Entrepreneurship: Cure for Our Hundred Material Sorrows

Note: I wrote haphazardly this little post to introduce our field of entrepreneurship to an audience of position holders of all boards of Pakistan in Punjab. Many of them are becoming doctors, engineers, scientists, biologists, bankers, etc. The original post is here. Please improve on it and give your feedback.

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Entrepreneurship is about starting up new business(es). The only way a new firm can make business is by delivering something that has not been offered, or, "to create products that people need but have yet not imagined." This involves a lot of 'innovation' to be done that goes beyond mere 'invention'. Hence, we have much more practical and feasible solutions for everyday problems. And, above all, entrepreneurship - like life - is about integrative thinking and action. Cross-pollination of different fields, technical and non-technical expertise goes into making innovative products and solutions for the benefit of a greater number.

The most innovative firms, like IDEO, are ones where the teams, that develop and make innovative solutions and products for real life problems, consist of people from very diverse backgrounds. IDEO, for example, was once given the task of reinventing the shopping trolley. Now imagine, you're to make a much better trolley, that is more safer, effective and efficient and cheaper, would you need biologists, marketers, psychologists, etc. to make such a product? Yes, you do in entrepreneurship to make breakthrough, cheap and efficient products.

What would be better than integration of different parts of knowledge, in our world so ruthlessly compartmentalized? With this integrative approach towards making use of knowledge, and knowing a process to innovate better products (that is Design Thinking, click to know what it is), would lead us to eliminate poverty, save energy, and make practical things that solve everyday problems. To end this post by giving a little example of how entrepreneurship, the art and science of doing business, is helping poor countries prosper and save their resources, I just need to mention about the 100 Dollar Laptop Project; One Laptop for Every Child, which is backed by world's major transnational corporations:

"Mission Statement: To create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future."

Read more about the project, its vision and technical aspects (hardware and software), here.

What is Design Thinking, the art and science of innovating practical ideas?

There's no best way to teach and show what the process "design thinking" is; and how it's related to entrepreneurship than by showing the following four (qualitatively only two) videos.









What are your thoughts? Do you think it will help us innovate new products at FEA?

Free Rotman (PDF) Magazines

Here is a link to at least 11 free Rotman Magazine of Rotman School of Management, Canada:

http://www.asiaing.com/magazine/26.html

This link also includes more than 50 other magazine titles.

But first read Fall 2008's magazine, and the article Too Hot to Handle (Pg # 28) on conflict resolution that may arise in management team that makes decisions.

http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/pdf/fall2008.pdf

Is disorder is more efficient than order

Have you ever observed that many busy, working people, who are really competent and intelligent, have their study rooms, offices, etc., full of disorder, almost as chaotic as Pakistani society? Do you think it is negative and inefficient to have disorder rule over one's living place(s)? i feel this, others may relate to it, that disorder is a good friend of mine. It does not bother me, rather it helps me by saving my time which would have been consumed in establishing the order, which never stops to diminish. Disorder is natural to happen, it'd take place, look what entropy says, but can it be really more productive than having order in 'working places'?

A Poster

That's a "Official Objectified one-sheet poster" I found on the site from where I picked up the previous video. All it has got to do is with contemplation. Contemplate on the products you can see in there, all of which you are familiar with. Then ask questions about them and see that previous video and try to relate design thinking with it (here's an HBR article by world's leading design thinker Tim Brown: click here).

Image source.

On Design Thinking, A Design Film

"Watch a clip from Gary Hustwit’s latest documentary, Objectified, which focuses on the design of everyday objects and the people who create them. Several IDEO-ers are interviewed — Tim Brown, David Kelley, and Bill Moggridge." Here's its website to see what's more about it. Follow Gary on twitter.

'How to Quit Your Job and Start a Company'

Guy Kawasaki takes an interview of Pamela Slim, 'a coach and writer who helps frustrated employees in corporate jobs break out and start their own business', on "how to quit your job and start a company to change the world". Read the interview. A must read, to say the least.

How to remain ever more creative while protecting your ego from egoism?

