Measure Your Entrepreneurial Instinct

Mary Frakes and Thomas Harrison, 08.03.10, 06:00 PM EDT

Our personality quiz determines whether you should work for the man or start raising capital. Take it now.

Thomas Harrison

Mary Frakes Do you have entrepreneurial DNA? Get ready to find out. This 31-question quiz--adapted from the Entrepreneurial Personality Quiz in Instinct: Tapping Your Entrepreneurial DNA to Achieve Your Business Goals, by Thomas L. Harrison--is based on the widely used, five-factor model of personality identified in 1985 by Paul Costa Jr. and Robert McCrae of the National Institute on Aging. The five factors underpinning the model are Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism--which combine to form the catchy acronym OCEAN. Note: Take the quiz before continuing to read about the methodology behind it. You'll give yourself the best chance of answering the questions honestly, rather than trying to select the ones that yield the result you might want to hear. Entrepreneurship is hard enough--if you're fundamentally not suited to it, you'll want to know. The quiz is not intended as a medical diagnostic tool or a substitute for medical advice. You must answer all 31 questions to get a meaningful assessment. Click here to take the quiz.

The quiz assesses each of the five personality factors by examining six secondary traits that comprise each factor. (See explanations of each factor below.) The questions present hypothetical situations drawn from Harrison's interviews with hundreds of successful entrepreneurs. Each answer says something about your entrepreneurial bent, though some answers yield a neutral result (suggesting someone neither more nor less entrepreneurial in nature). Real-Time Quotes 02/01/2013 12:56PM ET

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Get Quote BATS Real-Time Market Data by Xignite Certain questions receive more weight than others--such as questions related to the ability to take action, a must-have quality for any entrepreneur. No one question, or even certain bunches of them, tells the whole story. Rather, it's the combination of traits--and how well they are managed--that is critical to entrepreneurial success. That's why it's important to answer all 31 questions to truly see where you fall on the overall entrepreneurial continuum. Here is more information on each of the five factors: Openness to Experience This aspect of personality measures how receptive you are to new experiences and ideas. If you're open to experience, you tend to think creatively, try new things and have many interests. Generally, you are intellectually curious, aware of your own emotions and open to reexamining ideas and beliefs. If you're not, you probably tend to focus on the here and now, the concrete, the norm. You are more comfortable with tradition, routine and the familiar than with questioning the status quo. You may dislike ambiguity and prefer having a few welldefined interests. You often get impatient with things you perceive to have little usefulness or connection with the real world. Many entrepreneurs exhibit a high degree of openness, which can help them recognize new opportunities and alternative ways of doing things. (The term of art here is "seeing around corners.") Having a low degree of openness isn't all bad, though. It can be valuable when having to enforce regulations or to pursue well-defined, specific goals, such as a new-product launch. Conscientiousness This aspect gets at your ability to plan to achieve goals and restrain impulses. Being highly conscientious means you probably have a sense of your own ability to get things accomplished and control your destiny. Your obligations to others are important to you, and you may have a high desire for achievement and recognition. You probably are considered dependable, persistent, prudent, and tend to act and/or think in an organized, methodical way; you may even be a perfectionist and a workaholic. If you're not all that conscientious, you probably tend to act on impulse, sometimes without thinking things through. People may see

