I’ve spent the better part of the last month travelling to areas of the developing world. I’ve spent time in Ghana, one of the shining stars of Sub-Saharan West Africa, and the Navajo Nation, a struggling economy in the Western United States. My goal has been to understand what makes business people, most of them small entrepreneurs, successful. The lessons I’ve learned can hopefully help inform business and government leaders on development policy; more importantly, these key lessons can help business people everywhere focus on things that create sustainable success.

What impressed me most was the role of human capital in business success in both environments. Economists typically think of human capital solely in terms of formal education. On this account both Ghana and the Navajo Nation score poorly; our average entrepreneur in Ghana had a Jr. High School education, on Navajo half the people graduate from high school, and less than 2 percent have a college degree. What I found, however, was the human capital embraces much more than just formal education; the group of successful entrepreneurs all displayed three types of human capital: Technical ability (skilled hands), business acumen (skilled heads), and attitudes that create success (skilled hearts).

Ability. Entrepreneurs who build vibrant and sustainable businesses all began by doing simple tasks that turned economic inputs into valuable outputs by manipulating them to create value. Many of these people are craftsmen and artists, their skill lies in taking raw wood, metal, fabric, or reeds, and transforming them into beautiful masks, jewelry, clothing, or baskets. Others excelled at sales, being able to take someone else’s product and move it the last inch into the hands of the customer. Whether the skill was based in tools and crafts or computer knowledge or sales skills, one hallmark of business people who succeed in these tough environments is a solid foundation in a technical skill; they have very skilled hands.

Acumen. The dictionary defines acumen as wisdom or cunning; to win in hostile economic climates requires a large dose of both. One man, whose initial technical skill involved selling newspapers, realized that he could sell day-old papers to the fishmongers to cover their fish. Using his expired inventory, he was able to make a few extra nickels a day which he then saved over a period of years to fund his weaving business; one which now supports his family and produces beautiful Kente cloth. His story highlights three key features of acumen: the wisdom to recognize and exploit a business opportunity, the cunning to set aside current funds to create investment capital, and the tenacity to take a long term view of building a business. Acumen means having a skilled head for business.

Attitude. The defining feature of our successful entrepreneurs (it was absent in less successful traders) lay in heart and attitude; these men and women had a mindset that allowed them to prosper under very difficult circumstances. Pundits talk of many “winning attitudes,” but my research revealed three that appear time and again. Responsibility comes first. Both Ghana and the Navajo Nation have a long history of colonial domination, a legacy of dependence on some colonial power for sustenance; those who flourish reject this dependence and see themselves as responsible for their own economic livelihood. Responsibility creates a must do attitude in people. Self-efficacy follows in turn; a psychological trait that simply means a person believes he or she can perform a task, learn a new skill, or accomplish a goal. Most of our sample changed businesses over the course of their careers, abandoning one skill set in order to learn another. Self-efficacy breeds a can do attitude. Persistence completes the set; triumphing over tough odds and many obstacles required long hours each day, every day, usually for a period of years. Natural disasters, government coups, financial instability, and a host of other crises cratered out the path to victory for these people, without persistence each could have easily abandoned course and settle for something far easier. Persistence yields a will do attitude.

What do these resourceful people in the less developed world say to business people struggling through tough economic times in the world’s most developed economy? I think the message is simple, the recipe for success consistent across time zones and time periods: have skilled hands—build on a foundation of technical excellence, skilled heads—find and exploit strategic opportunities for growth, and skilled hearts—a mindset that says I must do it, I can do it, and I will do it.

Paul C. Godfrey, Professor, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University