Dr. Charles Handler welcomes former Davidson College classmate John “Buck” Bradberry. Bradberry serves as the Managing Partner of EP Labs.

Had his band “The Blue Dogs” hit it big after graduation, the path that led Bradberry through 30 years of organization and executive development work, might have been very different. When life as a bluegrass musician didn’t pan out for Buck, he went on to put his Masters in Psychology from the University of Richmond to good use working with consulting firms, a major financial institution (that was later acquired by Wachovia), along with other stops along the way.

Throughout his career, Bradberry had worked to improve the performance metrics of executives and management teams, but it was his work with entrepreneurs and early-stage companies that was most appealing. During which he identified the most common characteristics among those at the helm of successful ventures. He published his findings in the book “6 Secrets to Startup Success: How to Turn Your Entrepreneurial Passion Into a Thriving Business”.

Bradberry’s model of Entrepreneurial Talent focuses on three core areas:
Readiness
Fit
Performance

The work done on this model, along with contributions from his team at EP Labs, evolved into the creation of the ECCP (Entrepreneur Characteristics Core Profile). The ECCP is an assessment tool that assists entrepreneurs and/or management team members to gain a holistic understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and to identify and focus on the one single area of improvement that will allow them to develop forward.

Bradberry debunks the idea that successful entrepreneurs are all “superhero, off the charts, bold thinkers, like Elon Musk”. In reality, his research has shown that resilience, confidence, and risk-tolerance play more of a role in achieving success. Bradberry adds - “Staying power is key. Building a successful venture takes longer than you’d hoped, costs more than you expect and ratchets up the stress level.”

Beyond this, the episode provides many discussion points about the intersection of assessment and entrepreneurial success.

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Related Resources
Follow John Bradberry on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbradberry/
Learn more about EP Labs - http://eplabs.co/
Explore the ECCP - https://learn.startupclarityproject.com/courses/the-startup-clarity-project
Order the Book - https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Startup-Success-Entrepreneurial-Thriving-ebook/dp/B01N5FGKMB/
Read more on Icarus Qualities - https://www.readyfounder.com/2011/01/icarus-qualities-5-essential-traits-that-can-endanger-your-venture/
Jam out with some bluegrass - https://www.bluedogs.com/