Teachers are Entrepreneurs
I have been thinking about the similarities between you and I for awhile. I see it everyday with my wife and read it in these blogs. I attempted to dig deeper into this connection but got side tracked. I am sure that teachers and entrepreneurs are the same and therefore I am performing a blog burning of the phrase:
Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.
That phrase no longer exists in my consciousness after today’s blog burning.
Any thoughts on the similarities between entrepreneurs and teachers, please share in the comments section.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Tyler,
Both administrators and teachers are similar to entrepreneurs. It is just that their target customers are different. For the administrator, the customer is the teacher. They may be forced to run interference for the teacher with parents and students but those two groups are not their customers; those are the teachers’ customers. Administrators should excel at marshaling resources (money), using those resources to create and maintain infrastructure (physical assets - you could say that this is where Plans For Us comes in), and discovering, hiring, and motivating talent (teachers). After that (well sometimes they are forced to replace some of the less talented teachers), their job is essentially finished (except to keep doing it).
Ultimately, however, the really great results are produced by great teachers. Like entrepreneurs, teachers get to know their customers (students and parents) and deliver to them a great product at a good value. It is this honest and empathetic attention to the customer, understanding the customers wants but delivering to them what they need, that is the hallmark of an effective entrepreneur/teacher. When the customer has that “ah ha” moment of thoughtful reflection, it is then that they realize that the entrepreneur/teacher has delivered something of value. It makes them come back for more.
Dad