Does GPA predict entrepreneurial performance? This was a question on an expert platform I'm a member of.
And my answer?
No. GPA, or Grade Point Average, is a performance measure for academic pursuits. Memorization, rote, and perhaps a little critical thinking.
It's the real world out here, unsafe and prone to sudden breakdown. Your ability to interact with people, deal positively with the unexpected, and handle ongoing stress are far more important than regurgitation of some process upon command.
GPA Tells You Nothing When You Try To Predict Entrepreneurial Performance
In the real world, you can always pay someone to learn or do the thing. Or take the time to look the thing up yourself. Memorization is not important. Problem-solving is.
Frankly if you were too methodical a person, I'd be more concerned about your entrepreneurial future than if you're spinny and prone to getting struck by new ideas. But any type of person can be an entrepreneur. The key issue is whether you can handle the stress. And no school can prepare you for that--even the one I went to, that made us wade through 10 and 11 courses a term, resulting in a 40% student failure rate.
Entrepreneurship is more than just hard work. Hard work is easy. If that's all it took, many more people would be rich. But the universe doesn't care how hard you work...nor how hard your competitors are working, either. Remember that on your journey.
Predict Entrepreneurial Performance With This Instead Of GPA
In my opinion and experience, the biggest predictor of entrepreneurial success is this...
Does the person have one or more examples of projects they've run where they had to:
- do something nobody else wanted to do
- run around to get support from other people to accomplish the goal
- stick with the project until it was at least in shape to be handed off to someone else to maintain--or was done and over with.
Full completion is not critical, as business builders may start up a project, and then sell it once profitable.
Examples of such projects go all the way back to high school, if you and the candidate take the time to look. Swim meets, band class, art or theater projects...plenty of examples are available. If a person willingly takes on the unpleasant, convinces others to contribute, and gets the project into a workable shape, then in my opinion they have a good chance of suceeding as an entrepreneur. And GPA will tell you nothing about that.
>> Jason Kanigan is a business strategist focusing on conversion optimization for medium-sized manufacturing, software, and service businesses. To book a call with Jason to discuss your situation, click here. <<
