Entrepreneurial Skillset

[billisonboard]

Interesting idea: Best Buy founder: What every US college should teach their students

One way to make college more impactful for all students is to engage them in learning the entrepreneurial skillset. Whether as an entrepreneurship major or minor, or in liberal arts courses that explore the entrepreneurial mindset and process, or through venture competitions, startup incubators or design thinking workshops — teaching students to think and act as entrepreneurs does remarkable things.

Not sure i know exactly what an "entrepreneurial skillset" consists of but I question whether it would be beneficial to teach it to, say for example, elementary education or wildlife biology students.

Thoughts one way or the other?

[giramomma]

Design thinking is relevant to anyone who solves problems or who is in a position to innovate.

www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/5-stages-in-the-design-thinking-process

Creative problem solving would be a useful skill for anyone that works. Very important in education. My masters has an educational bent to it, and I had to take a design thinking course as part of my studies.

I have two useless degrees. I've gotten so much mileage from recognizing opportunities, critical thinking, being a problem solver, and otherwise trying to work at a higher level than a button pusher.

[billisonboard]

Mar 6, 2022 14:21:36 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Design thinking is relevant to anyone who solves problems or who is in a position to innovate.

www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/5-stages-in-the-design-thinking-process

Creative problem solving would be a useful skill for anyone that works. Very important in education. My masters has an educational bent to it, and I had to take a design thinking course as part of my studies.

I have two useless degrees. I've gotten so much mileage from recognizing opportunities, critical thinking, being a problem solver, and otherwise trying to work at a higher level than a button pusher.

Great article. Thanks.

[Deleted]

Mar 6, 2022 14:06:05 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Interesting idea: Best Buy founder: What every US college should teach their students

One way to make college more impactful for all students is to engage them in learning the entrepreneurial skillset. Whether as an entrepreneurship major or minor, or in liberal arts courses that explore the entrepreneurial mindset and process, or through venture competitions, startup incubators or design thinking workshops — teaching students to think and act as entrepreneurs does remarkable things.

Not sure i know exactly what an "entrepreneurial skillset" consists of but I question whether it would be beneficial to teach it to, say for example, elementary education or wildlife biology students.

Thoughts one way or the other?

I wouldn't want to learn entrepreneurial skillset. I am not a creative thinker and I have no desire to be an entrepreneur. I am an accountant.

Critical thinking . . . They should start teaching that in first grade and continue through high school. There are a lot of people that have no critical thinking skills. It is one of the best courses I had in college. The pandemic showed how many people could not think for themselves or consider the source of their information. (For example: they would watch only one news source and not consider anything else.)

[Deleted]

I'm not entrepreneurial, either- was a Wage Slave my whole career and happy with that.  I know that some universities started putting together Entrepreneurship degree programs a few years ago- not sure how that worked out.    It wouldn't help people wo chose no to go on to college but I suppose your can learn it from joining a business and learning.  That's probably how many people with contracting businesses (painting, plumbing, etc.) picked it up. 

Critical thinking?  Definitely hard to teach, especially since it can involve ethical, moral, political or other controversial issues.  How do you do that without bringing your own values into it?  Debate might be the best medium for that.  You don't get to choose a side- you're assigned a side and have to support it.  One of BF's friends, also a lawyer like BF, is perfectly capable of arguing one side perfectly and then turning around and arguing the other side equally well.  That takes a true ability to examine the points on both sides and consider their validity and credibility.  For some people there IS no validity or credibility on the other side because they have closed minds.

[Lizard Queen]

Mar 6, 2022 20:19:32 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

I'm not entrepreneurial, either- was a Wage Slave my whole career and happy with that.  I know that some universities started putting together Entrepreneurship degree programs a few years ago- not sure how that worked out.    It wouldn't help people wo chose no to go on to college but I suppose your can learn it from joining a business and learning.  That's probably how many people with contracting businesses (painting, plumbing, etc.) picked it up. 

Critical thinking?  Definitely hard to teach, especially since it can involve ethical, moral, political or other controversial issues.  How do you do that without bringing your own values into it?  Debate might be the best medium for that.  You don't get to choose a side- you're assigned a side and have to support it.  One of BF's friends, also a lawyer like BF, is perfectly capable of arguing one side perfectly and then turning around and arguing the other side equally well.  That takes a true ability to examine the points on both sides and consider their validity and credibility.  For some people there IS no validity or credibility on the other side because they have closed minds.

www.amazon.com/Asking-Right-Questions-Critical-Thinking/dp/0205111165/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?crid=3HFJWGXGM7725&keywords=critical+thinking+browne&qid=1646626978&sprefix=critical+thinking+browne%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-6
One of the textbooks for one of my classes.

[Tiny]

I went down a rabbit hole...