you as spontaneous, flexible, and free-spirited; they may also see you as inconsistent, scattered and unreliable. You may have long-term goals but be relaxed or indifferent about pursuing them. You may also be easily distracted by a new or different goal, or procrastinate about the steps necessary to achieve it. Entrepreneurs low on conscientiousness will need to improve their planning--or find the right partners to keep everything on track. The highly conscientious should try to avoid being so inflexible and rule-bound that they are unable to respond to rapidly changing circumstances. Click here to take the quiz. Extroversion This factor deals with how comfortable you feel actively seeking out and connecting with others. If you're an extreme extrovert, you have the gift of gab. You are assertive, energetic and high-spirited---the "life of the party." You also enjoy being busy and feel restless if you're not. In general, you probably think of yourself as a pretty happy person much of the time. You tend to prefer excitement and stimulation to peace and quiet, and probably like to dominate any situation you're in. If you're low on extroversion you're probably somewhat low-key and quiet. This does not mean you dislike people or are antisocial; you simply don't need as much stimulation and excitement, and are less likely to seek it out (though you may enjoy it if someone else initiates it). When you do socialize, you probably prefer smaller groups. Extroversion is an obvious asset for entrepreneurs constantly stumping for capital or customers. Those low on extroversion should be mindful that their reserve may be misinterpreted as unfriendliness or arrogance. Agreeableness The ability and desire to cooperate with other people, establish harmonious relationships and get along well with others is linked to entrepreneurial success, but in a nuanced sort of way. People with these qualities are typically well-liked (good news when tackling any endeavor that requires the help of other people), but being too agreeable can prevent an entrepreneur from defying popular opinion enough to pursue a vision or make tough decisions that may involve confrontation or conflict. Neuroticism This one's a biggie. Neuroticism measures how strongly and negatively you react to the stresses of life. Highly neurotic people have strong emotional reactions to problems and take a long time to get over bad moods, anger or hostility. They often feel anxious or depressed, and are seen as worriers. Those at the other end may not always be happy or cheerful, but they don't tend to be overwhelmed if they occasionally feel depressed, anxious, or angry. Such equanimity gives them an advantage as entrepreneurs because they tend not to let snags get them down. Understand that none of these traits is an unmixed blessing. Depending on the situation, each can help, hurt or simply be irrelevant. And each one, taken to an extreme, can become a problem. For instance, being very open but not conscientious could mean that you have a tendency to leave a lot of things unfinished---a handicap for anyone looking to get a business off the ground and make it thrive. Agreeable types might attract plenty of customers and partners

only to be hamstrung by their inability to trust their own decision-making instincts. Neuroticism may sound awful, but if you never feel anxiety, anger or depression, people may doubt your commitment and enthusiasm. The trick here: getting the most out of the entrepreneurial aspects of your personality while taking steps (within or without) to shore up the weaknesses. It all starts with understanding your personality. Take the quiz---and again, remember to answer all the questions and answer them honestly. You also can see how your responses stack up with serial entrepreneurs featured in Forbes. Good luck! Click here to take the quiz. Thomas L. Harrison is chairman and chief executive officer of Diversified Agency Services, a unit of Omnicom Group ( OMC - news - people ), with 5,000 clients and annual revenue of nearly $5 billion. Prior to DAS, Harrison co-founded an advertising agency. He holds an advanced degree in cell biology and physiology. For more, go to www.instinctdna.com. Mary H. Frakes is a former assistant vice president at Fidelity Investments and author of MindWalks: 100 Easy Ways to Relieve Stress, Stay Motivated, and Nourish Your Soul. OPENNESS . Which do you find more enjoyable? Dealing with real-life, concrete situations, such as closing deals, winning new clients and reviewing data. Imagining new products that don't yet exist and daydream about how you might be able to develop them. 2. Which description best fits you? I'm not terribly absorbed by natural or artistic beauty; I relate more to people, things, and information. I respond powerfully to beauty and often find it in things others don't, whether in the arts or nature. 3. Which statement is most true of you? I am very aware of how my behavior and decisions are influenced by what I feel. I make sure I keep my emotions from affecting my business decisions. 4. When you hit an obstacle in reaching a goal, which are you more likely to say to yourself? "If I just stick to my game plan and persevere, I'll get there; I've done it before." "Maybe there's another way to reach my goal; besides, I'd rather try something new anyway"? 5. When a conversation at a business gathering turns to abstract ideas such as philosophy or a discussion of aesthetics, which would you tend to do? Find yourself interested in hearing various ideas and opinions, and perhaps even join in the conversation? Find another conversation; you can't be bothered with all that irrelevant debating. 6. Which concept appeals to you most? "Think different" "A tradition of excellence" CONSTIETIOUSNESS

