve their

objectives.

2. Eye For Details- Any miss in the details can lead to a total failure in the objective

of a research and same with the business. They both have a precise eye on the

minutes of the details in order to implement the plans accurately.

3. Time Management- A researcher has many responsibilities other than the lab

work. He has to be a good time manager in order to fulfill other responsibilities of

academic and administration. An entrepreneur knows how to juggle the time in

between the different tasks at hand and prioritize them.

4. Good Writing Skills- Writing research or grants proposals, reports, articles, and

emails equip scientists with good writing skills which add as a benefit in running a

business as both involve proper understanding of data and emulate it.

5. Good Communication Skills- They both develop a solid communication skill due

to their daily interaction with different people and convincing required at

different stages of their career.

6. Critical Thinking Skills- It is one of the most important soft skills required for the

success of any project. A researcher acquires a greater ability for critical thinking

and constantly uses it into the result interpretation.

7. Team Building Ability- A good scientist knows clearly the objectives of his

research project, so hires the right skill set people to form his team. This is

equivalent to hiring the right managers and workers for your business.

8. Analytical Skills- Modern day research has evolved a lot and requires great

analytical skills to properly analyze the large amount of data created as a result of

constant research done presently and in the past. An entrepreneur analyses with

great precision the market analytics to ensure his business profitability.

9. Patience- The results of many experiments are not instant, they require some

incubation period. Likewise any successful business project requires a gestation

period before it starts to produce some revenue.

10. Perseverance- Even the minor hitches in the way do not waver people on a

mission. Research teaches one to persevere even when the outcomes are not

according to the previous predictions. To establish a successful enterprise one

need to persevere even during the bad days.

11. Self Motivated- These people are self driven individuals who find motivation

even in midst of disappointments. They never let the failure to hinder their self

confidence as they trust their ability and believe in moving forward all the time.

12. Good Presentation Skills- In research one has to constantly update the higher

authorities on the recent developments of the research and also have to present

these findings at the conferences etc. All this require good presentation skills

which form a major part of business proposal presentation for funding or

marketing.

13. Good Delegation Skills- Both the researcher and the entrepreneurs master the

skills to delegate, as they are aware to achieve the bigger picture you need to

work smartly and should know what and when to delegate to subordinates

trusting their abilities to complete the task at hand.

14. Flexibility- They both know how to be flexible and change the plan as per the

latest development.

15. Visionary- They have vision which gives them power to see beyond. Even hurdles

in the path do not stop them as they have a sight for the future on which they

work continuously.

16. Good Management Skills- A researcher has to be a master manager of a lab, a

team, grants or funds and instruments chemical suppliers which are similar to

vendor management, finance management, team management and business

development mastered by the entrepreneur.