MNN - Mother Nature Network

When you look at an entrepreneur like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, it would be safe to assume that he thinks differently. It would also be safe to assume that most entrepreneurs, especially the successful ones, also think differently. Now, there is scientific proof to back up these assumptions.  

 

MIT research revealed that entrepreneurs are more likely than non-entrepreneurs to use both sides of their brain in the decision-making process. Yes, they actually do think differently.

 

Anya Kamenetz covered this research in an article for Fast Company called MIT Brain Scans Show That Entrepreneurs Really Do Think Different. The study included 63 participants, some were managers and some identified themselves as entrepreneurs. The subjects were given a task that came with a choice of exploration or exploitation.

 

“The entrepreneurs in the study, perhaps surprisingly, weren't any more likely to engage in exploration. But when they did, they were more likely to activate both the right and left sides of their frontal cortex. Managers mainly stuck to the left side, which is associated with logic and structured thinking. The right side, on the other hand, is associated with creativity and emotion.”

 

Kamenetz closes out with a question as to whether this is a nature vs. nurture issue. I’d like to think that this is nurture, that this type of more in-depth decision-making can be taught, or at the very least learned.  

 

There are entire college programs dedicated to entrepreneurship — are these programs filled with students who have the innate ability to think like a successful entrepreneur, students that can learn to think like one or a mix of both?

 

What do you think? Can entrepreneurship be taught or do you think some people are just born with it?