Change management and entrepreneurship

Sometime ago I had a conversation with an Eastern European would-be entrepreneur about if his change management skills could be utilized in the launch of a new company. In my own opinion both are very related.
Applying the management change stages to the entrepreneurial phases (of the creation of a new entity), it is possible to draw a match.

Change management stages
1. Anticipation of the change
2. Identifying the change
3. Selling the change
4. Mobilising the resource
5. Breaking down the comfort zone
6. Reinforcing change success
7. Continuous learning of change

match nicely with

Entrepreneurial phases
1. Environmental awareness (passively, reactively or proactively)
2. Vision (identification of an opportunity)
3. Sharing the articulated vision and strategy
4. Mobilising resources
5. Operation pre-launch
6. Operation launch
7. Running the operation

To complete the match it is perhaps necessary to "translate" each stage/phase into concrete entrepreneurial actions.

Entrepreneurial Interpretation
1. Networking, monitoring markets, being close to real life (close to people/organisations to identify and forecast their needs).
2. Vision and articulation of the idea. Matching with the entrepreneur capabilities.
3. Introducing the idea to one-self (first) and then to potential partner, customers, team members, etc.
4. Gathering the resources (financial, technical, etc.) as well as gathering personal support (from founders’ families, etc.). Creation a founding team!
5. Inception of the new enterprise (in the larger sense of the term). Leaving existing routines (family life ones, previous job ones, etc.) to jump into the unknown.
6. Get early success fast such as first sales, first prototype, first partner. This could also include formalisation of a still informal enterprise (legalisation).
7. Acknowledge the rapid transformation (change) and establish mechanism for further growth. Contrary to larger/older organisation, this stage is of little trouble for a start-up organisation since (big) repeated changes are fully part of the early life cycle of an organisation.

This is actually straight forward. However, it is also important to be aware of matching conditions for both a change management project and the ones from an entrepreneurial project.

6 similar conditions are to be evaluated:
- Is there leadership commitment toward the change?
o Is there a highly motivated and convinced entrepreneur?
- Is there a true understanding of the need of change?
o Is there a clear understanding of the entrepreneurial vision? (Why am I doing this? Money? Recognition? Passion? Etc.)
- Is there a mobilization of commitment within the organisation?
o Is the entrepreneur supported by his/her entourage (and society at large)?
- Is there a common understanding of the new vision?
o Is the vision clearly understood, shared and agreed upon by all involved parties?
- Is there a resource commitment toward the change?
o Are most needed resources available to successfully execute the entrepreneurial launch?
- Is there a change management expertise present?
o Is there an entrepreneurial team compensating the weaknesses and the insufficiencies of the entrepreneur?

Failing to meet these 6 conditions endangers the chance of success of an entrepreneurial plan.