January 20, 2022, by aczjb1

We are all entrepreneurs now – Prof Simon Mosey

As I meet my tutees at the start of the new year, I am reminded of the words of Mark Twain:

‘The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.’

As they are halfway through their Masters in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Management, my tutees have now realised why they are here: they are here to be entrepreneurs. Yet what it means to be an entrepreneur is both simpler and more complex than they first imagined when they joined the University of Nottingham.

Our research shows that entrepreneurship can be thought of as a way of thinking and a way of behaving, it is concerned with recognising opportunities, coming up with alternatives and choosing the best one.

And over the last two years, all of us have had to think and act like entrepreneurs as we have tried to adapt to ever changing circumstances. Some people have found this easier than others and many have reached out to us for help in making sense of what they have gone through and reflecting upon when it is most useful to work in this way.

Whether you are starting a new business or trying to make decisions within an existing organisation, large or small, reflecting upon when to think like an entrepreneur can be instructive – and indeed, may be critical for business survival.

Ingenuity Learning Support Development Officer Claire Donaldson leads the session with local participants

Our students have already made that decision, they have concluded that their ability to recognise opportunities amongst all the chaos surrounding us, to think creatively about what they could do differently and then to try something new is why they are here.

This week we brought our flagship pedagogy, the Ingenuity Process, to members of the local Nottingham community for some taster sessions for the Ingenuity Programme, hosted by Nottingham Forest Community Trust. It was great to see the passion for solving important social issues in the City from everyone in the room, many of whom had little previous experience of thinking like an entrepreneur.

Why not try it yourself? The day when you choose to be entrepreneurial rather than being forced to do so, could be the most important day of your life.

Applications for this year’s Ingenuity Programme close on Wednesday 2 February. Registration is open to everyone, no matter your background or experience – students, staff and alumni with a passion for enacting social change through social enterprise are all encouraged to sign up. Find out more at ingenuityimpact.org

Professor Simon Mosey is Director of the Haydn Green Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation

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