Last year, I wrote a post (see here) in which I defined wisdom:

Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge in a manner that aligns with the outcome you desire. Wisdom means changed behavior and improved decision-making—knowing what to do and when to do it. Wisdom is acquired from experience (yours or someone else’s).

Wisdom is the entrepreneur’s friend because it allows them to hit their goals (e.g., grow their company) faster. Acquiring wisdom from the experiences of other credible entrepreneurs is best because doing so saves a significant amount of time.

How entrepreneurs acquire wisdom from others is something I’ve given a lot of thought to—after all, I’m reading biographies to do just that. Entrepreneurs pay lots of money to be in communities with people going through similar experiences so they can learn from them (EO, YPO, Vistage, Hampton, etc.).

I’ve been thinking about the difference between first-generation and second- or multi-generation entrepreneurs and how the acquisition of wisdom impacts their respective velocities, which is more important than their speed (learn why here).

I’m going to learn more about this, but I hypothesize that second-generation entrepreneurs have a material advantage starting out because they’ve acquired significant wisdom through osmosis from being around and talking to family members who are entrepreneurs. They learn from an early age what works and doesn’t work, and why, from experiences of family. So, when they start their own companies, they have a better idea of what to do and when to do it. Does that mean a second-generation entrepreneur is more likely to be successful? I don’t know. Does it mean a first-generation entrepreneur competing against a second-generation entrepreneur needs greater learning velocity? Likely so.

I’m curious about this and excited to learn more. I’m going to talk to a few entrepreneur friends who grew up in entrepreneurial families to get a feel for whether my thesis is directionally accurate.