I- Definition of the Mindset:

- It is the established set of attitudes held by someone.

- Your mindset is a collection of your thoughts and beliefs that informs how you interpret
and react to external events, circumstances and situations.

II- Types of Mindsets:

1- Fixed mindset:
- People perceive their talents and abilities as set traits.
- They believe that brains and talent alone are enough for success and go through life with
the goal of looking smart all the time.
- They take any constructive criticism of their capabilities very personally, and tend to
attribute others' success to luck or some sort of unfair advantage.
- They will tell themselves they are no good at something to avoid challenge, failure, or
looking dumb.
2- Growth mindset:
- People believe that their abilities can be developed through determination, effort, and
hard work.
- They think brains and talent are not the key to lifelong success, but merely the starting
point.
- They are eager to enhance their qualities through lifelong learning, training, and practice.
- They see failure as an opportunity to improve their performance, and to learn from their
mistakes; they tend to persevere rather than giving up.
→ Mindset can be changed from fixed one to growth one by recognizing that you have a
choice in how you interpret what that voice is telling you, by responding to that voice, and
by taking action.

III- The Mindset for Entrepreneurship:

- A growth mindset is crucial for entrepreneurs, as it represents a fundamental belief that a
specific mindset is required so that entrepreneurs have the ability to alter their ways of
thinking to see the endless possibilities.
- The entrepreneurial mindset is the ability to quickly sense, take action, and get organized
under uncertain conditions.
- This also includes the ability to persevere, accept and learn from failure, and get
comfortable with a certain level of discomfort.
- The entrepreneurial mindset describes the most common characteristics associated with
successful entrepreneurs as well as the elements associated with the "dark side" of
entrepreneurship.
- It also involves the ability to make sense about the opportunities in the context of
changing goals, act, and mobilize even under uncertain condition.
- Cognitive strategies are the techniques people use to solve problems such as reasoning,
analyzing, experimenting...
- The entrepreneurial mindset involves employing numerous cognitive strategies to
identify opportunities, consider alternative options, and take action.
- Because working in uncertain environments "goes with the territory" in entrepreneurship,
the entrepreneurial mindset requires thinking and rethinking, adaptability, and self-
regulation.
- Cognitive adaptability describes the extent to which entrepreneurs are dynamic, flexible,
self-regulating, and engaged in the process of generating multiple decision frameworks
focused on sensing and processing changes in their environments and then acting on them.
→ Cognitive adaptability can be achieved by:
Comprehension questions which aid understanding of the nature of the environment
before addressing an entrepreneurial challenge. (What is my goal?)
Connection tasks stimulate thinking about the current situation in terms of similarities
and differences with situations previously faced and solved. (What do I already know
about this?)
Strategic tasks stimulate thoughts about which strategies are appropriate for solving
the problem or pursuing the opportunity. (What strategy works best?)
Reflection tasks stimulate thinking about their understanding and feelings as they
progress through the entrepreneurial process. (How motivated am I?)
- The entrepreneurial mindset is the lens through which the entrepreneur views the world,
where everything is considered in light of the entrepreneurial business, and that latter helps
the entrepreneur in adopting the appropriate mindset.
- The mindset becomes a way of life for the entrepreneurs, who are often predisposed to
action to achieve their goals and objectives, and they are forward thinking, and always
planning ahead.
- The execution of the entrepreneurial mindset varies in different parts of the world. For
example, in many Asian cultures, group decision making is more common and valued as a
character trait. In contrast, individualism is highly valued in the United States.
- Passion is a critical component of the entrepreneurial process. Without it, an entrepreneur
can lose the drive to run the business.
- Passion can keep an entrepreneur going when the outside world sends negative messages
or less-than-positive feedback.

