The dark side of the entrepreneur

Abstract

The prerogatives that derive from majority ownership in the privately-held company often lead to the misuse of power and missed opportunity. Drawing from hundreds of case experiences, the author and two dozen public accountants and lawyers who specialize in owner-managed businesses conclude that the entrepreneur's skill in managing power is a core factor separating those who succeed from those who do not. Advice on how to avoid the destructive tendencies of ownership power comes from a surprising source—Niccolo Machiavelli. Building on his insights, the author proposes three actions that can build a winning system of private company governance and increase the entrepreneur-owner's power to create stakeholder value.