Discipline and not risk-taking, the single most important trait of a successful entrepreneur

I propose that it’s discipline and not risk-taking which is the single most important trait of a successful entrepreneur, and often discipline comes at the cost of taking the risk.

No one is immune to discipline, though discipline is immune to most.

Morgan Stanley Equity Strategist Michael Wilson notes, “WeWork’s failure to go public is a critical turning point for markets that signals the end of the days of endless capital for unprofitable businesses and getting back to a more disciplined mindset was a good thing.”

From an entrepreneurship perspective, three essentials of being disciplined are as follows: firstly, be honest to your purpose; secondly, acknowledge reality before changing it; and thirdly, be comfortable with those who make you feel uncomfortable.

On the contrary, it is about disciplined risk-taking, where discipline is hard to come by, especially at times when how much you can spend seems to be the only thing of virtue.

In the long run, disciplined entrepreneurship will triumph.

As I see it today, there’s more entrepreneurship than discipline in the Indian startup milieu; and that needs to change fast.