Entrepreneurship is a personal character that is mostly used for businessmen, but can also be found in scientists. In fact, as creativity is an essential ingredient for a successful scientific career, I may even claim that there sit more entrepreneurs in a research institute than a company, but I do not insist.

Some business-psychologists describe entrepreneurs as fire-starters because they love to initiate new projects and are always eager to bring a new idea, which they never lack, into reality. But, unfortunately, as soon as the project is in action the joy is over for the fire-starter. Soon it happens that he makes himself busy with a new idea and abandons the older one, even though the harvest time of the previous project has just started.

It is not easy to deal with a fire-starter in a scientific group. She is impatient and self-centered. He wants to pick up ten watermelons with one hand. He works at his own fast pace and expects all his colleagues to work full-time for his project. She often breaks the safety rules and does not clean up the shared working tables. He gets de-motivated and inefficient if he is forced to fulfill any other task than working on his brilliant new ideas.

On the other hand, I believe, fire-starters are essential for the refreshment of a scientific group or institute. They pump oxygen-rich blood into the veins of the group. They energetically bring in change and progress. They can be very productive if they are teamed with some colleague who has an achievers’ personality, or guided by a leader who well understands their character.

I think that it is important for institute-managers and group-leaders to identify fire-starter members and try to understand their personalities.

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