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Why Do I Work In Enterprise?

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‘We pass through this world but once.

Few tragedies can be more extensive than the stunting of life,

Few injustices deeper than the denial of an opportunity to strive,

Or even to hope,

By a limit imposed from without, but falsely identified as lying within.’

Stephen Jay Gould

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10 Common Mistakes In Developing an Enterprise Culture

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Many projects designed to stimulate an enterprise culture fall foul of one or more of the following:

  1. they focus too much on the individual and not enough on the enterprising ecosystem – failing to address social context – instead trying to help individuals to ‘overcome the odds’
  2. believing that the reasons for low levels of enterprise are because we have not provided the right building – commissioning the latest interpretation of the ‘catalytic space’ – hoping that if we build it they will come
  3. failing to educate and engage other stakeholders and agencies involved in community development about the role of enterprise in economic and social development.  Helping them to see that this is about education and the development of human potential
  4. focusing on persuasion rather than education – using ‘carrots and sticks’ to drive people towards enterprise – rather than helping them to clarify their own self interest and then developing their power to realise it
  5. pretending that enterprise is a good thing – instead of portraying it in a balanced way as a double edged sword – a powerful vehicle for life that can crash horribly or take you on a wonderful journey
  6. skimming communities for those with most developed ‘enterprise potential’ and helping them take the last few steps – instead of helping those who have not explored their enterprise potential take the first few steps – ‘Have you got a great business idea?’
  7. designing interventions around 121, 12-several and 12 many interventions – instead of around word of mouth and other network effects – failing to train gatekeepers to act as educators and enthusiastic referrers
  8. designing services that are policy led (designed to achieve specific policy goals) rather than client centred – designed to help clients to become more enterprising in their own terms
  9. starting from where we want to start rather than from where clients are
  10. failing to recognise that strong, long term relationships are critical to building the trust and support necessary to enable people to take more enterprising actions – and a bonus number 11
  11. failing to build teams capable of starting sustainable growth oriented business – instead pandering to the myth of the lone entrepreneur bravely riding the range.

Any that I have missed?

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Rise and Fall

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I am sad to hear that the Rise Catalyst Centre in Seacroft, Leeds, that was only opened in November last year is closing.  Instead of an investment producing entrepreneurs it will  now be used to train bricklayers and similar trades.

I have nothing against bricklayers, but genuine entrepreneurship is needed to help communities to grow in modern economies.  It is in large part an over-reliance on employment in blue collar industry that has held communities like Seacroft back.

Seacroft residents interested in enterprise will now have to meet their advisers at Seacroft library rather  than in a wonderful purpose built facility. 

However, putting the advisers where the community already meet makes a lot of sense, saves a lot of money and was always the right thing to do.  We have to take our work to the community and not expect, that just because we have built great facilities, that the community will come to us.

New Measures and New Approaches to Development

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Just recently I have been thinking about what we measure and why we measure it in various development programmes.  In economic development, measures are based on productivity, a measure usually derived from Gross National Product or Gross Domestic Product.  Anything likely to increase the productivity of the economy is deemed to be a good thing and pursued wholeheartedly.

This has led to a long term and persistent bias towards the pursuit of productivity gains – rather than to investing in establishing a context from which productivity will emerge.

Consider this from Bobby Kennedy from almost 50 years ago:

‘Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product … counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.’

Robert F. Kennedy Address, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, March 18, 1968

Seems pretty close to the mark even 50 years later.

  • Why did this voice of reason not prevail?
  • Could it prevail now?
  • Should it?

Call for Papers – Anyone Up for It?

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International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research Special Issue on Developing Enterprising Individuals

In 1993 Gustafson suggested that entrepreneurship education would be an ideal context for students to address “their identity, objectives, hopes, relation to society, and the tension between thought and action”.

In 1995 Kourilsky commented on the over-focus of much of entrepreneurship education on business management rather than other aspects such as recognition of opportunities.

…the traditional focus on business and new venture management provides an inadequate basis for responding to societal needs and proposes the wider notion of ‘enterprise’ (Gibb, 2002).

HALLELUJAH!  We say it – but we don’t do it!

Anyone interested in helping me put together a paper?

My only question is that if academics have been onto this for almost 20 years – how come they have had little or no impact on enterprise education  or business support?