Businesses who put customers and employees first flourish

Angelo Mastrangelo, adjunct assistant professor of entrepreneurship and leadership at Binghamton University, dives deeper than any other into the characteristics, behaviors, values and attitudes that make great leaders in his new book "Entrepreneurial Leadership."

"The art of generating new business is selfless, and not selfish … good entrepreneurial leaders focus on the needs and wants of the consumer, knowing that by satisfying the consumer first, the company will benefit later," Mastrangelo said. The book offers a practical guide to being the kind of leader that creates a new business, instead of rehashing an old one.

"My model provides the fundamentals of leadership and entrepreneurship. If you're looking for a new business opportunity, ultimately, you need to be looking for a problem that needs to be solved," Mastrangelo said.

The book focuses on three areas that can be used in corporate, non-profit and government settings alike: the entrepreneurial process, enduring leadership models and the power of relationships.

It contains anecdotes of Mastrangelo's array of experiences and leadership roles, along with an integrated, principle-centered approach for getting a business to flourish. Mastrangelo's Opportunity Model combines with tried-and-true entrepreneurial and leadership strategies to provide the right ideas and methods to ethically generate revenue.

Once a new and unique product or service is identified, running a prosperous business requires the leader to understand and empower others (customers and employees) instead of themselves.

"Having a great idea and assembling a strong team are only the first steps to starting up a new venture," Mastrangelo said. "Entrepreneurial leaders are the driving force behind new services and products. "There are millions of companies and billions of products on the market, but there are very few that offer the 'wow' factor.'"

Mastrangelo earned his PhD in organizational studies from the University at Albany and got his executive MBA from Harvard Business School. He was the owner and CEO Adirondack Beverages Inc. for thirteen years prior to his teaching career.