It’s a question academics have been asking themselves for years. But, as yet, no one has really agreed on a definitive answer. But it’s an important one because true entrepreneurs are, according to The Economist, those who find worth in the worthless and possibility in the impossible. INEOS is a company which prides itself on being entrepreneurial, but what does that really mean?

Entrepreneurship runs through the heart of INEOS.

With it comes passion, determination, innovation, a vision and a desire to act swiftly.

In today’s world, when companies must be able to move quickly to be the first to take advantage of opportunities, those qualities matter more than ever.

“Entrepreneurship, at least within INEOS, can be summed up in four words: speed, risk, drive and fun,” said Bill Reid, business director for INEOS O&P Europe (North). “Speed of response to the opportunity, a willingness to take risks, a strong drive to continuously push the company forward, but also to have fun in an environment where INEOS Capital entrusts us with a great deal of responsibility at a very early stage.”

Hans Casier, CEO of INEOS Oxide, said INEOS Chairman Jim Ratcliffe laid the foundations for an entrepreneurial mindset to flourish when he cofounded Inspec, a high-margin speciality chemicals business which owned a former BP petrochemical plant in Antwerp. It is that plant in Belgium which Jim bought and renamed INEOS in 1998.

“On that very first day at Inspec we were asked whether we could produce more glycol,” said Hans. “We had an idea which had been hanging around for years but BP had never implemented it and had no interest in the site. Jim told us to just go and do it, but make sure it was done quickly. It was a completely different view of running the business. He had a vision and ideas. He didn’t want to stand still. He wanted to make it better and was prepared to consider the risk and to move the business forwards. That is the spirit which came into the company from day one. Building on the site’s ideas allowed us to produce 22 kt more glycol very quickly. It was just the start. The Antwerp site, which had been on the way to closure under BP, is now three times as big as it was back then, and it is flourishing.”

Calum Maclean, CEO of INEOS O&P Europe (UK), says that entrepreneurial spirit has always been with INEOS and believes nurture is more important than nature in harnessing people’s talents.

“I think true entrepreneurs are born not made,” he said. “But they can develop an entrepreneurial spirit by encouraging people around them to approach business differently, to think about solutions not problems, thinking ‘outside the box’, setting an example through their behaviour.”

He believes entrepreneurial employees exist in every company but often their potential is crushed by rules and bureaucracy.

That’s something you won’t find at INEOS.

“We don’t have a big head office of people who manage from a distance,” said Calum. “The armies of people or committees that you would find in other big head offices just don’t exist in INEOS.”

Jim Ratcliffe, who last year became the first Briton to win the Petrochemical Heritage Award for his visionary approach to the global petrochemical industry, believes bureaucracy is the biggest passion killer of all.

“It suffocates businesses,” he said.

Instead Jim’s own entrepreneurial approach to running a business has helped to foster a culture where innovative solutions are sought every day.

In short, INEOS is a team of doers, not dreamers.

Peter Williams, CEO of INEOS Technologies, said having the courage to take risks was part of being an entrepreneur. Without that willingness, opportunities could easily be missed. The important bit is understanding the risk, he said, to ensure your ideas are well thought out, well supported and then well executed.

First, though, you need to hire the right people.

People who share INEOS’ ethos.

When INEOS bought BP’s Innovene business in December 2005, it inherited an executive team of 12.

“Within a year only one of them was left,” said Calum. “The rest either left because they didn’t like INEOS’ entrepreneurial spirit or the focus of accountability they experienced, as committees and layers of management were stripped away. People have to fit with INEOS and they either love it or hate it.”

At INEOS, the entrepreneurial spirit starts at the very top. Jim Ratcliffe is very clear about what it means to him.

“Firstly it is about courage,” he said. “You must have the courage of your convictions. It is easy to keep your head down and not be noticed, but if you are going to make a difference you need to stand up for what you believe in, put your head above the parapet and be prepared to be shot at once in a while. It is about being proactive and actively seeking out change, rather than becoming a victim of circumstances.”

One often hears it said that with ‘no risk there’s no reward’, but successful entrepreneurs know that it is very easy to lose money. Acquisitions are a classic example – almost 90% of them fail.

“That’s not been the case with INEOS,” said Jim. “But it is critical that entrepreneurs have real rigour in their analysis. It quickly becomes clear where this has not been applied and I often see new ideas or proposals for deals quickly unravel when we put them under the microscope and test them hard. Lack of rigorous analysis translates into higher risk. The name of the game is to think of all the ‘what ifs’ early on and to test them as far as you are able with the information available. You cannot think of everything and you cannot eliminate the risk entirely, but you can certainly reduce it.”

He also believes that picking the right team is critical to any organisation’s success.

“Like all things in life, success depends on having the right people involved and they need an organisation that supports them and an entrepreneurial approach, with accountability, a lack of committees, and the freedom to make key decisions,” he said. “It suits some people but not all. People in INEOS do behave more like owners than employees and I think that has helped to generate that spirit of entrepreneurship. We want them to think beyond their job description.”

The CEOs who manage INEOS businesses understand what’s at stake and why they too must lead by example. 

“We need people who are prepared to find creative ways to take advantage of opportunities, implement ideas and change businesses for the better,” said Ashley Reed, CEO of INEOS Enterprises. “This is not meant to be incremental progress, but big, bold game-changing moves that can really make a difference.”

He said to the small and medium-sized businesses, which fell under the INEOS Enterprises’ umbrella, such improvements could double EBITDA.

Nick Williamson, business development manager at INEOS Phenol, said the culture at INEOS allowed him the freedom to breathe life into innovative ideas.

“They may sometimes go against the perceived wisdom of the day but INEOS gives you that freedom,” he said. “You then, of course, must deliver that step-change. This isn’t just dreaming.”

The late Peter Drucker, hailed by BusinessWeek as ‘the man who invented management’, spent a good deal of his life studying people. “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision,” he said.

INEOS is a case in point. In 1998 everything was risked to acquire the former BP petrochemical site in Antwerp from Inspec and in 2005 a deal was done that ultimately transformed INEOS into a major chemical player.

Calum said the takeover of BP’s massive chemicals business Innovene for $9 billion was completed without even visiting many of the sites.

“This was a little company taking on the big guys,” he said. “BP’s chemical business was then three times as big as INEOS. It takes a lot of nerve and ability to pitch in like that.”

BP had planned to float the business on the New York Stock Market. Instead INEOS convinced the management team to sell it to them.

That visionary approach – together with a lean management team who can, and do, make important decisions incredibly quickly – are what set INEOS apart.

“CEOs are trusted to manage their own businesses effectively and that means having a vision for their business,” said Calum. “In other companies, other people do that for you and your job is to run the business. But in INEOS each CEO is encouraged to inspire their own team, and actively seek new ways of working to improve their business to keep us one step ahead.”

Larry Farrell, chairman of a world-leading US firm which researches the high-growth business practices of the world’s great entrepreneurs, said companies should fight to keep their entrepreneurial spirit alive.

“Of America’s 100 biggest and richest companies 100 years ago, only 16 are still in business today, and there’s a reason,” he said. “As a company grows, it gets bogged down in managing the business rather than developing the business. Meetings, reports, and self-perpetuating bureaucracy usually erupt on every front. Growth slows down, high-priced consultants are called in, decline sets in and, unchecked, you are on your way to demise.”

Thankfully the world seems to be waking up to the fact that the global economy needs entrepreneurs to create jobs and wealth.

The late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, once said: “A lot of companies choose to downside and maybe that is the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we keep putting great products in front of customers, they will continue to open their wallets.”