I am amazed at the amount of energy being focused upon enterprise education without recognising that school kids are people, and the most effective way to develop enterprising behaviour is to focus upon the individual. Yes, the younger person, their attitudes, motivations and fears. I see a lot of teachers who recognise this and look for tools and techniques that can help them expltre personal development with kinds. Unfortunately it seems to get lost behind a barrage of other requirements.

We have been using the Enterprise Catalyst to stimulate personal development amongst younger people. The way we find time to do this is by providing behnchmarking and evaluations to teachers and schools - this enables them to devote time to the real interests of teachers and needs of younger people.

Is it possible to deliver enterprise education without an indepth understanding of the psychology of younger people?

Hi and thanks to everyone who voted for us in the North East Digital Awards 2008 - The Enterprise Catalyst was shortlisted in the Youth Enterprise category, but unfortunatley we didn’t win. Still, a good attempt for our first entry to an awards competition.

Best Wishes

David

Within this week’s Sunday Times a further story pointed to the success of Charles Dunstone - most well known for launching and growing Carphone Warehouse. I remember meeting Charles Dunstone and his colleague David Ross a number of years ago, when I gave a talk at the Mandrake - a meeting place for high growth business owners based in and around the South East of England. What struck me was that at the time Charles Dunstone was highly opportunistic - looking for the best and quickest way to take his business forward. Working alongside him was David Ross. David was the person who rang me and organisised for me to come down and talkk to this audience. It struck me immediately that one of the critical success factors within this business was the way in which desire to chase and capture opportunity was balanced with focus and organisation. Not surprisingly this helped me to firm up my belief that business success is based upon bringining complementary attitudes and skills together. For one person to grow a successful business - it can be done but there is more chance of actually making it if we bring a range of attitudes and skills into the senior team.

Whilst there is quite a bit of scare-mongering re the prospect of a recession, it is clear that there will be some sort of downturn in the global economy. This usually sends shivers down the spine of entrepreneurs and business owners. Can we survive?

This is usually addressed as a business issue - but experience tells me that the ability to survive an economic downturn rests as much upon the personality of the owner and lead team as it does upon the strength of the product or service. Some people are very good at managing a downturn whilst others are not. Do you know how your personality will affect your decision-making. www.21stcenturyentrepreneurs.co.uk is revealing some fascinating insights into the qualities of people who will be able to survive and those who are liable to dig a hole deeper than it needs to be.

Durham School

Economics & Business Studies Department

is pleased to host

Professor David Johnson

“When Darth Vader met

David Johnson”

“The paths we choose can

lead to achievement or despair”

A FREE workshop for aspirational business owners

DATE: Thursday 31 January 2008

START: 7pm til circa 9pm

VENUE: Durham School Exhibition Room

REFRESHMENTS: Food and drinks provided afterwards

I suppose its a bit of a luxury, but I spent last week on board a cruise liner talking with various audiences about corporate entrepreneurship. I met some great people and saw one of the funniest comedians I have seen in many years.
So what is happening in the world of corporate and public sector entrepreneurship? During the 1980’s and 1990’s businesses such as 3M, Xerox and many others were accoladed for their ability to reap the benefits of ‘thinking small’. As two iconic case studies 3M and Xerox developed markedly different approaches to corporate entrepreneurship. 3M sought to promote entrepreneurship and innovation as an internal process, and those who championed entrepreneurial endevour remained as employees. Xerox, on the other hand, favoured the spin-out method, whereby those who championed entrepreneurial endevour, were offered the opportunity to spin the business out of the host organisation and establish an ‘independent’ venture, within thich they would have a shareholding. For many the Xerox approach is more akin to genuine entrepreneurship, but in terms of sustainability, 3M model contiinues to this day. The year 2007, sees the re-emergence of corporate entrepreneurship (and innovation) as a potential solution, but it is critical that those who choose to follow this path learn the lessons of history.

