{"id":1168,"date":"2010-06-15T08:25:04","date_gmt":"2010-06-15T08:25:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localenterprise.wordpress.com\/?p=1168"},"modified":"2010-06-15T08:25:04","modified_gmt":"2010-06-15T08:25:04","slug":"treading-the-line-between-courage-and-stupidity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/realisedevelopment.net\/index.php\/2010\/06\/15\/treading-the-line-between-courage-and-stupidity\/","title":{"rendered":"Treading the Line Between Courage and Stupidity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday’s attempt at a satirical post on ‘How to Depress an Enterprise Culture<\/a>‘ has triggered some interesting responses through both public and private channels and I have been reminded of something that my Dad once said to me,<\/p>\n

It is a thin line between courage and stupidity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I never thought of the post as ‘courageous’ but nor did I intend it to be a ‘stupid’ wrecking ball in a professional life that depends to some extent on working with the public sector and its partners. \u00a0My judgement was that by holding the mirror up I might provoke some reflection and the possibility of innovation as we move into an austere period for those of us interested in the role of\u00a0enterprise and entrepreneurship\u00a0in developing cohesive and effective communities.<\/p>\n

Phil Kirby (@philkirby<\/a>) is perhaps on the money when he says,<\/p>\n

this is too close to the truth. There has to be a fraction of fiction for it to count as satire….Never a good idea to tell the truth so bluntly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I suspect he maybe right in professional and corporate terms. \u00a0I have previously been warned,\u00a0politely\u00a0and through ‘diplomatic channels’ that ensure ‘sources’ remain anonymous, that making\u00a0comments\u00a0about public service providers and funders that are less than fully complimentary may be harmful to my ability to work in that sector.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0think\u00a0this is fascinating and sad in equal measure. \u00a0Public sector agencies that tweet and maintain facebook pages about their workshops and services but NEVER enter into a dialogue. \u00a0Who think that\u00a0they\u00a0can ‘protect’ their\u00a0brand\u00a0by closing down dissenting voices instead of working with feedback and advocating their position. \u00a0Who take private disgruntlement at a blog post but never choose to post a comment to put forward their perspective or constraints. \u00a0Who\u00a0believe\u00a0that they can pursue ‘world class’ by engaging yes men and women who will never risk pointing out the apparently naked emperor.<\/p>\n

A regeneration professional was also in touch about the post, privately, saying,<\/p>\n

I agree with 75% of what you say. As an employee of a consultancy to RDAs\/Business Links etc I don’t really have freedom to say so. Corporate life.*<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Clearly\u00a0they have taken a different stance in weighing up the risks and rewards of speaking their truth – of following their path, wherever it may lead. \u00a0I find it deeply ironic that so\u00a0many\u00a0enterprise professionals are ‘pragmatic realists’. \u00a0They deal with things the way they are, do the best they can given the limitations and demands of funders, and are willing to put professional integrity and the possibility of doing ‘good work’ in thrall to paying the mortgage. \u00a0 They are ‘reasonable’ men and women who adapt themselves to the world. \u00a0Who subjugate personal values and\u00a0beliefs in order\u00a0to effectively carry out the work of the system, to follow orders. I\u00a0think such ‘reasonableness’ holds enormous risks – not only to our enterprise culture but to our personal humanity and self-esteem. \u00a0To our ability to forge communities of work and life that recognise and value us for who we are and who we are becoming and not simply as a willing pair of hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.\u201d<\/p>\n

George Bernard Shaw<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Diminishing\u00a0ourselves\u00a0to fit in with a ‘corporate world’ is surely a sign of malaise both in our own development as a human being but also in the modus\u00a0operandi<\/em> of our employer. \u00a0This is the methodology of unreconstructed industrial\u00a0bureaucracy. Not of a modern, knowledge based service industry working in a wired up world.<\/p>\n

I have written before about enterprise being the emergence of identity<\/a>. \u00a0A process for becoming more fully human,\u00a0of\u00a0the development of potential. \u00a0 It is a process for the idealist. \u00a0One who sees a difference that they wish to make and sets about making it.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.\u201d – GBS again…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I find it deeply ironic that so many working on enterprise culture have taken the opposite path. \u00a0 To bite their tongues, to hold back their truths and to do the bidding of funders, wherever it may lead, while encouraging others to take the plunge into entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

\n

* The 25% difference in opinion was around the fact the enterprise and incubation centres are not always poorly utilised and that loan and grant schemes can be effective. \u00a0Now I agree with both of these points. \u00a0Enterprise and incubation centres in places that have vibrant enterprise communities can work brilliantly. \u00a0I have yet to see the success replicated in areas of multiple deprivation. \u00a0In such areas the centres are usually half empty, or social objectives are\u00a0quickly relaxed \u00a0to appeal to a more affluent target group who can help to pay the rent. \u00a0If you know of an incubator or an enterprise centre that is working well and sustainably, serving primarily those who live in deprived communities, I would love to hear about it.<\/p>\n

Grants and loan schemes can also work well. \u00a0My point is that they should not be managed by the\u00a0same\u00a0organisation, or under the same brand, as the organisation providing the coaching advice. \u00a0Several reasons for this:<\/p>\n