Investopedia sez:

A great entrepreneur must be able to effectively communicate, sell, focus, learn, and strategize. An ability to continuously learn is not just a key entrepreneurial skill, but also a very valuable life skill. Growing a business requires a sound strategy based on inherent business sense and skills

.These all sound like things that are valuable to ALL works/people - not just people who want to start their own business or who are inventing some service/product and marketing it...

And here are 7 skills of an entrepreneur: (from a google search).

• A vision. Know exactly what you want.
• Ask questions. Question yourself, your plans, your strategy, your business plans and your decisions.
• Passion and energy.
• A work ethic.
• Create an opportunity.
• Communication.
• Sales.

I'm guessing most people could use a course in the  entrepreneurial skillset -   I know I have gone thru all of these steps during the course of my IT career and I have spent my life "working for the man".   I would think that most people going for any sort of "education" learning for their job (even if it's a "job for the man") could benefit from atleast  a high level overview of what these things entail.     I got it all peice meal over the course of my lifetime.   

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Mar 7, 2022 13:33:01 GMT -5 Tiny said:

I went down a rabbit hole...

Investopedia sez:

A great entrepreneur must be able to effectively communicate, sell, focus, learn, and strategize. An ability to continuously learn is not just a key entrepreneurial skill, but also a very valuable life skill. Growing a business requires a sound strategy based on inherent business sense and skills

.These all sound like things that are valuable to ALL works/people - not just people who want to start their own business or who are inventing some service/product and marketing it...

And here are 7 skills of an entrepreneur: (from a google search).

• A vision. Know exactly what you want.
• Ask questions. Question yourself, your plans, your strategy, your business plans and your decisions.
• Passion and energy.
• A work ethic.
• Create an opportunity.
• Communication.
• Sales.

I'm guessing most people could use a course in the  entrepreneurial skillset -   I know I have gone thru all of these steps during the course of my IT career and I have spent my life "working for the man".   I would think that most people going for any sort of "education" learning for their job (even if it's a "job for the man") could benefit from atleast  a high level overview of what these things entail.     I got it all peice meal over the course of my lifetime.   

Absolutely even in science you need those skills. 

It's a real problem on every level.  If I had a dollar for every postdoc who couldn't communicate their way out of a paper bag I wouldn't have to work at all anymore.   Your experiment doesn't get done if you can't figure out how to break down that lofty ideal you have in your head into the actual technical components that need doing and be able to tell it to your coworkers.

They are obviously quite brilliant but totally helpless in selling themselves, their theories or being able to run a lab.   Brilliance alone does not get you the prize.  

My first PI was able to maintain a career as long as he did because he could speak effectively, write elqountely and in a way that even someone reviewing his grant that wasn't in his field could understand and was able to recognize and cultivate talent.  We talked about how he realized he was "too old" to be constantly keeping up with technology changing every 5-7 years so he started collaborating with people who could.  They benefited from his years of experience, he benefited from their younger brains.

You don't win the Nobel Peace Prize shut up in your hovel scribbling in your lab notebook.  You have to be able to hustle and advocate for your research.  There are entire departments devoted to this at universities because scientists often struggle with it.

I actual think a lot of STEM majors would heavily benefit from being required to take a course such as this.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Just thought of another one.  Anyone in any major could benefit from this because at some point you're going to have to look for a job. 

I have horrid social anxiety.  I've gone through a lot of cringe worthy interviews and learned these skills through trial and error.  Having a class where I could have practiced these skills without the stress would have been extremely beneficial. 

[giramomma]

Mar 7, 2022 15:30:27 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Just thought of another one.  Anyone in any major could benefit from this because at some point you're going to have to look for a job. 

I have horrid social anxiety.  I've gone through a lot of cringe worthy interviews and learned these skills through trial and error.  Having a class where I could have practiced these skills without the stress would have been extremely beneficial. 

One of the things I'm excited for DS is the tech school he is going to will teach him skills like writing a resume and interviewing.

[Deleted]

Mar 7, 2022 13:48:42 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Absolutely even in science you need those skills. 

It's a real problem on every level.  If I had a dollar for every postdoc who couldn't communicate their way out of a paper bag I wouldn't have to work at all anymore.   Your experiment doesn't get done if you can't figure out how to break down that lofty ideal you have in your head into the actual technical components that need doing and be able to tell it to your coworkers.

<snip>

You don't win the Nobel Peace Prize shut up in your hovel scribbling in your lab notebook.  You have to be able to hustle and advocate for your research.  There are entire departments devoted to this at universities because scientists often struggle with it.

I actual think a lot of STEM majors would heavily benefit from being required to take a course such as this.

You're preaching to the choir. Actuaries are mostly STEM majors and spend a significant amount of personal time studying for exams for 8-10 years. The profession does attract a lot of introverts and people who don't get out much. The ones who end up as partners in consulting firms or in the C-suite are the ones who can look you in the eye and clearly explain their work. One actuarial joke (out of many): An extraverted actuary is one who looks at YOUR shoes when he/she is talking to you.

