John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins tells why he thinks entrepreneurs are missionaries, rather than mercenaries in this video clip. I've summarized his points here:
Entrepreneurs do more than what anyone thinks possible, with less than anyone thinks possible. Entrepreneurs are missionaries, not mercenaries: (Referenced from Randy Komisar’s book, “The Monk and the Riddle”)
Mercenaries:
Missionaries:
- driven by paranoia
- Opportunistic
- “the pitch, the deal”
- sprint, short run
- obsess on competition
- aristocracy of founder(s)
- bosses of wolf packs
- entitlement
- the “deferred life” plan
- lust of money making
- success
- driven by passion
- Strategic
- “the big idea, partnership”
- marathon, long run
- obsess on customers
- meritocracy, best idea wins
- mission, coaches of teams
- contribution
- a whole life (that works)
- lust to make meaning (& money)
- significance
"If the reason you’re taking on a mission or opportunity is for the money you’ll make, I believe you’ll fail. You should find your passion, find that mission, and take it on, even if no one paid you anything for it – because then you and your team will be motivated to succeed."
John Doerr has called Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com a missionary, while categorizing Jim Clark, founder of Netscape Communications, a mercenary.
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