Embracing Entrepreneurship

ByF.C. Dawkins

Most of what the average person reads about entrepreneurship sustains the mystique. We revere the outstanding successes achieved by extreme entrepreneurs — everyone from Edison to Jobs. Yet, reading about these giants colors our perception of entrepreneurship. We admire their achievements but consider them beyond reach. Their stories often sustain misleading myths about entrepreneurship that keep capable people from embracing an entrepreneurial career. People begin to believe that to travel down the entrepreneurial path, a person must be born with a particular mindset, take reckless risks to achieve high rewards, work all day, everyday and must fail to succeed. Don’t let these misconceptions scare you off.

Entrepreneurship can be taught, it should be taught and it is being taught.

After 50 years of a flawed model focused on churning out executives for large corporations, colleges and universities have turned their attention to promoting and encouraging entrepreneurship. These schools are focusing on teaching the entrepreneurial lifestyle; one focused on both the mindset and the skillset required to become an entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship is not about the risk you take, but the results that you achieve

It’s a startling paradox. Too many good opportunities die prematurely because so many potential entrepreneurs are risk averse. At the same time businesses are failing because of absurd risks fostered by the idea that being an entrepreneur is nothing more than a gamble. Entrepreneurs succeed through determination not by taking unwarranted risk. Managing risk as you embrace it is critical. Not all ideas are opportunities and every opportunity is not viable. Managed risk is inherent in the lean startup focused on getting valuable feedback from potential end users before jumping into full scale operation.

Entrepreneurs need to find work/life balance and will have regrets if they don’t.

Having a strong work ethic and being willing to put in extended days when required is critical. During your startup phase and later when you encounter bumps in the road you will work long hours with great satisfaction. But as things progress you need to find balance by building your team, easing control and empowering your staff. You must recharge your batteries. Never forget: You are your most valuable human resource. Without balance your performance will suffer, your business will be restrained and your personal life will be sacrificed unnecessarily.

Failure is not essential. Entrepreneurs manage their risk and avoid failure.

Describing failure as an essential part of success is rationalization but many entrepreneurs are motivated by the fear of failure more than the rewards of success. Failure only happens when we either quit or are forced to give up. Mistakes are part of the learning curve. We do learn from them because we take the time to analyze them. Success is elating and it masks our faults. Continually improve by understanding what you do right and correcting what you do wrong in good times and in bad. If you do experience failure you can and will bounce back, many have.

Being an entrepreneur is within your reach.

You can become a problem solver who is determined to find a way to make things happen? Understand: we can’t all be innovators but for every innovation there will be thousands of entrepreneurs finding applications that solve everyday problems producing jobs and independence. Being first is over rated. Doing things better and different often brings greater opportunity

Believe in your own ability.

You can establish the mindset of an entrepreneur by eliminating the word ‘can’t’ from your vocabulary. You can approach problems by skipping right over the question “if” it can be solved and skip directly to the question “how” it will be solved. You can find opportunity and you can analyze to make sure that opportunity is viable. All of this can be done within the context of the traditional economy and you don’t have to be a tech genius to do it. Technology is not a threat but offers a great tool for you to use. We are entering a new era of entrepreneurship, which means it is an option for almost anyone. If you can’t carry the full weight of your own business bring entrepreneurial thinking to managing your career and performing your role as an employee. You won’t regret it.

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  • 10+ Reasons Why We are on the Doorstep of “Brave New World

    ByF.C. Dawkins

    In one of my favourite and most thought provoking novels, Aldous Huxley used the future (2540 AD) as the setting and  developed characters in his science fiction novel to express the fear of losing individual identity in the fast-paced world of that future. Unlike Orwell who offered a pushback to communism, Huxley focused more on technology and the ultimate impact of continuing the fast pace evolving out of the Industrial Revolution. So is that future almost upon us? Here are some of the key elements of Huxley’s Brave New World:

    Abolition of natural reproduction – Children are educated via appropriate subconscious messages to mold the child’s self-image appropriate to their caste.- Discouragement of critical thinking – Discouragement of individual action and initiative – An abundance of material goods – (presumably because of advanced technology) conditions of work are not onerous – Citizens are conditioned to promote consumption. People enjoy perfect health and youthfulness until death at age 60. The World State is a benevolent dictatorship headed by ten World Controllers which has established a stable global society where the population is permanently limited. The basis of that stability is the conditioning of citizens to accept their station in life.

