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Executives Tempted to Go it Alone
One-third of executives believe their peers would become entrepreneurs if possible. The likelihood of striking out on their own, however, seems to depend on their professional background.
The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in corporate America. And all that's keeping some senior executives from striking out on their own is the start-up capital. That's the view of almost one-third of the senior executives queried in a recent survey by Robert Half Management Resources, based in Menlo Park, Calif. Thirty-two percent of 150 executives agreed that if the average executive had the money, he or she would take the plunge. That percentage has not changed significantly in 10 years, says Paul McDonald, executive director of Robert Half, which places accounting and finance professionals. When Half did the same survey in 1997, 38 percent -- 6 percent more -- agreed with the statement. Why the slight drop? "The failure of a sizable number of start-ups earlier in the decade left many senior managers wary of the risks associated with self-employment," McDonald says. It also depends on the professional backgrounds of the executives. Today, many finance and accounting professionals are staying in the corporate world because of the huge demand for their skills in the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which imposed new requirements for financial reporting. At the same time, liability risks and difficulty in getting insurance coverage are discouraging even the most bold finance professionals from going it alone, says Jim McCoy, senior vice president of consulting services with Veritude, a Boston-based temporary professional staffing service. The company works with many professionals interested in being independent, McCoy says. But, while that trend is more prevalent in fields such as HR, IT and sales, businesses are luring finance professionals with such jobs as controller, treasurer, cash manager, merger and acquisition specialist, analyst, banker and CFO. Dan Pink, a Washington-based author of two books on the changing world of work, including Free Agent Nation, says the most interesting thing about the survey is the fact that one-third of the respondents thought executives would rather be self-employed. "It just reinforces the fundamental fact of the labor market: Talented people need an organization less than the organization needs talented people," he says. To attract the best and brightest, Pink says, "you have to have an environment that doesn't coerce or bribe talented people into staying. ... You can slap on golden handcuffs ... but it's not sufficient." Corporations must also create a "congenial" environment, with challenging work, a fair amount of autonomy and stimulating colleagues, he says. McDonald says that the hiring environment for IT, finance and accounting, in particular, has "been robust" for the past year. He says the "pay is high, bonuses are higher, and other perks are offered. With that environment for finance, there's no reason to strike out on your own. ... Just in networking or through alumni associations, they're running into opportunities, even if they not looking," he says. The No. 1 "stay factor" is not pay, however, says Beverly Kaye, CEO of Career Systems International, a management consulting firm based in Scranton, Pa. "HR people have to be willing to ask [employees] the question, 'What might entice you away?' as well as 'What might keep you?' " Kay says. "The typical senior manager -- not HR -- is afraid to ask it because [he or she thinks], 'They'll ask for what I can't give. I'll open a Pandora's Box and be in worse trouble.' Well, they're thinking it anyway. ... Explore it until you find something you can get your arms around."
October 2, 2007 Copyright 2007© LRP Publications |
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