On the cultural myth of the entrepreneur

As Ilvis might enquire, "What the entrepreneur say?"

Humphrey recently got a preview of a soon-to-be published article about entrepreneurs. This got him thinking about the many (but strikingly similar) entrepreneurial stories! Author/researcher Richard Smith concluded that they are fables that follow a remarkably similar structure, and rely on “cherished storylines” and similar rhetorical tactics. The creative flourishes that make a good story are not necessarily accurate – and this is why Smith terms them fables. Humph even created the graphic below to show his readers 3 Smith's common narrative components that run as threads through entrepreneurial narratives: morality (usually in the form of the Protestant work ethic), the Entrepreneurial dream as a guiding force, and “rags to riches” accounts of success. 

The narratives almost always follow a plot structure that begins with the entrepreneur’s modest up-bringing, followed with an account of “The Ordeal,” in which the entrepreneur overcomes adversity. Then, they depict “The Quest” in which they begin to pursue their dream. The narrative ends with “The Genesis,” when the entrepreneur achieves his or her success and dreams.
While narratives are individual stories and stories of individuals, in their re-telling, they construct the cultural myth of all entrepreneurs in the public zeitgeist. The characters change (take your pick: P.Diddy, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban, and so many others) but the story remains the same. Many have been called out for not being the impoverished hard-workers they claim to be. Others have been accused of exaggerating or fabricating adversities they faced for the sake of a compelling story.
The real story is what is missing from the fables (and thus the myth): difference, luck, systemic factors and realities described in the article are erased. What is left is an “anyone can do this with enough determination” message. And, the fact that most of the fables represent outliers (in other words, the exception to the rule) remains largely uninterrogated.


Humph's recommended readings

Cloud, D.L. (1996). Hegemony or Concordance? The rhetoric tokenism in Oprah Winfrey’s rags to riches story. Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 13, 115-137.

Kenny, K. & Sciver, S. (2012). Dangerously empty? Hegemony and the construction of the Irish entrepreneur. Organization, 19(5), 615-627

Knight, M.J. (2008). We can’t all be Oprah: How black women negotiate entrepreneurship. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Smith, R. & Anderson, A. R. (2004). The devil is in the e-tale: form and structure in the entrepreneurial narrative. Available from OpenAIR@RGU. Retrieved from: http://openair.rgu.ac.uk

Smith, R. (2005). The fabrication of entrepreneurial fable: A biographical analysis. Journal Private Equity, 8(4), 8–19.

Where's the owl??

It was gone for days and days, then reappeared on the human's pillow! David Quaxelrod the duck likely had something to do with Owlbama's return.

Must have been a slow news day over at CP24.

Summer wishes

Tomorrow is the summer solstice! Hard to believe. While Humphrey is largely stuck indoors, writing grant proposals and promised papers, he is dreaming about summer fun to come. One of his most pressing wishes is a day of shopping. You never know who you'll see at Windsor Crossing, and many of the shop keepers know his name! His daydreams are made up of a few special images (not to mention some caveats)...

"I love the outdoor format of this mall," said Humphrey, "but I have serious reservations about the whole 'outlet' concept. Remember what Ellen Ruppel Shell said?"

Her relentless fixation on bargains troubled Humphrey. Many of these mass-production facilities take advantage of workers. Despite her best efforts to persuade Humphrey it's all okay (largely founded on her tendency to seek out off-season deals on high-end things produced in developed countries by the likes of Hugo Boss, Versace and Dolce&Gabbana, Humphrey is not entirely convinced that these are ethical choices.

Lazy weekend

Experimenting with agriculture

The bleeding hearts did well despite the cold winter.

Humphrey has been cultivating his green thumb. His garden is still new, and he's still learning what will thrive (or not!) in the acidic soil and heavy shade in most spots (among many peculiarities). He's happy to report that the escargot problem of 2013 appears to be fully resolved.

At the start of the year 2 quest for a green-and-white garden, Humphrey has been planting all sorts of things just to see what will survive. Hopefully, in 2015, he can work on some strategic landscaping based on this learning. This post summarizes some of his agricultural experiments of the past 12 months.

2013's most successful addition to the garden was this sonic bloom weigela - it ought flower until about October! To the right is a rue that's growing vertically, in front, a Goldilocks, and a silver euonymus on the left.

This year, Humphey added a fruiting weeping mulberry in place of the holly that didn't survive the winter.  The dogwood did well, but he lost a silver euonymus in this bed. In this photo, the lilies and phlox are still young, but hopefully it will fill in as the summer progresses.
Note for next year: Portulacas only in front of the house, and lots of white New Guinea impatiens in this bed will be necessary!

Humphrey was warned that the Eidelweiss he just planted (with its very own rock bed to mimic the Swiss Alps) won't flower in this climate, but he's hopeful. It's grown a lot since he planted it a few weeks ago. 

He's pretty sure the boxwood topiary will do just fine!
He also planted some beets in front it, as well as parsnips. Yum.