IV- Characteristics to cultivate the entrepreneurial mindset:

1- Positive Mental Attitude:
- A positive attitude and outlook is a must for successful entrepreneurs. The mindset of the
head of the company sets the tone for the rest of the company and influences corporate
culture.
- Negative thoughts undermine forward motion and the progress of the company, not to
mention the management's ability to lead staff and motivate employees. Part of what gives
entrepreneurs the fortitude to weather the business downturns is positivity.
- Cultivating a positive attitude is not about sticking your head in the sand and ignoring
things that could go wrong, but about learning how to mentally reframe your response.
- One way to change your outlook is to look a negative pain point and ask “How can I
actively correct this?” By exploring your reaction and response to a perceived problem,
you’ll soon learn to cultivate a positive approach to change.
 2- Creative Mindset:
- Never has the adage “Creativity is the mother of invention” been truer than in the
world of entrepreneurship. Therefore, inventions such as the iPhone, the light bulb, and
the airplane would not have come to fruition were it not for healthy doses of creative
gumption.
- Creativity is needed for entrepreneurial success. Therefore, the mind of an entrepreneur
is always looking for novel ideas and innovations.
- The basic life cycle of any entrepreneurial product starts from the conception of an idea
followed by turning that idea into a viable product or service.
3- Persuasive Communication Ability:
- The best entrepreneurs are persuasive individuals. Therefore, the power of persuasion
can help you negotiate, close a sale, or score a lower price on your inventory.
- Persuasive people tend to be inspiring leaders; ergo they tend to be stellar bosses.
- Persuasive communication skills can be learned and practiced, which will make you a
better entrepreneur, no matter what your industry is.
- To make the art of persuasion work for you in business:
Reciprocate: when a person does you a favor, you must provide a favor in return. Try
to make your persuasive case by giving something to the person you're trying to
persuade.
Look to others: If you’re trying to sell one of your products, showing how the product
has been successful for others can help make that sale.
Use labels: appealing to one’s reputation is a powerful persuasive tool. You can use
this mode of persuasion by indicating that they should act in a way which is consistent
with a label.
4- Intrinsic Motivation and Drive:
- It means you are self-motivated as opposed to looking to others to push you to do things
or hold you accountable.
- Broadly speaking, those who own their own businesses are incredibly motivated to
succeed.
- Successful entrepreneurs know that staying motivated is the key to running a successful
company.
- One way to stay motivated in the long-term is to keep the focus on the endgame, the big
picture.
- Experts say that formulating long-range goals and plans keeps the motivational fires
burning.
5- Tenacity and an Ability to Learn from Failure:
- Failure is where growth and change happen. Therefore, the key to learning from failure is
to actually learn and embrace your mistakes so they make your better, not break you.
- To use your failure to come out even more successful in long-term:
Don't be ashamed of your setback: Don’t attach judgment or blame when you fail.
Business failure should not make you feel embarrassed.
Use tough times to learn from adversity: Let times of adversity lead you to strength.
Failure can be your best chance to learn how to do something right.
Share your experiences with others: Sharing should be with someone you trust,
whether it’s your mentor, colleagues, or staff to gain some outside perspective.
Don't be afraid to change course and reset: You may have to adjust your planned
course, reset, and start over.
Never give up!: Perseverance will get you through the tough times. Be tenacious about
working toward your dreams, and with determination and grit, you will achieve them.
 Definition of the Entrepreneurial Leadership:
1- Leader Definition:
- A leader is someone with commanding authority or influence. He can get others to obey
his orders in the chain of command.
- The leader must have some qualities such as vision, personality, honesty, persistence,
hard work...
- There is sometimes a person who can influence others and get them to share their vision
and follow him, although he is not a leader.
- The ability to influence others is a leadership skill, and it has three elements:
Awareness: understanding that every action has an impact.
Ability: in terms of communication, conflict resolution, and decision making.
Commitment to your ideas: which means making decisions that may not always
please everyone and dealing with the consequences.
2- Entrepreneurial Leadership Definition:
- Leadership is the ability to influence other people with or without authority.
- Entrepreneurial leadership is a mindset that focuses organizations on turning problems
into opportunities that create economic and social value.
- Entrepreneurial leaders are not just risk managers... they have a positive outlook about
the future, as they are always trying to improve things.
- Entrepreneurial leaders are able to lead from any position. They know leadership doesn't
always come from the top, and it comes from action, not hierarchy.
- These people are high performance collaborative problem solvers and are broadly needed
in all industries.
- Entrepreneurial leaders are made, not born, and they have some characteristics:
Collaborative problem solvers.
Value action and are outcomes-oriented.
Make an impact.
Influence others with or without authority.
Lead from any position.
Turn problems into opportunities.
Have an outlook about the future.

