5 traits of entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs generally turn into lousy CEOs for the very reasons they thrive on startups. Below are five traits of entrepreneurs � which often work against them as managers.
• They're perfectionists. "Entrepreneurs like to micro-manage everything," says Houston management consultant Linda Talley.
• They're disinterested in consensus or feedback. "They herd departments," says Dave Rohlander, founder of a two-year-old software company, RFQsolutions, in San Diego. "The energy and vision and aggressiveness it takes to be an entrepreneur doesn't sit well with larger groups of people."
• They're mavericks. "Entrepreneurs are typically risk-takers," says ArLyne Diamond, a psychologist and management consultant in Santa Clara, Calif. "In the rush to get it done, they don't have the patience to manage people."
• They prefer to do everything themselves. "The challenge is believing that anyone else can do it better," admits Emory Mulling, chairman of his own 15-year-old executive outplacement, coaching and search firms in Atlanta. "For too long, I worked with every individual in our training program," he says of his own personal experience. "It took four years for me to find someone else."
• Their focus is one-sided. "Male entrepreneurs tend toward vision and analysis. They're comfortable with numbers," says profitability consultant Karen Lund in St. Paul, Minn. "Women entrepreneurs tend to focus on how well people are doing and not on operating and financials. When they don't focus on both sides, entrepreneurs fail."

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