big stage environment and taking a major step toward entrepreneurial thinking across the breadth of these organizations. Business is a war game, very competitive with high stakes. Competition plus a growing source of entrepreneurial graduates will make this change in culture happen. You can ride the crest of the wave or get smashed on the beach resisting it. Frankly, once companies recognize this need they will expand the horizons for those ‘in between’ people who have ideas and initiative but suppress them to conform because they can’t or won’t make the leap of faith into an independent business. As Doris suggested, entrepreneurship is being viewed by many as an economic wonder drug for the twenty-first century, and it may well be just that. If we can shift the average masses of talent in the middle away from craving stability and toward embracing the reality of dynamic change, who knows what will be possible. Remember, we need to trade in stability for agility.”
Martin was still shaking his head while muttering something under his breath but the rest of the room was quiet, even subdued, reflecting on what they had heard.
There were a ton of questions after that. An old colleague of mine, Paul Groves, asked one that had been plaguing me.
“At what age are you too old to start?”
That proved to be my personal favourite and the short answer augured well for my talk with Sam later.
“It’s never too late! If I can become a published author at my age anything is possible.”
The next question related to one of Sam’s favourite doubts, one that dissuaded many potential entrepreneurs. I didn’t recognize the guy who asked it.
“Based on the books I’ve read a lot of people think you’re limiting your upside if you never fail because you haven’t taken enough risk. That terrifies me. I can’t stand the thought or the humiliation of failing. Is failure really an essential part of succeeding as an entrepreneur?”
I knew this was a sore point with Sam. I had seen his reaction to the same question during one of his webinars.
“Fear of failure’s a great motivator. Let’s face it, no one likes to fail. But the idea that you have to fail to succeed is more than rationalization, it’s a crock. Worse than that, it’s one of the myths about being an entrepreneur that scares people like you off. Risk is part of the process, but you have to manage it. Much of the downside is within your control through the decisions that you make. If you make reckless choices failure is more likely. My best advice is to avoid failure if you can and learn from it if you must. We all learn more from failure. That’s human nature. When we succeed good results mask our faults and bad habits become ingrained in our methods. When we fail we know we have to change so we analyze what happened, looking for reasons. On the other hand, when we succeed we develop a sense of infallibility. Believe me, ‘entrepreneurial infallibility’ is a real phenomenon, one that’s taken some successful people down the second time around.”
Still the questions kept on coming plus there was going to be a book signing. I was concerned there’d be no time to talk to Sam before he left. A twenty-something girl brought up an issue that should have been significant for everyone.
“You mentioned decline in upward mobility. What did you mean by the historical norm for the middle class?”
Sam grimaced before answering that one. How to be frank but not practice fear mongering?
“The thriving middle class as we know it pretty much parallels my life, which means the last seventy years. Before that, capital got the rewards and the rest of us subsisted, trapped in our lower-class lifestyle. There were always exceptions, but they were few. Between technology and education the last seventy years have opened up opportunity for the great unwashed. Thanks to technology the quality of life changed dramatically after the Second World War, and that’s continued. Thanks to education, upward mobility for large numbers became a reality, swelling the ranks of the middle class. As opportunity increased entrepreneurs found ways to capitalize. However, with the demand for labour in decline and the supply of labour on the rise, labour as a resource has lost its leverage and capital is already reasserting itself to claim the higher rewards that traditionally accrue to investors. Entrepreneurship depends on opportunity. Determination on its own is not enough unless you’re one of exceptionally few. Returning to the historical norm means a decline in opportunity, more barriers to upward mobility, and much greater discrepancy in wealth between the super rich and the rest of us. It’s already happening, and fast. Just ask Dominic.”
The next question came from the mayor, Margaret Castlefield, who had actually been invited to thank Sam but for some reason had become more engaged than anyone expected. Sam did not know her before, but they’d been introduced when we arrived.
“What is the proper role for government in promoting entrepreneurship?”
Sam laughed at that one.
“Thanks for asking, Madame Mayor. It’s a critical concern for both the private and public sectors but the full answer will take much more time than we have today. Without going into the details of how, the challenge for governments at all levels is to work in conjunction with social entrepreneurs to deal with societal issues that create barriers to opportunity. The answer does not lie in making value judgements and investing public funds in a whole range of misguided incentives to get individuals to do what governments want. That removes the test of viability. So first governments need to remove barriers and then get out of the way. The second area where governments can make a contribution is to help create supporting environments or ecosystems that enable entrepreneurs to build successful businesses. The best example of this is what Silicon Valley has become for the tech sector. No other environment in the world creates as much opportunity for the tech industry as the Valley. The experience provides a model for what needs to be done in a whole basket of industries. I would love to discuss this with you later if you want my opinion.”
The mayor nodded her head. She seemed genuinely interested.
The next question came from a middle-aged fellow who I’d seen before but couldn’t place.
“Given that globalization is likely here to stay, can small companies capitalize on global opportunities?”
Now I remembered. His name was Morgan Davis. He ran a small furniture company that manufactured wooden furniture primarily for Canadian embassies. He shipped around the world but only to Canadian government locations. Sam was encouraging.
“Of course they can. There are like-minded small companies around the world eager to do business. With social media you can find them and you can also research foreign markets for your products.”
Sam didn’t have time to expand on his answer before Jim Hammond interrupted.
“Sorry Sam, but we have to start winding things up so you can sign some books. We can take three more questions, but I’ll ask everyone to keep the questions brief.”
There were at least ten more people lined up at the microphones so a few disappointed individuals sat down. The next question came from one of our secondary school principals, David Mills.
“Doesn’t something have to give? Can humans really sustain the degree of change you’re describing? Can we keep embracing the 24/7 work ethic that is being demanded by employers? I personally don’t think so.”
Oh boy, that was going to require a longer answer.
“I can’t answer that, sir. You’re bringing up a serious social issue. As a race we’re in danger of becoming victims of our own success. How do we slow things down? I don’t have the answer for that.
