Prof John Powell Director USB Promoting Entrepreneurial thinking – the missing Millennium Development Goal. Prof John Powell Director USB

Scope: What do we mean by ’entrepreneurial thinking’? Where does it come from? Why does it arise? What sort of knowledge is it? How do we ‘promote’ it?

Entrepreneurial thinking… Dimensions of orientation Autonomy Innovativeness Risk taking Proactiveness Competitive aggression Not limited to large or small companies. (Volberda et al, 2011)

Where does it come from? Why does it arise? Well not from someone sitting you down and explaining how to make a living in a India nslum.

A calm sea does not make a good sailor.

Innovativeness: How many uses can you think of for a lemon? Piaget’s tests How many uses can you think of for a lemon? Ask a very young child and they will say ‘Make lemonade” Ask a 15 year old and they will say “Make lemonade” Ask a 5 year old and they wills say ”Freeze it and throw through a jeweller's window and you can get the jewellery and sell it and buy a space rocket and go to China.”

Domain and technical knowledge is the key. What is important in creativity is not the creative, divergent intellectual act but the filtering of the unachievable. Domain and technical knowledge is the key. This means that it is in fact technical, domain knowledge which is critical. Any fool can have an workable idea.

Tacit and explicit knowledge

Present practice

Tacit Learning Environment

Localized vs System Knowing

Enthalpy (available knowledge)

Different paths to systemic knowing

Summary Entrepreneurial behaviour can be studied but not easily taught. Filtering is as important as divergent thinking Risk assessment is critical Technical (domain) knowledge is critical The tacit-to tacit dimension is critical.

And so….? Apprenticeship Mentoring ‘laboratory of failure’ Communicative substrate