Adopting an Investor’s Mindset: 5 Pillars to Follow
Lonnie Pacelli is an Accenture/Microsoft veteran with four decades of learnings under his belt. He frequently writes and speaks on leadership, project management, work/life balance, and disability inclusion. Reach him at [email protected] and see more at ProjectManagementAdvisor.com.
Several years ago, I invested in a business with someone who was my best friend at the time. It all started with a lot of excitement and dreams of how we were going to change the world together.
As time progressed, reality set in. The idea was great, but the financial return wasn’t there. My best friend worked incredibly hard but just didn’t have the right skill set the business demanded. We weren’t aligned on my engagement, particularly as I saw the financial demands of the business exceed my willingness to provide. I ended up shutting off funding, the business failed, and I lost a friend.
Ah, the naivete.
Before I go much further, I’d like to ensure we’re aligned on what I mean by investor. Investopedia.com defines an investor as any person or other entity (such as a firm or mutual fund) who commits capital with the expectation of receiving financial returns. Those who invest can have little to no voice in the active management of a company, i.e., investing in stock or an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
At the other end of the spectrum, an investor can have a great deal of influence on a company’s functioning, such as an angel investor or venture capitalist. For purposes of this article, I am using the latter. I was an angel investor in my failed venture.
No doubt I got an MBA-level education on what to do (and not do) as an …
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"A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines." - Frank Lloyd Wright |
