The Often-Overlooked Job of a Founder.
When people come together for a common purpose, they naturally create a common set of expectations for how they will interact. That is the essence of culture. Just like any other group of people, businesses have cultures. No matter what, culture will form in a business. It starts with the values of the founder. However, if it is not intentionally managed as more people are added to the business, it can quickly take on characteristics that are not consistent with the founders’ values. Creating a culture in a business and sustaining that culture as the business grows is one of the most important aspects of being a business owner. This course explores the various forms that culture can take in a business, and what entrepreneurs must do to build cultures that are consistent with their values and beliefs.
Entrepreneur / Professor / Author
Dr. Jeff Cornwall is the inaugural recipient of the Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. He also was founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont, and led the Center for the first ten years of its operation. He has a Doctorate in Business Administration and an MBA from the University of Kentucky. In the late 1980’s, Dr. Cornwall left academics for a nine year “sabbatical” to become the co-founder and President/CEO of Atlantic Behavioral Health Systems, headquartered in Raleigh, NC. Dr. Cornwall has received national awards for his work in curriculum development and teaching, and in 2013 he was named the National Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year by the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He has published ten books and numerous articles on entrepreneurship.
