An article in this month’s Academy of Management Journal looked at the effect of passion and preparedness on venture capitalist funding decisions. Chen and colleagues (2009) constructed two scales, one that represented “affective passion” (energetic body movements, speaking with varied tone/pitch, etc.) and one that represented preparedness (presentation had substance, it was coherent and logical, etc.). The researchers then looked at the effect of these two scales on a positive VC funding decision.
In two studies, the researchers found that preparedness was a significant factor affecting VC decisions, whereas passion was not. In the current economic climate, one can only imagine the impact of preparedness increases. Notably, the research found that having taken public speaking lessons was a significant factor, indicating that communication skill, if not passion, was still important.
Chen, X., Yao, X., and Kotha, S. (2009). Enterpreneur Passion and Preparedness in Business Plan Presentations: A Persuasion Analysis of Venture Campitalists’ Funding Decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 52(1), 199–214.
[...] liked today’s post very much, which ties into one of my favorite aphorisms, from Louis Pasteur: “Opportunity [...]