Getting it wrong
by Duncan O'Leary
Digby Jones (who is Chair of HTI for this year) was typically strong on this � arguing that we are producing a generation of young people that is risk averse, and which will hold businesses back as they seek to innovate to compete in the global market. Similarly, the SSE make it clear to people on their courses that they don�t mind them making mistakes � that�s how you learn after all. Trying something, getting it wrong, and then finding a better solution helps equip people with strategies for the future - so that they know what to do next time they don't know what to do. You may not be left to simply sink or swim at SSE (you get advice, training, peer support and mentoring) but people are allowed to take the major decisions about their projects.
This all strikes a cord with the Scottish Enterprise project that I posted about in December � where one of the project co-ordinators told me that the hardest thing for any of the teachers was to stand back and allow the kids to make a mistake and learn from it, rather than automatically step in when they could see something going wrong.
There are also some telling stats to back some of this up too. People in the UK, for example, are 50% more likely to fear failure than those in the USA and 25% less likely to know an entrepreneur, according to Enterprise Insight.
Anyway, you can see where I�m going with this, but I think it may be something worth exploring. If we want more new businesses, innovation-driven corporations and public services that keep pace with rising expectations, then we may have to rethink the kinds of opportunities that we give young people when they learn.
There�s a lot of talk about national volunteering schemes and the like at the moment � perhaps we should be thinking about creating a nation of young social entrepreneurs�?