I- Characteristics of Effective Entrepreneurial Leadership:

1- Build Trust:
- Leaders can achieve it by working hard, maintaining a constant message, and being
available to solve employees’ problems.
- By showing employees that they are fully committed to achieving the vision,
entrepreneurial leaders build trust and confidence in employees, which yields high
employee satisfaction and commitment.
 2- Use Effective Communication Skills:
- Effective communication is equally critical to successful leadership.
- If employees are unclear about the company’s vision, and receive mixed messages over
time, they will be unable to focus all of their efforts on achieving the company’s goals.
- By delineating the company’s clear vision and goals, and reinforcing them over time
with the same message, the company’s goals become ingrained in its employees.
3- Seek Self-Improvement:
- A great leader always seeks to become even better. It is critical that leaders are always
learning and evolving.
- They should never stop trying to improve themselves, their employees, the company’s
processes, and develop new strategies.
4- Possess Technical Skills:
- While the entrepreneurial leader may not need to have the greatest technical skills in
their organizations, they need to be savvy enough to lead the team.
- They have to have a clear understanding of how their products work so that they can
provide the best guidance for their team.
5- Actively Engage in Decision Making:
- An entrepreneurial leader must be able to make decisions and direct the organization
accordingly.
- It is important for leaders not to micromanage employees by acting too quickly on every
decision.
- They should focus on making decisions that require major impact or influence.
6- Accept Responsibility for Actions:
- Even good leaders and companies make mistakes, but great leaders don’t place blame on
others.
- They take responsibility for the problems, apologize where necessary, and learn from
their mistakes.
7- Be a Role Model:
- The best way to lead by example is to lead by doing.
- Great leaders can be counted on during times of crisis, and they are willing to roll up
their sleeves and help out with the tasks needed to keep things going.
- They also show humility as they do not walk around as if they are better than everyone
else.
8- Create an Engaged Team:
- Entrepreneurial leaders need to encourage innovation and creativity among their
employees by allowing them to make decisions without fear of repercussions or failure.
- They can hold creative sessions with their team on new product ideas or initiatives that
could be beneficial to the company’s growth.
 9- Have a Deep Understanding of Dynamic Markets:
- It is critical that entrepreneurial leaders have a great understanding of the fast-changing
markets, customer base, and business strategy.
- They are very aware of what they are good at, where the opportunities lie for growth,
what challenges are ahead, and how to overcome them.
10- Take Calculated Risk:
- It is important for entrepreneurial leaders to take calculated risks if they want to have any
chance at success.
- Sometimes you have to be willing to put it all on the line, in order to take a leap of faith
and maintain momentum toward the company’s goals.
→ By developing and engaging these entrepreneurial leadership skills, business leaders
can better influence their employees, foster trust and maximize the company’s potential.

II- Leadership Styles:

