The Danger of Entrepreneurial Passion

by Joe Stampone on January 22, 2010

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Harvard Business Review LogoIt’s Friday afternoon so I thought I’d post a quick non-real estate write-up to kick off the weekend. If you’ve visited this site before you know that I often write about the importance of passion in business – how you must follow your passion and how following your passion will lead to business success and happiness. Yeah, sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

Well the other day I read a really interesting article in the Harvard Business Review that expressed the danger of entrepreneurial passion. The title caught me by surprise and at first glance I immediately disagreed. Now maybe it was personal hubris, but I went through and read it again, and this time it made sense, and I began to agree with what Daniel Isenberg (venture capitalist and HBS professor) was saying.

Sure, it takes huge commitment, energy, and stamina to get a new venture off the ground. And of course you have to believe, sometimes with little data, that you can succeed against the odds. But passion is an emotion that blinds you.

Daniel goes on to explain a number of reasons why passion can negatively affect your business:

  • It prevents you from surrounding yourself with people who are right for the venture, rather feelings dictate your decisions.
  • Passion will get in the way managing risk and if necessary folding your business quickly.

So, entrepreneur, leave your passion in the bedroom. And when you are launching your venture, let nothing get in the way of sober, hard headed, objective assessment.

What do you think?

On a side note, I’ve added a new tab to the site. Under ‘Careers’ you’ll see a drop down tab called ‘Companies.’ It’s basically a list of what I think are reputable companies based in NYC  with the intent of making your job/internship search a bit simpler. Do you like this idea? Are there companies that should be added or removed from the list? I want to know what you think.

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  • sydsf

    Thanks for summarizing the article into a great post. Certainly it is a message that every “would be” entrepreneur needs to embrace.

    While passion is essential – at the end of the day, a poorly executed idea in the wrong market conditions will not make up for all the passion in the world.

    With that being said, these are the times that drive entrepreneurs and innovation because a new set of “rules” creates new opportunities for new players to emerge.

    Great blog and best of luck with your endeavors!
    Cheers,
    -Syd

  • http://www.creconsole.com/ Joshua Zader

    Joe, great post. After reading the article, I had one initial question. What is the definition of passion? Isenberg never really stops to spell out which definition he is using. One of the most relative definitions on Dictionary.com is simply “any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling”. To me, this means that *every* entrepreneur must hold a huge amount of “passion” for whatever their cause or business is. Without a passion, no one would make the sacrifices required to start a business from scratch.

    From this article, it appears that Isenberg feels like passion and “cold-shower-self-honesty” must be exclusive of one another. Instead, I feel that successful entrepreneurs need to have the right mixture of both ingredients…. Keep up the good work.

  • http://www.astudentoftherealestategame.com/ Joe Stampone

    Syd, thanks for your comment and kind words. Entrepreneurship has always driven this country and will continue to into the future. The internet has changed the game and I'm excite to see the new ventures that come out of this recession.

  • http://www.astudentoftherealestategame.com/ Joe Stampone

    Josh, thanks for your comment. I agree, passion is certainly a necessary ingredient for any entrepreneur. That being said, I agree with Isenberg in the fact that passion can get in the way of making sound business decisions. You're completely right, it's about having the right balance of passion and self-honesty. Thanks for reading.

  • http://www.creconsole.com/ Joshua Zader

    Joe, great post. After reading the article, I had one initial question. What is the definition of passion? Isenberg never really stops to spell out which definition he is using. One of the most relative definitions on Dictionary.com is simply “any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling”. To me, this means that *every* entrepreneur must hold a huge amount of “passion” for whatever their cause or business is. Without a passion, no one would make the sacrifices required to start a business from scratch.

    From this article, it appears that Isenberg feels like passion and “cold-shower-self-honesty” must be exclusive of one another. Instead, I feel that successful entrepreneurs need to have the right mixture of both ingredients…. Keep up the good work.

  • http://www.astudentoftherealestategame.com/ Joe Stampone

    Syd, thanks for your comment and kind words. Entrepreneurship has always driven this country and will continue to into the future. The internet has changed the game and I'm excite to see the new ventures that come out of this recession.

  • http://www.astudentoftherealestategame.com/ Joe Stampone

    Josh, thanks for your comment. I agree, passion is certainly a necessary ingredient for any entrepreneur. That being said, I agree with Isenberg in the fact that passion can get in the way of making sound business decisions. You're completely right, it's about having the right balance of passion and self-honesty. Thanks for reading.