Demos have just published a collection of essays on the future of enterprise from contributors such as:
- John Bird
- Tim Campbell
- Peter Day
- John Elkington
- Gordon Frazer
- Howard Gardner
- Peter Grigg
- Martha Lane Fox
- Jim Lawn
- Raj Patel
- Carl Schramm
- Simon Woodroffe
As DEMOS say in the blurb for the report:
Enterprise is all too often associated with making money. Yet, there is so much more to it: enterprise is about creating a culture of initiative, creativity, risk-taking amongst young people and adults. It is about using entrepreneurial energy to drive change.
Britain is doing well when it comes to enterprise.
More people are trading on Ebay than ever before and TV programmes like the Dragons Den and the Apprentice are extremely popular. Small firms and individual entrepreneurs also greatly contribute to the British economy and dynamism.
But is there more to it?
This collection argues that a successful and thriving enterprise nation will have to go much further than that. The future face of enterprise is one that will need to start at home and at school; that will be found in basements and small offices as well as in big corporations and the web. It will require new skills and new talent to answer to the challenges of tomorrow. There is already a strong desire among young people to use their ideas for change, but more needs to be done to cultivate the mindsets and foster the support that tomorrow’s entrepreneurs will need if young people are not to be discouraged from trying.
This collection of essays articulates some of the key features of the future face of enterprise. Progressing this thinking into ideas for action is the next challenge.
You can download the report here.