Business Success & Sustainability

The survival rate of small business is quite small, and the proportion of those surviving that go on to success and long term sustainability is even smaller. This paper explores the role of leadership in the sustainability of entrepreneurial enterprises and the relevance of Collin’s research to the development of the appropriate skills for entrepreneurs. It would appear that Colins’s (2001) research has much to say about what it takes to build an exceptional company and sustain it over the long term. He and his team were looking for the contributing factors in long term success, not exploring leadership. They were trying to identify what it was that enabled some companies to be continuously successful through negative and positive external conditions. What her terms Level Five leadership appeared as critical. These finding could have significant implications for the sustainability of entrepreneurial activity, as they suggest that the high profile, success driven individual, whilst able to attract attention and resources, and bring about significant change or development, may not have the attributes and behaviours necessary to grow a sustainable business. For sustainability the focus of the success is on the enterprise, not the entrepreneur, on the long-term development of the enterprise, not short terms rewards, on organisational values and standards rather than personality and charisma.