Crazy is a compliment.

Crazy is a compliment.

Today, entrepreneurs are at the forefront of a new era in which organizations put talent at the heart of their business models. And they have no choice. Having grown up surrounded by entrepreneurial freedoms, workers expect flexibility. They insist on collaboration. They demand meaning. Creating an environment that brings out the entrepreneurial instincts in your workforce - a worldview we might call "employeeship"- is key.

A lot of people will tell you the first step to starting something new is to have an idea. But to me the first step starts long before that. The first step to acting like an entrepreneur is to look not at the writing on the wall but at the spaces between the writing. It's in the gap between what's being said and what's not being said that entrepreneurs thrive. The way to get going is to find the courage to take your dream out of your head and put it to the test in the real world. Don't just think it; act on it.

In my experience, some of the biggest obstacles to becoming a successful entrepreneur aren't financial or structural - they are internal and psychological. It's important for dreamers to believe in themselves and their ideas, to fend off the skeptics and find others who will share in their dreams. Once you understand that being called "crazy" is a compliment, you realize that you can get beyond other people's opinions and zig when others zag.

If you're not called crazy when you launch something new, it means you're not thinking BIG enough.

Endeavor's partnership with Bain took off at just the right moment. We were embarking on our '3.0' organizational strategy, and thanks to the compelling analysis, entrepreneurial zeal and tireless commitment of our Bain team, we've emerged with a world-class plan. We look forward to continuing our high-impact work with Bain!