The Entrepreneurial Traits: Versatility

Versatility is one of the entrepreneurial traits that highly needed and applied to operate the business by the entrepreneurs. Basically, versatility can be defined as capability of doing many things competently. In business, versatility are one of the important aspect that entrepreneur must have. Versatility in business means you can do anything and be anyone, in the office situation for example building relationship versatility with your worker will help both managers and worker recognize different social styles ultimately allow them to communicate more effectively.

Leveraging social style differences can built effective collaboration, productive, and greater productivity as a business results. Besides that, versatility will help entrepreneur with the flexibility and adaptability to be able to respond to changes quickly.

In addition, versatility also can built effective leaders based on research by Bob Kaplan and Rob Kaiser in “Developing Versatile Leadership”. These researchers examined 1,500 senior leaders and rated them in terms of two measures, their overall effectiveness and their versatility. The results of this research show that versatility accounts for 50 percent of what separates the most effective leaders from those who are least effective.

Susi Pudjiastuti is Indonesia Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and also CEO of PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product, a seafood export company, and PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation, which operates Susi Air charter airline for example. She known as humble and humor entrepreneur with good relationship versatility with worker, she can build their own business empire even though she didn’t get good formal education.

 Versatility that she show make her business growth rapidly, she start her career as entrepreneur as a seafood distributor in Indonesia. After that, her business evolved into a seafood processing plant known as PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product which specialized in export-quality lobsters. PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product expanded and began exporting its products to Asia and America.

Versatility, as used here, means the ability to do many different things well. In the Susi case she not just known as humble and humor business woman with good relationship versatility with worker, but she is also known as versatility mother. She is mother of three children, Panji Hilmansyah, Nadine Kaiser, and Alvy Xavier. The way how she manage her family are applied to manage her worker, this situation make her worker feel more comfortable in the work place. When this is happen, the companies will greater productivity as a business results.

After PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product produce greater profit, she decide to buy a light aircraft and established PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation. The light aircraft named Susi Air and was used to transport fresh seafood to Jakarta as well as overseas. Now, Susi Air operations are supported by more than 50 aircraft, 180 pilots, 75 aircraft engineers and mechanics and 650 other ground and support staff. Susi not just know as a good entrepreneur but also good in the field of social responsibility. In 2004 when earthquake and tsunami happen in Aceh and some part of Sumatra island, Susi Air was the first company which distributed food and supplies to victims in disaster area.

In October 2014 due to managerial abilities that she had, she was appointed as Indonesia Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries by Joko Widodo, the new President of Republic Indonesia. Even though now she is appointed as a minister but she still known with her humble and humor character.

The story of Susi Pudjiastuti shows the important of versatility entrepreneur that every entrepreneur must have to succeed in business. There are a lot of thing that we can learnt from her, how her versatility character make her as a small entrepreneur to the great entrepreneur.