Gumption: The Necessity of Ego and a Proposal for Tempered Vanity
Gumption. [guhmp-shuh
n] noun
The desire to pursue and the unfaltering confidence in the ability to achieve. An unwavering belief in personal capability and the assertiveness to flaunt it.*
Gumption. It’s the stuff old movie heroes and heroines were made of. It’s the reason we circumvented the globe, pioneered the west and walked on the moon.
An attitude that assumes risk, latches onto potential and overcomes failure.
Gumption is the bare necessity for an early stage start up.
Coupled with a desire to be the best it is the very essence of ego that is crucial to success. Not a fear of failure, but a disdain for it. Not completely unflappable but held by a passion strong enough to prevail in any circumstance. Not convinced of their capacity to do it all on their own, but possessed of an astuteness to surround themselves with the right people. Not naïve enough to think themselves absolutely unique, but propelled by the threat of constant competition and the thought of rising above. Not focused on what they do know but rather what they should learn.
It’s inspired leadership that exudes confident direction and beguiles followship. The inflated ego is a necessary component of transformational start ups.
Paradoxically, ego is also the downfall for many.
An innate desire to be the best is sometimes crippling when success is slow-coming and the ego isn’t nourished through reinforcement of achievement. The same drive that so hungrily pushes forward is also typically hungry for reassurance, regardless of its belief in its self, it seeks outwardly praise and recognition of the accomplishments being made. The same mind that is convinced of its own heroic abilities can still be paralyzed by jealousy or disappointment in lack of accolades. The lamentable other side of the required ego.
Structured Narcissism. [struhk-cherd] [nahr-suh-siz-em] adj. noun.
An inhibited belief it ones own ability but void of need for other’s recognition. A tempered vanity; a desire to be seen as the best, but primarily to one’s self.**
Conscious of the perils to be found in pursuing admiration, entrepreneurs must strive to be cognizant of their vanity and find fulfillment in pride of their own accomplishment. Work to eradicate the need of audience and instead focus on the value of the pursuit itself.
We are very much in need of new Magellans with the gumption to push forward into the unknown, but an entrepreneur armed with Atticus Finch humility and authentic value-driven ideas and notions has the potential to go much farther and yield higher impact. Entrepreneurs armed with confidence but also, acute self awareness.
*[Caveat: The definitions used in this post are of the author’s design and are certainly not meant to be taken as a literal dictionary reference.]
**[Caveat: The terms defined are the new, proposed phrases offered by the author.]
sarahprevette
Brilliant post Sarah, and right on the money. You have to take the good with the bad and hope the good wins out.
I love this – especially Structured Narcissism! It’s currently sitting at #4 on my “favorite made up terms” list. Keep ‘em coming!
CT
Nice post Sarah. Looks like you’re in an interesting position because you facilitate start-ups while being a start-up as well. You bring a diverse perspective to the conversation. You can probably tell us a lot about ourselves, because start-ups tend to be guarded, possibly due to some of the reasons you noted above.
One thing though, when you write, “Not a fear of failure, but a disdain for it…” I would suggest that as a start-up, we must neither fear, nor disdain failure, but embrace it. Experimentation, which is a critical piece of our start-up, often ends in wonderful flaming failures. And that’s fine. The important thing is to first recognize the failure quickly, and either change course, or scrap the experiment before it reaches a critical mass. But I’ll always believe that from failure, comes insight.
But regarding ego, I am reminded of a recent tweet by brian gilham, when he wrote, “Want to keep your employees happy?… Celebrate small victories.” (twitter.com/bgilham)
It’s the small, bitter victories which make the big ones worthwhile.
Anyway, thanks again for the post.