Move Fast and Break Things: Silicon Valley and the Language of Entrepreneurial Leadership

Abstract

Entrepreneurs have long been recognized for their critical role in the development of a vibrant and growing economy. As key “agents of innovation and creative destruction” researchers have differentiated between entrepreneurs and managers predominantly in terms of two factors: (1) personality and (2) social cognitive processes or the way they think. In this study, we explore a new way of looking at the differences between entrepreneurs and managers that may be more useful for practicing managers: their language usage or the way they talk. Using text analysis software, we compare the language from interviews with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs (n = 65 entrepreneurs) with the language from interviews with senior managers (n = 65 managers). As hypothesized, entrepreneurs used significantly more words that were focused on the importance of time, money, and teamwork than managers. Contrary to expectations, managers used more positive emotion words compared with entrepreneurs. We conclude with a discussion of the limitations and implications of our findings for management practice and future research with a particular focus on lessons learned for managers wishing to act like entrepreneurs within their own organizations as intrepreneurs.