Some entrepreneurs are neurotic

31 October 2024 Last updated at 03:25 GMT

Category: Entrepreneur

It's a Saturday and I am sitting in my friends living room talking business while at the same time reading emails and catching up on the latest in business news.

As we talk I realize that entrepreneurs are no different from celebrities, movie stars, singers, musicians or any other career that is centre stage.

The reality is we all have a bit of neurotic behaviour in us - whether we like it or not. Some entrepreneurs are more neurotic than others - micro-managing, controlling, double A-Type personalities that find it hard to accept another person's way of doing things, and then others just tip the iceberg.

Many entrepreneurs have a goal, or an idea of where they want to be. They are achievement orientated and often lack discipline, needing to hire the latter in to complement their existing skill base.

Most neurotics have well-developed and overactive consciences which many call superegos. It is not without ego, that many entrepreneurs rise to the top, whether they seek public or personal recognition for their accomplishments or they count the dollars as they roll into the bank.

The more creative entrepreneurs are the charismatic, high energy, imaginative personalities that transform simple ideas into something more substantial. They seduce people with their vision, denouncing the ordinary, and believing only in extraordinary accomplishments.

The most successful people in the world are often found to be the most neurotic, documented in films, books and editorials. Think of Steve Jobs and how he saw the world and interacted with people. While he may have been incredibly achievement orientated, he was also a 'loose cannon'.

Entrepreneurs often find it difficult to take direction and are so use to getting away with their behaviours, that once their companies go from small to big, they struggle to change and come into conflict with the requirement of engaging their support team and achieving active co-operation and engagement from their employees.

It is the classic Freudian theory defining neurosis as an emotional conflict that is expressed openly in anxiety or hidden beyond complex compensating mechanisms. If entrepreneurs adapt to their environments, they develop a richer and more satisfying life, but the struggle is immense and more complex than any text book definition.