Heart, Smart, Guts, and Luck

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Get inside the mindset and culture of entrepreneurs: Do you know what makes an entrepreneur tick?


Learn what drives your decision-making: Do you really have self-awareness?


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One of the Largest Contemporary Research Initiatives on Entrepreneurs and Business-Building

In collaboration with Harvard Business Review Press, Heart, Smarts, Guts and Luck (HSGL) is the result of research started in 2009 on what really makes entrepreneurs and business-builders tick. With hundreds of entrepreneurs and inspirational leaders interviewed and surveyed with the first Entrepreneurial Aptitude Test, the book delves into the four traits of Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck that drive success in business and in life. We explore how this entrepreneurial mindset and culture can take you to the next level and increase the probability for success.

While all four traits are needed at some threshold level, there is no single pattern for success, and most people tend to be dominant with one of these four traits in their leadership behavior and decision-making process. But what the research highlighted most was how self-awareness around these traits can help you understand why you make the decisions you do and how to make better decisions in the future.

Mapping Self-Awareness across HSGL

Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck serves as a map of the traits that drive success and as a framework for gaining greater self-awareness. Are your decisions driven more by the purpose and passion of Heart, or the instinctual need to take action (a hallmark of the Guts-dominant)? More important than any other leadership quality, however, is self-awareness and reflection, especially across your Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck that can significantly enhance business decision-making effectiveness. Self-awareness allows you to fully appreciate your strengths and limitations – your “super-powers” and your “kryptonite” weaknesses. This is the baseline for getting to the next level, getting the right team members, and driving more inspired leadership.

Must-Read on the Wisdom and Habits of Great Business Leaders

In addition to elucidating and connecting readers to the four HSGL traits, the book curates a set of practical wisdom, habits, and case studies gleaned from the authors’ experiences and from the business-builders interviewed. These are formatted in an intuitive and easy to remember format. As an example of a “Smarts habit,” for example, readers will learn about the Power of Pause, The 3-Minute Rule, and why a “fast no” is always better than a “long maybe.”

Who is this book for?

This book is geared towards entrepreneurs and business builders but anyone interested in the entrepreneurial psyche, gaining self-awareness in their decision making, or learning the fundamentals of successful people, will enjoy the read and pragmatism of this work.