Here, we're going to discuss some of the way that entrepreneurs think about problems (and their solutions) that's a little different from how non-entrepreneurs think. This is not to say that these ways of thinking are inherent to people — they can be learned!
<aside> ☝ None of the mindsets identified here as non-entrepreneurial are wrong, bad, or indicative that a person will not be successful. Most CEOs don't think like entrepreneurs, and nobody is knocking them for it.
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This might seem a little obvious, but it doesn't hurt to mention: it's hard to be an entrepreneur if you don't believe in yourself, your idea, and your prospects. This doesn't mean you should be reckless or ignore signs that things aren't working, but every new venture requires a little bit of belief.
Continuing from optimism, entrepreneurs are unlikely to feel hemmed in by their initial plans or by external forces, instead looking to see how they can pivot their ideas to take advantage of changes.
Entrepreneurial types tend to have an internal locus of control, which is a fancy way of saying that they believe they have agency over the things that happen to them. An entrepreneurially-minded person says "I can change things around me, and make them look how I want them to."
Most of what we've discussed above falls into the category of Effectual thinking. Before we move on to effectuation as a topic in its own right, it's worth considering what makes a person an effectual thinker or a causal thinker. To understand some of the differences, we've got some broad statements that a causal and effectual thinker might make.
Causal Thinkers
Effectual Thinkers