I was introduced to Oren Harari about 5-years ago at a Vistage Conference being held in DC. Oren was the keynote speaker for a noon luncheon, and one I remember to this day. Oren being about 6′ 5″ or so and a mere 170 lb. or so was dynamic and energetic. I remember Oren pacing back and forth across the stage telling one story after the next - it was memorable.
Since that day, I’ve followed Oren on his blog and read a couple of his books. He was a great thinker! A couple days ago I learned that Oren died. I’m sad, we lost a great thinker that had more to give. However, I’m not going to write about Oren’s accomplishments, but rather, his next to last blog. You see, thought leaders are always studying and thinking about the system, even when they’re part of the system. On December 17th, Oren wrote his next to last blog on his site, it was titled, What Cancer Survivors Can Teach Entrepreneurs. I thought at the time, this is a unique perspective about the great game of business. What I didn’t realize at the time was that Oren was a patient in the system. He was writing not as a researcher, but rather a patient. It appears he was destined to not allow a bad situation emerge without a few good learnings. Here are few take aways from that blog entry.
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). GBM is the most common and aggressive type of primary brain tumor in humans… Make no mistake, GBM is a virulent killer. The statistics are pretty horrific. Only 10% of people who get diagnosed with it even survive until the second year, and only 1% survive 5 years.
And yet….And yet…. There is still cheer for this holiday season. There are lots of individuals with GBM who not only survive, but they go on to lead long, healthy, happy productive lives. What’s their secret? And how does that secret help an entrepreneur or leader of a start-up business?
Well, I did a little bit of investigation on this subject and came up with an interesting conclusion that may surprise you. It did me.
What the GBM survivors do is seemingly ignore the devastating aggregate data on the disease that’ is available throughout the Web. They’re not ignorant of the disease they have: of course,they research it. They know what they are up against, but they concentrate daily only on the specific data they need to succeed in their own unique personal journey.
Okay, so back to the title of this blog—what does all this have to do with entrepreneurialism?
Quite a bit, actually.
My research over the past couple decades has demonstrated that many successful entrepreneurs would never have launched their businesses in the first place (nor worked at a frenetic daily 24/7 pace) if they had dwelled on the overwhelming challenges facing them in the marketplace, or even within their own organizations.. That is one reason that entrepreneurs are slightly insane to begin with.
Optimism on its own can be catastrophic: witness the irrational rise and inevitable blow-ups of the Internet and housing bubbles over the past decade. No, what I am talking about is more than optimism. It is unyielding focus, concentration, determination, a vision of clear goals, and plain unyielding persistence, , one day at a time, regardless of the external views that you are a damn fool for venturing into the shark-infested waters in the first place. Optimism is the consequence of this process, not the instigator.
By definition entrepreneurs are separated from the traits and behaviors that proliferate among those in the “normal” population. Let’s remember: Deviant monomania in goals and in executions is what drives significant improvements in medicine, business and national economies.
Suggestion: put a cancer survivor on your board of directors.
When I read this post from Oren, it gives me goose bumps. And never once in his post does he give us the insight or inclination that he is a part of the system. And despite the situation, Oren had a lesson to teach. Life is short, so never overlook a teachable moment. It may be your last and most memorable lesson.
Thank you Oren, I will miss you.
