[BasDirks]

Don't know why you were downvoted, it's a decent point you make. There are people who dedicated their entire life to an idea or ideal, and succeed _that_ way.

Perhaps it's useful to distinguish between "entrepreneurial" success-stories and achievements like Einstein's

[jeromec]

Well, yeah, I might give him some slack if he limited it to entrepreneurial success, although I still wouldn't agree with it. He contends the entrepreneurs behind Club Penguin (sold to Disney) or Mint (sold to Intuit) -- or to go old-school, Berkshire Hathaway -- "winged" their way to success.

But he doesn't stop there:

Even Fortune 500 CEOs, Nobel Prize winners, and U.S. presidents — all are really good at winging it.

Proclaiming Nobel Prize winners in fields like Chemistry or Physics are "winging it" is, frankly, uninformed and insulting.

[Alex3917]

"He contends the entrepreneurs behind Club Penguin (sold to Disney) or Mint (sold to Intuit)"

I can't speak for Mint, but Scott Cook (who founded Intuit) was definitely winging it:

http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail523.html#

[jeromec]

Yes, I didn't say all entrepreneurs have a clear idea of what they want to do, how they will do it, and how it's likely to come out -- many clearly don't. However, that's not always the case. I believe Club Penguin, a site that clearly targeted a demographic of youth, and Mint which targeted personal finance, are examples of companies set up from day one with a clear idea of what they were trying to accomplish.