Measuring entrepreneurial traits

At the end of Week 1 you took the GET2 test, which gave you your entrepreneurial profile. In this step we will examine in more detail what the GET2 test is measuring.

The General Enterprise Tendencies (GET) test was developed by the Small Enterprise Development Unit at Durham University Business School in the UK and was first published 1991.

The test, which is now in its second iteration, GET2, is comprised of 54 questions that test five sub-scales of the ideal entrepreneurial personality. These are:

• Inner locus of control – this is the extent to which a person believes they have control over their own life. It is linked to confidence and the ability to drive a venture forward in the face of external obstacles.
• Understanding your capacity for risk-taking is complex and changes over time and with age. The GET2 test looks at calculated risk-taking, how decisive you are and how you judge the potential success of your venture.
• Creativity is vital to intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship. It may indicate an imaginative, innovative or inventive side to your personality, but it may also indicate that you enjoy variety and change and that you are curious and a versatile problem solver. You don’t have to be an artist to be a creative person.
• A need for autonomy is often cited as a classic entrepreneurial trait. It can be both positive and negative depending on how it manifests. For example, a very independent personality can be determined, unconventional and strong willed. People with a strong need for autonomy may also be opinionated and stubborn, which may mean working with others can be challenging.
• A need for achievement is a desire to get the job done and complete the task. People with a high need for achievement show characteristics like persistence, optimism and self-reliance. A need to achieve can often be the difference between having an idea for a business or a project and putting the plan into action.

Your task

Having taken the GET2 test and reflected on your results last week, answer the following questions using the above explanations:

• What do you think about the test as a tool?
• Does it seem to reflect what you expected?

Comment on your results and what you feel it says about you.