Keep Trying the Next Wave

Nov 18

Panera CEO Ron Shaich compares being an entrepreneur to body surfing, where you need to “wade out into the water and see where the opportunity takes you,” as he told Guy Roz on How I Built This.

First, you pick your spot. “When you’re onshore, you need to get far enough away from shore, watch the waves, and pick your spot.”

Then you dive in. You ride the wave.

“Then, you look for the next one. You’re constantly choosing another wave,” Shaich explained to Roz. “Sometimes, you think you caught a powerful wave, and it fizzles. Others surprise you. You have to get on, and you see where it takes you. Finally, you navigate and negotiate your way to shore. For me, the cookie store was not an end; it was a means to take me to the next place.”

ABOUT THIS IMAGE. Christa Funk got her first SLR camera in 2003. She was hooked immediately. Her first assignment was to photograph a portrait of a Russian doll that her parents had given her. She ruined the entire roll of film, except one image. She got an A for the picture that survived.

Christa kept "trying new waves." She studied Photography at the Coast Guard Academy. She was a competitive swimmer. In 2020, she was named one of the top female surf photographers you should be following by Surfer Magazine.

“Keep Trying the Next Wave” is the essence of Intrapreneuring, too. On Intrapraneuring explores the process and approach of entrepreneurs who operate in big companies, including this conceptual comparison of how traditional managers think versus entrepreneurs.