Having worked in the field for many years now I am aware that there are numerous ways to create structures to enable entrepreneurship to occur, but on many occasions these flounder because of the ‘corporate mindset’. Employees look at the world differently, and larger organisations support them to do so, because it has worked so far. And yet, to live the life of an entrepreneur requires a mindset that is markedly different to that of an employee. In order to make it work, we need to change mind sets as well as put effective structures in place.

• What are your experiences of corporate entrepreneurship?
• Have you tried it?
• Which path did you follow?
• Did it work?

If you want to understand what type of entrepreneur you might be go to www.21stcenturyentrepreneurs.co.uk and see what type of entrepreneur you could be and learn more about your strengths and the predictable mistakes you are liable to make but can avoid.

It strikes me that a General Election in the UK would have added a bit of spice to this Autumn’s media jamboree. I must admit to being interested in what each of the parties has been saying during the conference season. From a business perspective, which party offers the busines owner the best deal. There seem to be strengths on each side. Labour would claim they have brought economic stability foe ten years and the Conservatives offered ‘Inheritence Tax’ inducements for those with looking to future generations.

What factors can a Govenrment influence?

A few colleagues of mine have mentioned that the Royal Mail is in a very tricky position at the moment. In an age of internet communication the number of people who are affected by the Royal Mail postal strike is probably significantly lower than in previous years when snail-mail was the primary means of communicating. There is probably a salutory lesson for both sides in this conflict as I cannot see anyone winning, least of all the consumers who still rely upon traditional mail.

Whilst the bulk of communication takes place via other media, such as the internet and telephone, the distribution of products, that may have been sold on the internet could be significantly damaged. Ebay is one such business, as are the thousands of businesses and individuals who use ebay to strike deals and then post product out.

Is yours a business that relies upon traditional mail and if so how are you handling this potential crisis?

The Royal Mail is offering guidance along the lines of ‘plan ahead’ to avoid those days when the strike is scheduled, but this will be a real challenge for some businesses. From my perspective, I see two  types of approaches to this problem, very much determined by personality. Some business owners will be organised and structured and able to minimize disruption. Other, of a more creative disposition, are liable to struggle with this disruption, and may suffer more. Whilst you all know I am not a fan of business plans, I am a fan of business planning.

Well, I have been chatting in cyberworld about business planning and thought it useful to bring this debate to my own blog. I must admit the thought of a Business Plan is something that turns my stomach. It feels like watching Reality TV - gut wrentching and agonising to watch a bunch of wannabees showing me the realities of their private lives. (As an aside I think it important that we maintain the distinction between public and private life - For those of you who know I am a Psychologist, you may realise there is an argument in favour of this).

Anyway questions to ask about your business:

• Do you have a business Plan?
• If not, why not
• If you do, why, and how does it add value to your business
• If you weren’t writing a business plan would you be out selling?

Personally if I had to make my mind up I would decide against a Business Plan, until I needed some investment.

What do you think?

Are you delighted with the way you are performing, and the way you support your team and other staff to perform? Consider these critical questions:

1. Are you delivering and achieving your goals?
2. Are you delighted with your performance over the past three years?
3. Are you delighted with the performance of your business over the past three years?
4. Are you delighted with the level of service and value you add to your clients?
5. Are you confident that progress for the coming twelve months will achieve your targets and delight both you and your clients?

OK now its time for a bit of honest reflection - its better to do it here than in a years time when things aren’t quite what you would have hoped!
If your answer to all of these questions is yes, you need to read them again, think about the question and the honesty of your answer, and then discuss your responses with colleagues, clients and customers asking them if they concur with your confident response. If customers and clients confirm your positive response, then you should feel confident about the future. You are well on the way to success, if you have not already achieved it and deserve to be delighted with your own performance. However, if your answer to any of these questions was no, maybe you would like to do something about it!

My intention is to make you feel uncomfortable because this leads to change and thus success!

Keep on delivering!