Soft Skills are Smart Skills

Soft skills like leadership, decision-making, conflict resolution, negotiation, communication, creativity and presentation skills are essential for entrepreneurial success and for maximizing human capital in any enterprise. When balanced with a good management team and an effective human resource management system, soft skills provide a way to get the highest return on the investment in terms of human capital. While professional skills may open the door of opportunity, soft skills keep you in the driver’s seat. We offer our Top 10 list of items that an entrepreneur should focus on and some suggested competencies.

By Prasad Kaipa, Ph. D.

Preparation:

Planning a venture is like mapping a route before a long trip -- beware of the consequences of decisions you make about your destination, with whom you are traveling, and how you will get there. A quality business plan is the roadmap to success. Starting the venture is like initiating the journey that you have been dreaming about for a long time. Focus on hiring the right people with the right skill-set (and passion). Strive to create a culture of teamwork and commitment coupled with high quality execution, which will allow you to reach the destination safely and successfully.

Imagine this to be a long trip on water. You and your executive team are the crew, your business plan is your map of the turbulent ocean, which is the market place, and the ship is your organizational system optimized for your journey as well as for getting the best out of your talent. Your executive team needs to be top notch with experience and expertise in operating your ship. It is very likely that at least some of them have been on this journey before with knowledge of how to deal with unexpected changes in weather, hurricanes and, of course, potential mutinies on the ship. Your engineers (crew) have experience with your system (ship)--- software, approach, and equipment. They need to have the tools and training to navigate it (Java or dot NET or other software tools if you are building an internet software company), and have expertise to fix unexpected problems that are bound to come up while you are in the ocean.

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