George Lucas Essays

George Lucas Essays George Lucas Paper George Lucas Paper George Lucas varies slightly from Bill Gates, largely because of the fact that the entrepreneurial talent was triggered within him. This resulted in him thinking very differently about his life and the way in which he wanted to live it. In terms of Gallups life themes, the main ones that he possess are dedication, focus, urgency, activator, opportunity and creativity. Once the car crash had occurred, Lucas suddenly felt the need to do certain things, and this was to go into film; this shows urgency and activator. He suddenly realised that he had to something, so he changed his original plans and set about making new ones almost immediately (everyone thought that he was mad! ). Before this Lucas had not been the brightest, but now he had found something that he wanted to focus on, and this showed his dedication to get where he wanted. He realised that world cinema was in a depression, ticket sales were poor and films were costing a lot more than they were actually making at the box office. Lucas had spotted his opportunity, he realised that in order to get people back into the cinema he needed to create something new and fresh. : He accomplished this by directing the Star Wars trilogy, which shows his creativity attribute. Also, Kaos (1989) traits indicate perseverance and risk-taking as common entrepreneurial traits, and Lucas also possessed these. Star Wars was a massive risk for him financially, and he had had to persevere in the past in order to get the funding for his film; and that is why he created the 1973 film American Graffiti. However, there are some traits in my research that go against some of George Lucas characteristics. In Gallups life themes it states the traits of profit orientation and ego-driven. However, it does seem that George Lucas was ever ego-driven; he simply did what he had to do because he felt the need to do it. He had experienced a trigger event, and this had led to him changing his career path totally from a racing car driver to a film director. Also, George Lucas did not change his career path because of the prospects; he simply had a change of heart after his accident. George Lucas has generated both financial and aesthetic capital through his entrepreneurial ventures. Financially, the six Star Wars films alone have grossed over i 2billion worldwide and Lucas has obtained all the rights to Star Wars merchandise as well. Aesthetically, he has created one of the most influential film sagas of all time, and this has been a great influence to modern sci-fi films. Bill Gates Bill Gates possesses many of the entrepreneurial talents that I have highlighted through my research into various resources. In terms of Gallups life themes, he clearly possesses ten out of the twelve. He has dedication, he used to work ridiculously long hours and in turn this also showed determination. He is focused, and clearly ego driven; he wanted to make a difference that would be recognised and would make a change. The Microsoft operating system is the result of his entrepreneurial venture, and it also shows urgency because in order to start Microsoft he left Harvard University in his final year; he had no time to waste because he is an activator. Gates clearly saw an opportunity in the market; he predicted that the ever-growing personal computer market would need an efficient operating system. Kao (1989) however highlights a certain attribute called low status and power. This clearly does not describe Bill Gates, because it is basically the opposite of being egotistic. It is stating that entrepreneurs do not feel the need to have a high status or lots of power. I do not believe this is the case with Bill Gates though, he purposefully aimed to be the only sole provider of operating systems in the PC market, and he is said to be quite aggressive in terms of ensuring that Microsoft are number one. Therefore this shows that Bill Gates does not quite fit into this theme of a low need for status and power. Throughout his entrepreneurial venture, Bill Gates has generated financial, social and aesthetic capital. Financially, he has made billions and is currently the richest man in the world Section Five: A summary statement Previously to this the word Entrepreneur was a word that I had heard of but did not fully understand what it meant. To me it was just a term used to describe someone who took risks in business. I now know that it is much more than that! The most important being that Entrepreneurs have shaped todays world and will continue to in the future. Entrepreneurs are not simply people who start a business and make lots of money, some do not make any at all. They are innovated people who spotted opportunities, took risks and succeeded against the odds. They are global and can come from all walks of life and religions. Each one of us could be an entrepreneur, all we have to do is spot the opportunity.