The talk speaks for itself. (Notice: No PowerPoint. The magic of storytelling.) Basically, the author and creative writer, Elizabeth Gilbert talks "about a different way to think about creative genius". Essential for those busy in creative acts and groundbreaking for those willing to be creative.

(Visit the site if view is not perfect: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/453)

A Personal View on "Coke vs. Pepsi" Talk at FEA

Daily Jottings

25 April 2009

Saturday

I’m in Sargodha now. I reached here yesterday night. We would not have got delayed on our plans, if I had left the college at time, and not have spent time on tea with my senior friends. We came back to their hostel (whereas I live in my home in Lahore), after attending a talk-cum-presentation on “Coke vs. Pepsi”, at least that was the topic chosen earlier; but later (during the presentation) we found out that since one student was absent of the two, the presentation will focus sharply on Coca Cola, so to say a partisan view of the latter, whereas a comparison between the two, however, will be carried out. The moderator of the talk praised generously the tenacity of the one presenting team member, who despite being singled-out, carried on and presented almost a 1-hr discussion, not to mention again, singlulary.

The primary concern of the presentation, however, was two-fold, with varying degree of focus. The first being, in terms of order of presentation, to present a brief history of the firm as start-up; its start-up idea; and the evolution of the company till this day, the way we know it now. And, secondly, first in importance though, the “marketing strategy” of the firm through-out its career that spans over more than a century.

Presentation was structured accurately, unidirectional, even though the presenter was to present from two different perspectives – i.e. its start-up story and its marketing strategy through-out its career – the two perspectives seem to be now integrated, thus we enjoyed it. And, because the two perspectives found a common focal point, since they’re well merged, the audience didn’t feel tattered between the two.

The only thing I am critical of the presentation/talk, irrelevant of its content, was its being called a talk, although it may never have been claimed to be, but at F.E.A. we only talk about “talks”. This was not a talk in the strict sense of the word. Nay, only the flavour of it was missing. If only it was more open, natural and playful the way a talk is, it would have been a talk, not to emphasize whether a talk is superior to a presentation.

Why We Only Talk about Startups at FEA?

The purpose of F.E.A., as has been sufficiently told, is to study and discuss multinational and local start-up firms and corporations. Although we have discussed mostly established firms, nonetheless we narrowed down our focus to their initial days. But, it would be better that we study and discuss non-established firms and enterprises alone. The reason for it shall partially be explained in the following lines.

Having said enough about our aim, that we study and discuss start-up businesses and dislike going into the later (and more glorious) periods of the established firms and industries (firms don't produce, whereas industries do), the question arises, as we've been questioned as to why we narrow down our focus on the start-up days of the firm?

If I am allowed to write in more detail, I'd only mention one point in favor of the criticism against FEA's paradigm just mentioned. An entrepreneur's genius doesn't lie merely in his successful launch of the venture. Much more difficult challenges are to be faced after the successful launch. Growth, the point I want to raise, is such a big issue and challenge to be dealt with. Growth means not just profit - but a whole series of new challenges and problems before the entrepreneur.
The genius of successful entrepreneurs like Micheal Dell, Steve Jobs, Bill gates, Richard Branson (Virgin group), Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines), who "actively guided their ventures successfully through the years of growth", lies in their adaptive capacity to deal with change, and change is always 'actively' resisted than embraced. Starting up is only a part of the picture.

Our answer in defense to the paradigm we're following is, for the sake of clarity and much more:

1. Learn how to write on the clean slate first, then talk about dealing with change and growth. The biggest advantage of starting a business to the entrepreneur is that he has this clean slate before him on which he can draw and design the organizational structure the way he likes and thinks to be fit. By knowing the art of starting up will give that practical knowledge of how to write and design, in the first place.

2. Learn the essentials first. This includes, to name the two most essential elements of a business enterprise, 'business model' and 'business strategy'. No matter how much growth your firm may have, these two things are only immutable.

3. Keep things simple, don't exhaust them. Learning about change management and growth is no doubt a fundamental aspect of doing business, only baby steps will lead you to think of these things. Keeping things simple will make you more practical and give you more clarity where to start from and where to head.


I believe there are much, much more advantages in gaining expertise about start-ups at this stage than I can imagine. Please give us your feedback and share your insights.