1- Autocratic Style:
- Managers tend to make decisions without having input from employees.
- They exercise authority and expect employees to take responsibility for performing the
required tasks without undue explanation.
- There are some advantages of being an autocratic leader. For example, if the leader is the
most knowledgeable person on the team then, this leadership style can ensure decisions are
made faster.
- Autocratic leaders are also great at making their expectations clear and directions easy to
follow.
→ This leadership style can result in employees feeling unmotivated and disengaged
which can ultimately result in increased turnover.
2- Democratic Style:
- Managers seek input from employees while retaining the authority to make the final
decisions. They are also more likely to keep employees informed about things that affect
their work.
→ This leadership style is a great way to increase employee engagement and satisfaction.
If everyone is motivated to contribute and feels included, then they are also likely to feel
more aligned with the company.
- There are some disadvantages of being a democratic leader. For example, disagreements
between team members can result in the decision-making process being time-consumed in
agreeing and unproductive.
3- Laissez-faire Style:
- Managers adopt a "hands-off" approach and provide relatively little direction to
employees.
- They may advise employees but usually give them considerable freedom to solve
problems and make decisions on their own.
 4- Transformational Style:
- The leader should inspire employees and motivate them towards achieving their
collective goals.
- Leaders often embody their vision and believe in it so strongly that they can empower
others to do the same.
- This style puts a greater focus on the vision of the business, and therefore employees are
usually more aligned with the company values.
- This helps to build stronger relationships between teams and can result in higher
employee retention and engagement, particularly among young employees.
→ This constant pushing towards an ambitious goal can result in employee burnout.
→ Constant motivation is required to see teams through tough times, and even then, a
transformational leader could unintentionally cause too much competitiveness among their
team.
5- Transactional Style:
- This style uses a model of rewards and punishment to motivate employees.
- Clear goals are set at the start of a project, with everyone informed on the reward if those
goals are met and the consequences if they are not.
- This "give and take" leadership style can motivate employees and increase productivity
and satisfaction, so long as the goals outlined are clear and achievable.
- Employees know exactly what's expected of them and they can benefit from rewards if
they regularly meet their goals.
- There are some disadvantages of being a transactional leader. For example, the
minimization of employee innovation and creativity, and a high employee turnover of
those who are "punished" for not meeting their deadlines.

Good leaders learn how to adjust their styles to fit both the situation and the
individuals being directed.
I- The Definition of Networking:
- It refers to creating and maintaining social contacts that can help businesses meet their
needs.
- One of the most important things that entrepreneurs have to think about a lot is to
strengthen their networks. Furthermore, it’s been said that business is all about who you
know.
- Networking is the first unwritten rule of success in business.

II- The importance of Networking:

- Businesses and business owners are involved in a wide variety of social relationships,
from formal inter-organizational networks to informal networks, such as partnerships and
family connections, both of which influence decision-making and business efficiency.
- Social networks accelerate business growth by reducing transaction costs, creating
market opportunities, and producing knowledge spillovers.
- It takes a lot of time and effort to create a successful company, so it is reasonable to have
a network of business partners and associates to draw energy from and keep you
motivated.
- You are more likely to step forward and achieve success by connecting yourself with
others who share a common enthusiasm and way of achieving goals.
- Business networking is a very valuable way to extend your skills, learn from others’
success, get new customers, and tell others about your business.
- The five biggest benefits of business networking are: opportunities, advice, new
business, growing your personal profile, and friendship.
→ Through networking in entrepreneurship you can help your business grow and become
more successful.

III- Ways to Improve Your Entrepreneur Network:

- Networking involves building and maintaining contacts and relationships with other
people.
- The personal networks which you accumulate over time, both socially and professionally
can be an invaluable resource.
- This applies whether you are an entrepreneur looking to start and grow your own new
venture, whether you are looking for a job, or working on a project where external ideas
and input can help.
- For entrepreneurs, a contact made at a purely social event may ultimately help to provide
you with one of the key ingredients for the start of the business.
- To improve your entrepreneur network: you should join online communities through the
Internet as well as get involved in your own community. Also, take part in different social
events and be prepared by having business cards and give them to others. In short, just talk
to everybody.
IV- Types of Networks:
1- Social Network:
- Your own personal network of contacts made informally through social or non-business
activities. For example: family, friends, former work colleagues, contacts made through
university...
2- Professional Network:
- Contacts made through business activities including accountants, lawyers...
3- Artificial Networks:
- The networks set up within business communities which are open to new members, trade
associations, and professional institutions.
- The business community in Cambridge has a number of local networks, many dedicated
to high technology and start-up companies.
- Examples of networks: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Cambridge Network, Capital
Enterprise, Entrepreneurs Organization.

V- Benefits of Networking:
- “Harder” benefits: leads to customers, investors, partners, suppliers, employees, and
technical and market information.
- “Softer” benefits: credibility/legitimacy, advice and problem solving, confidence and
reassurance, motivation/inspiration, relaxation/interest.
- At the conceptualization stage, entrepreneurs tended to cast their net widely to try and
establish themselves and their ideas in the entrepreneurial community and pave the way
for the development of future business relationships. The role of networking groups here is
in providing the softer benefits.
- At the start-up stage, there is a shift towards using networks to gain more tangible
benefits to develop new business relationships. Establishment of trust is crucial at this
stage in sharing problems and solutions. The role of networking groups here is to provide
both softer and harder benefits.
- During the growth stage, there is no role for networking groups in providing the softer
benefits. The focus for the entrepreneur is on public relationships, gaining new investors,
suppliers, customers and development partners.