    As a serial entrepreneur who values individualism driven by hope and accomplishment as essential to the human condition the weight of logic tells me that we are all too close to Huxley’s world and long before 2540. Here are more than enough reasons to be concerned. All of them relate to two dominant trends – rapid change and  globalization.

    1. The Era of Big Data is here – too much to know and digest

    2. Wealth Disparity – economic rewards are accruing to capital – real wages are stagnant or in decline

    3. Declining upward mobility – the middle class is in decline trending towards historical norms more limited chances for improvement – Huxley’s caste system?

    4. Precarious employment – job stability is simply disappearing — those that don’t take control over their careers will flounder

    5. Machine Learning- we are about to handle even more control of our research and knowledge creation to machines. Artificial Intelligence is the next big thing.

    6. Cloning – the science exists – the implications are many

    7. Stem cell development – we can already grow new organs  – test tube babies are there for the taking. The key to perfect health may well lie in stem cell research.

    8. World population is out of control –  in Huxley’s world, a problem solved by limiting life

    9. Control of knowledge – with Big Data and Machine Learning will we only know what we are told and will God simply become the internet? Look it up – it must be so?

    10. Surveillance – Snowdon  has shown that  we are being watched – this will only get worse and soon

    11. Corporatism – we don’t live under free market capitalism – large corporations control global markets and reap the profits – we can thank ourselves for embracing branding to facilitate this – Too Big to Fail puts a deadly premium on Big

    12. Multi-nationals – these same corporations driven by profit maximization are pursuing interests that eliminate national interests as they build stronger global foundations for controlling markets. All the time individuals are being encouraged to consume at record rates.

    I’m fairly sure I know what Huxley would think. How about you?

     

     

     

  • Globalization, Branding and The Entrepreneur

    ByF.C. Dawkins

    The appeal and benefits of pursuing a global economy lie in the theory of comparative advantage whereby global completion will ensure that goods and resources will be allocated in the most efficient way, ensuring the most cost effective production of goods and services to the benefit of all. Yet the more we open ourselves up to globalization the greater becomes the discrepancy in wealth distribution which contradicts the theory. Oh to be sure there is a growing middle class in the highly populated eastern countries like India and China but in effect we are just averaging out the wealth of the poor – improving in the eastern world and declining in the west while those at the top accumulate huge fortunes. Upward mobility  on any kind of scale may be in jeopardy.

    Life should be getting better for all of us. Instead large corporations are controlling the marketing of most products largely through effective branding  which allows them to keep the lion’s share of the benefits of low cost production in the form of huge profits rather than either paying a fair price or passing along the benefits to the end user. At the same time the demand for labour is shrinking in relative terms through technology and mechanization undermining wage structures around the world. These large corporations have abandoned their identity as national firms in favour of becoming global entities. They are routed in a culture of control and increasingly rely on acquisitions and outsourcing to give them the innovation and flexibility needed in a fast paced world economy immersed in rapid change. As long as they can control the market they retain control of the profits.

    So how do we break this system and allow the mass sharing of the efficiencies being gained? The hope lies in entrepreneurs digging in the corners, finding comparative advantages and getting low cost products to market. The problem is that there are barriers to get products to market and if you manage to break through your company soon joins the club bringing in huge profits.  Rather than breaking the system, those that succeed are embracing it. Greed is a powerful motivation in the face of dynamic achievement. So as it stands now entrepreneurial success lies in pursuing startups and selling out or by leapfrogging through this stage and becoming one of the Bigs. Neither of these trends will break the current trend on wealth distribution which is moving back towards the historical norm.

    On a macro level entrepreneurs are the main hope to break the culture of control but there are no guarantees that will happen. On an individual level, pursuing a career as an entrepreneur may be the only ticket to upward mobility. That is why the most important skill anyone can master today is the ability to create and manage their own career. We must all adopt the mindset of the entrepreneur.

  • On Canada Day – Celebrating the CDL: A Critical Canadian Initiative

    ByF.C. Dawkins
    With Joseph Rotman at the Creative Destruction Lab
    With Joseph Rotman at the Creative Destruction Lab

     

    Joseph Rotman invested a great deal to improve the future of this country. The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is a lasting legacy showing both his commitment and what we as Canadians are capable of achieving. An important part of  that legacy is the CDL which is really just getting started.