7. Which statement has been more applicable to your career? "If I can believe it, I can achieve it." "The only believable victories are probably the temporary and partial ones." 8. If you had to organize your own daily schedule and calendar, you would miss or be late for a lot of meetings. be fine; you're highly organized about most things. 9. If you're forced to break a promise to your best friend, which would you be more likely to say to yourself? "Well, we're good friends; he'll understand." "I'll either find a way to keep my promise eventually or make it up to him somehow." 10. What you accomplish in your life defines who you are. I agree. I disagree. 11. Which statement best describes what you do when faced with a task you dislike? "The sooner I get this out of the way, the sooner I won't have to think about it anymore." "I know I've got to do it sometime -- just not now." 12. When you use your intuition in making a decision, which do you typically do? Rely on your initial gut reaction, which usually proves to be the right one anyway. Consult your intuition only after you've spent some time thinking through all the issues first. EXTROVERSION 13. When you meet someone whose company you enjoy, which are you more apt to do? Wait for them to indicate an interest in getting together. Invite them over to your house for a social engagement. 14. After you've been to a party with a lot of other people, which are you more likely to feel? Energized, maybe even sorry to leave the party. Tired and ready for some quiet time alone? 15. When a meeting you're involved in but not responsible for seems to be drifting and ineffective, how do you react? I try to take charge and focus the discussion. I wait to see if the discussion becomes more productive and something valuable will emerge. 16. On vacation, how would you prefer to spend most of your time? Going, doing, and seeing as much as possible. Relaxing, reading, and kicking back. 17. If you were a car, which would you prefer to be? A classic Bugatti, carefully tended and pampered by your owner. A Ferrari Modena, racing from Paris to Dakar. 18. Do people often comment on your ability to create an atmosphere of joy and cheerfulness? Yes No AGREEABLENESS 9. When working with a new client, which would you be more likely to do? Go ahead and get started on the work based on a handshake. Start work only after all contracts have been finalized and signed? 20. If you had to reschedule a client meeting because something more important came up, which would you be more likely to do? Give the client a flattering reason, even if it's only partly true. Be straightforward about why you have to cancel. 21. When colleagues come to you with a problem not of their own making, how are you more likely to feel? Secretly resent helping because "He should be able to handle his own problems."

Happy to do what you can to help because "We've all been there." 22. If a group of your colleagues insisted on pursuing a plan you absolutely knew would create problems for your company, how would you handle it? Fight for your idea, even if it means some serious confrontation. Quietly point out the problems but agree in advance that you'll do whatever everyone else wants. 23. When you've been successful at something, you feel it's been mostly because You've had a lot of help from others, great opportunities, and a little luck. You've worked harder and smarter than a lot of other people. 24. When you watch a presenter stumble through harsh questioning from an audience, which would best describe your mental attitude? Critical of the person's lack of preparation. Sympathetic for the person's discomfort NEUROTICISM 25. When you make a decision, which do you tend to do? Worry a lot about the worst-case scenario so you'll be prepared if it happens, and worry afterwards about the consequences. Make it quickly and move on. 26. If you lost a competitive bid and found out that the client had given the winner inside information that wasn't available to you, how would you be more likely to feel? Angry and resentful that the bidding was unfair. Glad you aren't going to do business with a dishonest client. 27. When it comes to having "the blues," which do you tend to do? Lose energy, get discouraged, and have trouble getting yourself motivated again. Shake them off easily when they happen, which isn't often. 28. When you're in social situations, you are Rarely nervous; you're not generally worried about the impression you make on others. Very aware of what other people think about you, and conscious that others watch and evaluate you constantly. 29. If you see something you love but can't afford, which are you more likely to do? Resist the craving until you're sure the purchase won't affect your other financial plans and dreams. Go ahead and get it; you'll figure out later how you'll pay for it. 30. When you're under stress, how do you react? You battle to fight off feelings of panic, confusion and helplessness. You feel a weird sort of clarity and resolve; pressure often brings out the best in you. 31. Have you ever started your own business? Yes. No.