VI- Personal qualities to network effectively:

- Active Listener: success in networking depends on how well we can listen and learn
from each other.
- Positive Attitude: makes people want to associate and corporate with you.
- Collaborative: people want to network with individuals who have collaborative
attitudes.
- Trustworthy: people have to trust their partners and to be trusted in return.
I- The Team and the Organization:
- A team is a group of people with complementary skills who work together to achieve a
specific goal.
- Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision, and the ability to
direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that
allows common people to attain uncommon results.
1- Teams versus Groups:
- Every team is organized around a shared objective. There is something to accomplish.
- Members of a working group work independently and meet primarily to share
information.
2- Key Characteristics of Teams:
- Share accountability for achieving specific common goals.
- Function interdependently.
- Require stability.
- Hold authority and decision-making power.
- Operate in a social context.
3- Organizations build Teams:
- Major organizations rely so much on teams to improve operations, because teams
maintain enjoyable work environment, increase work efficiency, and lead to increased
learning opportunities.
- Team-based operations are 30 percent more productive than conventional operations.
- Teams reduced service errors (lost packages, incorrect bills) by 13 percent.
4- The Effect of Teams on Performance:
- Research shows that companies build and support teams because of their effect on
overall workplace performance, both organizational and individual.

II- Types of Teams:

1- Manager-Led Teams:
- The leader defines the team’s goals and activities and is responsible for its achieving its
assigned goals.
2- Self-Managing Teams:
- The leader may determine overall goals, but employees control the activities needed to
meet them.
3- Cross-Functional Teams:
- They are designed to take advantage of the special expertise of members drawn from
different functional areas of the company.
4- Virtual Teams:
- Geographically dispersed members interact electronically in the process of pursuing a
common goal.
III- Factors in Effective Teamwork:
- Members communicate effectively.
- Members depend on each other for higher productivity and efficiency.
- Members trust one another.
- Members work better together than individually.
- Members become boosters, which improve collective results.
- Team members enjoy being on the team.
- Leadership rotates.

IV- Group Cohesiveness:

- It refers to the attractiveness of a team to its members.
- If a group is high in cohesiveness, membership is quite-satisfying to its members.
- If a group is low in cohesiveness, members are unhappy with it and may try to leave it.
- There are numerous factors that may contribute to team cohesiveness:
Size: When teams get too large, members find it harder to interact closely with other
members, and also conflict becomes more likely. (Avoid large size)
Similarity: People usually get along better with people like themselves, when members
perceive fellow members as people who share their own attitudes and experience.
(Work with similar people)
Success: When teams are successful, members are satisfied, and other people are more
likely to be attracted to their teams. (Have successful teams)
Exclusiveness: The harder it is to get into a group, the happier the people who are
already in it. (Have exclusive teams)
Competition: Membership is valued more highly when there is motivation to achieve
common goals and outperform other teams. (Have competition among teams)

V- Members' skills needed for a team to succeed:

Communication Skills: your way of communication can positively and negatively
affect relationships within the team and outside the team with managers, customers,
vendors...
Technical Skills: skills needed to perform specific tasks.
Decision-making and problem-solving Skills: skills needed to identify problems,
evaluate alternative solutions, and decide on the best options.
Interpersonal Skills: skills in listening, providing feedback, resolving conflict, and
communicating the team’s goals and needs to outsiders.

VI- Teamwork Roles:

1- Task-Facilitating Roles:
- They accomplish the team goals by checking on progress and making sure that team
decisions are carried out, when assignments are not clear or when progress is too slow.
2- Relationship-Building Roles:
- They contribute in maintaining or improving group cohesiveness by challenging
unmotivated behavior or helping other team members understand their roles.
3- Blocking Roles:
- They inhibit either team performance or that of individual members, especially
dysfunctional members.