Keeping Innovators on Job Can Take Creative Approach.

EVERYONE knows entrepreneurs are risk-takers and innovators, but it may surprise you to learn that the tendency to start a business is believed by some industrial psychologists to be present at birth.

"We believe that this tendency is biologically predetermined," said John Eggers, an entrepreneur, industrial psychologist and professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Prior to becoming a psychotherapist and academic, Eggers was a ski instructor and successful entrepreneur -- he was the original worldwide distributor of Oakley Inc. ski goggles.

Eggers has given the "Kirton Adaption Innovation Inventory" to graduate students, entrepreneurs and corporate employees to determine whether they are "innovators" or "adaptors."

The simple written exercise takes about 10 minutes to complete, but must be administered by a psychologist certified by its author, M.J. Kirton, a British psychologist and researcher.

More than 40,000 people have participated in Kirton's research, which found that age and ethnicity play a very minor role in determining whether or not you will be a successful entrepreneur, according to Kirton.

"There's a great deal of stuff on innovation, but a great deal of it has no basis," Kirton said in a phone interview from his office in Berkhamstead, England. "In the mid-1960s, I was asked to look at the term, 'management initiative,' which is used much like the term 'innovation' at the moment. These terms tend to be trendy. They tend to come and go. But, the notion that lies behind them is intriguing, so they keep returning."

Kirton, who will be teaching a post-graduate course in July at Indiana State University in Indianapolis, said his inventory is not meant to pit innovators against adaptors.

"Clearly, this nonsense (about institutions killing initiative) was damaging because half the population quite enjoys working in large organizations," said Kirton. "And some innovators like working in big organizations because they find a niche."

Doing things differently

While age doesn't impact the results of the inventory, women tend to be slightly more adaptive than men, according to Kirton. This willingness to cooperate probably had its origins back in the "hunter-gatherer stage" of human development, when women were expected to be the nurturers, he said.

The 33 short questions on the self-scoring inventory ask about your, work style, how patient you are and how you like to manage projects.

According to a pamphlet distributed with the test, adaptors tend to accept problems as described and prefer structured situations. They are best, at incorporating new information into existing policies. They also have a tough time accepting change.

Innovators tend to reject stated problems and refine them. They usually throw out many ideas when asked to solve a problem and aren't afraid to do things differently. They dislike structure and work well in a crisis mode, but usually have a tough time fitting into big organizations.

"Kirton discovered that large organizations tend to drive out the innovators," said Eggers. "Then, the company gets into trouble when they are left with only adaptors and bridgers (who fall midway between innovators and adaptors)."

Big and small businesses should be concerned about losing innovators when they resist change, Eggers said.

"Innovators crave change," he said. "They can't hold a job because of their preference for doing things differently. They can find solutions to problems, but generate lots of ideas that aren't very good quality. So, they get themselves into trouble, look flaky and sabotage themselves."

Most people are surprised to learn a person's entrepreneurial tendency is not based on gender or ethnicity. "This information is based on the way your nervous system functions," Eggers explained. "Much depends on the gene pool you grew out of and how you respond to stimuli."

He also pointed out that some entrepreneurial founders are adaptors, but their companies do look very different than most fast-growing ventures.

"They usually start one company and keep it," said Eggers. "Innovators tend to start three companies in a lifetime because they get bored and they want to start over again."

Finding a partner

Eggers laughs when asked if he always wanted to be a college professor. Years ago, he was a ski bum, serving as an equipment technician for the U.S. ski team. "I left the ski technician job in 1976, because the racers are superstitious about the people repairing their skis, and you couldn't keep the job more than two years," said Eggers. "Yet, after I left, many racers secretly sent me their skis to fix."

Eggers took a sales job with a winter sporting goods company and moved to Los Angeles to revive its Southern California sales. He was demonstrating equipment at a trade show when he noticed a guy watching him closely. The man turned out to be Jim Jannard, chairman and chief executive of Oakley Inc., the California-based sports optical company.

"Jim started the company in his garage, making bike grips and goggles," said Eggers. "He wanted to get into winter sports, and that's when I came along."

They crafted a deal where Eggers owned and managed worldwide distribution for the ski goggles, while Jannard retained ownership of the factory and did the design work. They worked together for about four years, as the Oakley brand caught fire.

"I sold my shares in the company around 1983," said Eggers. "The company was growing and needed something different, management-wise. I'm really a start-up guy, not a corporate guy." (Oakley posted sales of $272 million for the year ended March 31, 2000.)

Single copies of the Kirton inventory are available for $10 each from Eggers and include a brief telephone conversation after you complete it. You can contact him [e-mail].

Reporting by Julie Neal. Jane Applegate is the author of "201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business," and is founder of ApplegateWay.com, a multimedia Web site for busy entrepreneurs.