    It is both enlightening and alarming to discover that more than 350,000 Canadians live and work in Silicon Valley. More than one percent of our population and a much higher portion of our intellectual capital have left us for the world’s most prestigious and most productive ecosystem. This is both a problem and an opportunity but not one that government can solve or even try to solve. So how do we stem the tide? There is no quick fix. We are producing world class talent and such talent is inevitably attracted to the epicentre of success, achievement but most of all opportunity. It is the opportunity that we need to focus on. The Creative Destruction Lab does that. It creates opportunity here in Canada. The leader and founder Professor Ajay Agrawal is a dynamo.

    Ajay is living evidence that entrepreneurship can be taught, an academic with the drive and mindset that can match anyone in the business community. When he approached the Rotman school to start this program he was told ‘you can use the facilities but you must find the funding yourself’. He has worked relentlessly ever since  to do just that in the process bringing in a very accomplished group of proven entrepreneurs to act as mentors. The stated goal of the Lab is to generate equity – specifically to create at least $ 1 billion in equity in the first ten years. After the first two years approximately $ 130 million has been achieved.

    Financial targets are how we keep score but the greater purpose is to keep the best and most brilliant we produce here in Canada, helping to build our own world class ecosystem and offering a valuable example to others. Ventures receive the very best of mentorship. It is amazing to see how they evolve in less than one year. Watch for results – they have already started but many significant ones are ahead in the years to come.

    As a partner of the Lab and member of the advisory board I am proud to point out that this program is not just another accelerator to help brilliant tech students bring their ideas to market. For me the Lab represents far more and has the opportunity to change and influence this country. We are traditionally small ‘c’ conservatives who let our brash cousins to the south take the outrageous risks and create the startling successes. We don’t lack for success stories but too often those successes happen outside our borders. Now when we are in an era where entrepreneurship is viewed as what I like to call the economic wonder drug of the 21st century, it is absolutely critical that Canadians embrace the mindset of an entrepreneur and become agents of change in a world where ironically change is the one constant. In that sense the Lab can be a leader and help change the narrative for Canada.

    For me the Lab has three main purposes. The first as already outlined is to produce successful, scalable ventures flourishing as sustainable businesses right here. The second very unique goal and  achievement  of the Lab stems from the way in which students of the Rotman MBA program are engaged with the ventures and the  mentors. We need these talented business minds creating new businesses and making them succeed in Canada. The Lab immerses them in the startup culture and introduces the potential for success outside the world of investment banking. In this new era of entrepreneurship when every university and college around the world is trying to teach entrepreneurship this may be the most effective way any of these institutions has found to date.

    The third and potentially greatest influence of the CDL program is as an example of what can be accomplished in Canada. We are building a pyramid of success. The ventures that go through the full program will be shining examples at the top of that pyramid. But there are many other levels of success below these which can be achieved and make an important contribution to our economy and our society. Not every success story relies on innovation. The potential multiplier of the Lab comes from encouraging all Canadians, at every level to adopt the mindset  that we can make things happen here and to apply innovation to a whole myriad of business solutions and applications. These potential ventures will be the foundation of the pyramid we hope to build and can have rippling effects across our economy for generations to come.

    This is exactly what Joseph Rotman hoped to accomplish and thanks to him, it is a real possibility when we sorely need it.

    With Joseph Rotman at the Creative Destruction Lab
    With Joseph Rotman at the Creative Destruction Lab
  • |

    Creative Destruction vs Trump’s Destructive Reduction.

    ByF.C. Dawkins

    Creative Destruction was a term first popularised by economist Joseph Schumpeter. The premise is that innovation and technology will ensure progress on the basis of replacing old industries, markets and economic structures with new more efficient concepts. The architects who accomplish this are entrepreneurs who think outside the box, question existing systems and introduce new ways and means. Never has this been more relevant with the impending impact of AI putting us on the cusp of what many believe will be a major revolution. Some believe it will bring about comparable change to that fostered by the Industrial Revolution. Regardless this change will be led by the key leaders that Schumpeter relied upon: entrepreneurs and tech genii.

