I ran across a great quote from Yvon Chouinard, founder of outdoor outfitter Patagonia and noted environmental philanthropist. He says:
“…to understand an entrepreneur, you should study a juvenile delinquent. They’re both saying: ‘This sucks and I’m going to do it another way.’ You have to want to break the rules and prove that your way works.”
Cheers to the delinquents and entrepreneurs of the world! Cheers to Yvon Choinard.
I wonder if anyone has done a study of successful entrepreneurs and found a correlation between their entrepreneurial success and a personal history of juvenile delinquency? Might be interesting to see.
I have a hunch that you’d find a higher than average number of delinquents in the bunch. Not that I’m advocating delinquency or heralding the troublemaker, but as you said, the out-of-the-box thinkers usually start that way pretty young.
Of course, not all entrepreneurs are successful, and not all successful entrepreneurs are out-of-the-box thinkers. But if you’re looking for innovation, it helps.
Consider totalitarian regimes where out-of-the-box thinking is severely repressed. You’ll find that innovation is also repressed — or at the very least, hidden from plain view. Innovation in that environment could be considered subversive.
I wonder if anyone has done a study of successful entrepreneurs and found a correlation between their entrepreneurial success and a personal history of juvenile delinquency? Might be interesting to see.
I have a hunch that you’d find a higher than average number of delinquents in the bunch. Not that I’m advocating delinquency or heralding the troublemaker, but as you said, the out-of-the-box thinkers usually start that way pretty young.
Of course, not all entrepreneurs are successful, and not all successful entrepreneurs are out-of-the-box thinkers. But if you’re looking for innovation, it helps.
Consider totalitarian regimes where out-of-the-box thinking is severely repressed. You’ll find that innovation is also repressed — or at the very least, hidden from plain view. Innovation in that environment could be considered subversive.