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However, one business commentator believes that the real substance of a successful entrepreneur boils down to having a high level of emotional intelligence.
Chris Golis, seasoned businessman and author, says emotional intelligence is an often-overlooked characteristic which can make or break an entrepreneur's relationships with stakeholders, as well as determine the kind of business they run.
"Many leaders or successful business people are dominated by the desire for material success," says Golis.
"They never do something for nothing and they're all about what's in it for them."
"Understanding emotional intelligence is more important than having a high IQ but it's also how you choose to look at it in terms of a model of temperament."
Having spent most of his life accessing people's personalities to help them achieve better results in business, Golis has established a list of seven personality types which he believes add to the constitution of every business person.
These are the Mover, the Double Checker, the Artist, the Politician, The Engineer, the Hustler and finally the Normal. (See descriptions below).
"Sales people tend be Movers and Hustlers, while managers tend to be Politicians and there's a systematic way using various clues to identify who is dominated by which temperament characteristics, even down to the clothes they wear, the way they talk, and the car they drive," says Golis.
"Leaders like Bob Hawke and Bill Clinton generally possess the 'magic three' as they're high Movers, high Hustlers and high Politicians but they are rare."
"When I first started as a venture capitalist we were looking for the 'magic three' in entrepreneurs but we discovered these were the wrong type for startups. These people were great at managing the far-flung empire."
Golis thinks certain occupations fit different personality types within these models, and says successful entrepreneurs bear the characteristics of two in particular.
"We found the successful start-up entrepreneurs had high numerical IQ, high Hustler and high Engineer," he says.
Golis believes it is important for entrepreneurs to recognise their own personality traits and leverage them for success.
Mr Golis has been invited to speak at an international Emotional Intelligence conference in Spain in July.
The personality types:
· The Mover - Cheerful, outgoing, warm and enthusiastic. It's easy to recognise a mover because they are always smiling and are driven by a desire to communicate
· The Double checker - Timid nervous and indecisive. Double-checkers crave security and are always thinking about what could go wrong
· The Artist - This personality type is dominated by the desire to create. Artists are often quiet, shy and withdrawn people· The Politician - Verbal rather than visual - the politician has fixed opinions and tends to force these on others. They can be so competitive that they often appear boastful and conceited
· The Engineer - Engineers are driven by the desire to complete projects. They are highly achievement-oriented and need goals· The Hustler - Driven solely by a desire for material success, hustlers are generally concerned with self-advantage and are sly, cunning and ambitious
· The Normal - driven by a desire for order, Normals will adapt their behaviours to suit others. The Normal component acts as a stabiliser on the other six personality typesGet our daily business news
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