The world needs more entrepreneurs not CEOs

Lack of innovation, lowered productivity, and few new jobs. Sounds like a nightmare…

What type of beast living in our closet could have such immensely negative and broad impact? Namely, entrepreneurship – or in this case the absence thereof.

You may have heard the phrase “the world needs more entrepreneurs not CEOs”, and if not you have now. So, why entrepreneurs?

Here’s a short list of reasons using US-based metrics:

• Intellectual patents (IPs) – i.e. innovation – attribute to 38.2% of total U.S. GDP. (source: USPTO)
• Small businesses in the U.S.employed 58.9 million peo­ple, or 47.5% of the private workforce, in 2015 (Source: SUSB)
• Small businesses created 1.9 million net jobs in the U.S. in 2015. (Source: SUSB)

How are these tied to entrepreneurship?

Let’s start with IPs: Innovation is typically measured by number of patents and these patents protect technology or a “secret recipe” that solves a problem that someone or  something is experiencing. With problem solving at the core of entrepreneurship, it’s important to recognize and hone this trait as an infinite opportunity to grow professionally and personally.  Next, job creation and employment: If we are to see unemployment rates decrease we need to create new positions for people to fill. When entrepreneurs form businesses new jobs are created and individuals thus have more opportunities to become employed. With almost half of the private workforce employed by small business, it’s extremely important to encourage and educate people on startups and how to form a successful businesses.

Now, if entrepreneurship is the propeller of innovation, propagator of productivity and pioneer of job creation – essentially the solution to the aforementioned scenario – how do we go about executing it?

Well, if we were to follow the path we’re currently taking we’d be waiting around for generations to be born with this so-called entrepreneurial mindset and in reality that’s the most ineffective path. We all know education prepares people, whether a fine arts student, a computer science student or a business student, so why shut the doors on entrepreneurship as a teaching topic.

Rather, lets actively foster an ecosystem that can mold entrepreneurs out of the existing, untapped brilliance we have living amongst ourselves! As expressed by the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute:

“entrepreneurial success does not take place in a vacuum. Entrepreneurs exist in the context of their particular geography – be that their local, national, or even supranational economy and society”

So rather than wait on entrepreneurs to be born, let’s enter this dark vacuum and let in the light! 💡 Let’s add more value to their education by teaching them fundamentals to entrepreneurship.

Looking for entrepreneurial teaching resources?

G51 EDU offers engaging video cases over successful startups, in which they break down the tenets of entrepreneurship across industry sectors. Additional teaching resources like lesson plans, lecture slides and quiz banks are provided with each video. Click Here to browse entrepreneurial content.