    Enter Donald Trump, certainly a disrupter but only in a literal sense. The proverbial bull in the China shop. The antithesis of the dynamic innovators that Schumpeter championed. A man apparently stuck in the past. A strong proponent of returning to the ‘good old days’ of the 1890’s, his model for what the U.S. should be. Let’s call that ‘Destructive Reduction.’

    Subtraction by reduction. Attacking allies. Breaking trade agreements. Withdrawing from international organisations. Renouncing treaties. Axing social benefits. Deporting immigrants. Recklessly slashing jobs within the bureaucracy. Reductions without analysis in an ill-fated attempt reduce the national debt, offset quickly by tax cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. The man hates complexity. Give him a one pager and a burger and he’s ready to act. Rationality be damned. Right to a fault? ON and ON Don!

    Admittedly AI may help him with the odd element in this quixotic attack on well, just about everything. Forgotten is that the firm foundation of growth for the past hundred years for the U.S. has been research and development. For the past fifty years and more the U.S. has spent roughly 40% of the amount spent on R & D across the entire world. It’s been a proven formula for wealth creation and economic success. So what does the Big D do? He cuts the funding for leading research institutions like Harvard. This is perverse logic but then logic had been abandoned in a flurry of executive orders with the size of the signature rivalling that of John Hancock.

    I wonder who will fill the many voids created by this executioner of trust? Trump’s drift toward isolationism, based on groundless economics, creates great opportunity for none other than China. A country that quietly invests in areas that the U.S. largely chooses to ignore like Africa and South America. Areas that have been insulted by the Big D. Projections show that by 2100 there will be twelve billion people on Earth. Nine billion of those will reside in Africa or Asia. Every continent but Africa will be facing ageing populations. China has a plan. It has a much longer window than anything America conceives. China will quietly encourage the decline of the American Empire, if you can call it one. Donald has given their plan a nice boost.

    The world is changing. Are we ready? These are the questions that make my novel The Noah Project a wake up call to action.

  • An Important Canadian Initiative – Rotman’s CD Lab

    ByF.C. Dawkins

    Did you know that more than 350,000 Canadians live and work in Silicon Valley. That’s right more than one percent of our population and a much higher portion of our intellectual capital have left us for the world’s most prestigious and most productive ecosystem. This is both a problem and an opportunity but not one that government can solve or even try to solve. So how do we stem the tide?

    It’s not a quick fix. When we are producing world class talent they are inevitably attracted to the epicentre of success, achievement but most of all opportunity. It is the opportunity that we need to focus on. The Creative Destruction Lab does that. It creates opportunity here in Canada. The leader Professor Ajay Agrawal is a dynamo. He is the living evidence that entrepreneurship can be taught, an academic with the drive and mindset that can match anyone in the business community. The stated goal of the Lab is to generate equity – specifically to create $ 1 billion in equity in the first ten years. After the first two years approximately $ 130 million has been achieved. However the real goal is to keep the best and most brilliant we produce here in Canada, helping to build our own world class ecosystem and offering a valuable example to others that “Canada’s Got Talent” and I don’t mean the variety acts we see on the American TV show.

    Ventures receive the very best of mentorship. It is amazing to see how they evolve in less than one year. Watch for results – they have already started but many more will follow in the years to come

  • Recent Quotes about Everyday Entrepreneur

    ByF.C. Dawkins

    Fellow Entrepreneurs listen up! I read almost a book a day and rarely do I fall this deeply in love with the entire book. A delightful exception to that rule has been Everyday Entrepreneur. Fred Dawkins has a simplicity that is accessible by entrepreneurs at every level, including those who are paving new ways within organizations, not just those of us out in the business wilderness. If you want a fast read that you’ll be able to convert into massive action that will undoubtedly improve the way you do business then drop everything and read this book.

    Sherri J Griffin
    20 Year Training & Development Professional

    “`The most important skill in the 21st century will be the ability to create your own job.” Fred Dawkins Author of Everyday Entrepreneur – my favorite new book – a quick read with all the common sense through the stories of people whose experiences ring so true to life. I suggest all students and young engineers I have worked with pick up a copy! You won`t be sorry!”

    Maryam Latifpoor-Keparoutis
    Senior Development Manager
    College of Physical & Engineering Science (CPES)
    University of Guelph

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