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Critical to the success of any economy and society is the creation of new and sustainable products, systems, environments and media. The underlying processes that form the foundation for innovation need to be understood by all learners. The focus now is on developing a sustainable society and economy so that each citizen’s self-worth is actualised.
Every day, we find things that do not work as well as they should do, or are frustrating or inefficient in their application, and they annoy us. But these are the opportunities that shout out to the innovative mind to find and then provide that solution to their community, making people’s lives more efficient.
Entrepreneurs require wisdom and that includes knowing when we should give up on an idea or concept, or change our approach to how we are trying to solve the problem. Additional personal qualities entrepreneurs require include being able to assess and manage risk, be analytical, resourceful, having the willingness and capability to ask for assistance (collaboration), and the ability to leverage a range of technologies and business connections. Each of these capacities is instrumental in being innovative and ingenious.
Inspiration and our ‘aha! moments’ are critical to being creative. Creative people (all of us) must understand that innovation is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. But that is only half of what is a somewhat simplistic equation. Innovative people realise that ingenuity is also 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. Finally, being creative, and being innovative and ingenious, becomes more successful when it is a collaborative enterprise, where teamwork is 99% perspiration and the remaining 1% is the inspiration. However, it is important to note that none of these processes can be actuated without that 1% in each of these domains.
Whenever there is change, there are always new opportunities. Right now, change is rampant in almost every aspect of our lives, and hence, the opportunities for innovation and ingenuity have never been greater. Countries that explicitly provide the support and the capacity for their citizens to be innovative and ingenious, and incentivise that capability, will dominate this century.
The elephant in the room amongst all this enthusiasm for entrepreneurship is the lack of financial literacy in our learners. It is critical that we gift learners this capacity over their time in school as it is one of the most fundamental concepts in life. This is a process that can empower them to cross that chasm into independence.
Learners need to learn how to manage money, but as critical, they must understand the concept of investment. The concept of investment is based on the notion of delayed gratification.