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12 things learned in 14 years
- 1. 12 things learnedin 14 years of enterprise education in higher education A Personal View
- 2. 1st thing Only avery few enterprise learners actually become entrepreneurs within 3 years of graduation. Enterprise learners and actual entrepreneurs are generally different people.
- 3. 2nd thing Most enterprisessurvive, in one form or another, for 2 years+ This is my personal experience. It may not be true everywhere. The ‘in one form or another’ is what matters.
- 4. 3rd thing There’s anideology of enterprise. It doesn’t play equally well in all situations. Some love it, many ignore it.
- 5. 4th thing Some thingsnever seem to deliver as enterprises for new graduates. Why is this? Retail (even online) STEM Based Social Enterprises (see 5th thing)
- 6. 5th thing There’s lotsof interest in social enterprise amongst learners in all disciplines. This doesn’t seem to translate into lots of sustainable enterprises for new graduates. Why?
- 7. 6th thing An effectiveenterprises is usually a balanced partnership: a ‘creative practitioner’ and a ‘salesman / manager’. Someone has to look after the money and the customers.
- 8. 7th thing There arefewer enterprise starts from the business disciplines than you might expect. Possibly because the typical business curriculum; even in enterprise; is ‘linear’ rather than ‘holistic’.
- 9. 8th thing There aremore enterprises from the creative fields than elsewhere. This is what you’d expect from a sector with a ‘fragmented’ organisational structure. However, this may also be because the curriculum is often ‘holistic’ and ‘improvisatory’.
- 10. 9th thing Many earlystage graduate entrepreneurs can’t express their business case clearly: either orally or in writing. This corrects itself after initial meetings with outside business advisors. However, it’s worth reflecting on.
- 11. 10th thing Effective enterprisecurriculum is largely ‘show and tell’: either by entrepreneurs or by the students themselves. In some disciplines, it will be very little like the ‘canon’ of enterprise thinking. It’ll be much more about creative problem solution or employability.
- 12. 11th thing Enterprise curriculumhas to be negotiated with teaching and learning teams. Without negotiation it is just ignored. Innovation initiatives with teams have a typical trajectory: Enthusiasm, Expansion, Caution, Review, Renewal.
- 13. 12th thing Maybe enterprisecan’t be ‘taught and learned’ only ‘imparted and acquired’ (as Oakeshott said about politics). The ‘show and tell’ may be the master demonstrating to the apprentice. He can’t explain what he does but he can show it.