One element of entrepreneurship the posted curriculum doesn't address, and it may be inborn, is risk tolerance. I do OK with risks in the stock market (although this year has been pretty hard on me) but I look at the small consulting firms where I worked and I remember how stressed I'd get if we lost a client or the owner wasn't sure about making payroll- and it wasn't even my company. My attempts to bring in business were 99% futile even though I had an excellent network and was well-liked (served 2 terms on the Board of my professional society and got an award for my extensive volunteer work during my career). I was happy to go back to working for a mega-corp where someone else worried about that stuff.

[billisonboard]

This one in particular made me wonder: "Passion and energy". Teachable?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Mar 8, 2022 9:37:23 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

This one in particular made me wonder: "Passion and energy". Teachable?

I think it can to an extent. Can you make me be internally passionate about something I don't give two craps about?  No.

Can you teach me how to present external passion and energy iwithout it being obvious I'm faking it?  Yes.

Like it or not there are times in my professional life I am going to have to put on an act.  Knowing how to be able to do that and when is beneficial.

Lots of science people think there work should speak for itself and couldn't give two craps about writing eloquently about it or presenting it.  Guess who isn't getting the grant or the big donation to their department? 

The head of my old department is a typical scientist when you meet him in the office but when it's time to collect he can really turn on the charm.  It's a part of the job you have to do whether you are passionate about it or not and you can't let your audience know that you'd rather be anywhere else.

I'm not sure if that is what the article writer means but that is how I interpreted it.  I did a lot of theater and even though I didn't pursue it as a career I'm able to use a lot of the tools I learned elsewhere. 

You're not going to get every person on stage but you could get them to take this type of class.

[billisonboard]

Mar 8, 2022 9:48:09 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Mar 8, 2022 9:37:23 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

This one in particular made me wonder: "Passion and energy". Teachable?

I think it can to an extent. Can you make me be internally passionate about something I don't give two craps about?  No.

Can you teach me how to present external passion and energy iwithout it being obvious I'm faking it?  Yes.

Like it or not there are times in my professional life I am going to have to put on an act.  Knowing how to be able to do that and when is beneficial.

Lots of science people think there work should speak for itself and couldn't give two craps about writing eloquently about it or presenting it.  Guess who isn't getting the grant or the big donation to their department? 

The head of my old department is a typical scientist when you meet him in the office but when it's time to collect he can really turn on the charm.  It's a part of the job you have to do whether you are passionate about it or not and you can't let your audience know that you'd rather be anywhere else.

I'm not sure if that is what the article writer means but that is how I interpreted it.  I did a lot of theater and even though I didn't pursue it as a career I'm able to use a lot of the tools I learned elsewhere. 

You're not going to get every person on stage but you could get them to take this type of class.

teach acting skills.

[bean29]

IDK, I took a required Entrepreneurship class for my Accounting Degree in the late 80's.  It was required for my degree.  It is not a new idea.  I think it was required for all Business Majors.  I enjoyed it, but no course I take is going to make me Charismatic, or be able to utilize the design thinking structure G posted about.  Just because I know what the methodology is, does not mean my brain will work that way.  I would struggle just to define the problem.  I once thought I might become a computer programmer.  I worked closely with a programmer on one job.  I don't think I would have ever even completed a degree in that subject area.  If I did, I think I would have sought a different career at some point.

I do however do a decent job of running the business side of DH's business.

[billisonboard]

When I started this thread, I indicated I was

Not sure i know exactly what an "entrepreneurial skillset" consists of ...

As I read what has been offered, it seems a lot of it is general life skills that are important in every aspect of human existence, e.g. parenting and personal relationships. I was thinking there would be something unique.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

IDK I keep reading books about it and it seems we tend to put enterprenuers on this massive pedestal and treat what they did as some giant leap of unknown innate genius or secret set of skills that the rest of us can never achieve.

Critical thinking, thinking outside the box, problem solving, salesmanship are all skills that can be developed and come in handy in multiple formats.  Am I going to master them to the point where I am the next Bill Gates or Elon Musk?  Nope.  Do I have any interest in doing so?  Nope.

But I can certainly learn enough to be able to apply what is useful to my daily life.  There is a lot of stuff that I thought was going to be useless in life when I was taking the course that I've found as I have gotten older it turns out I did get benefit from it, just not the way I thought I would.

So I might role my eyes at having to design a start up business in college but is it really that different from designing and proposing a grant for a science project?   I will be using different lingo and pursuing a different topic but at the end of the day I am building a lab and I have to sell the people on why I need $X and why they should give it to me.  I could have been the most excellent student and brilliant scientist in college but if I can't sell to the bean counters I don't have a lab.

Given the current political climate and the challenges that face the world today we could certainly use more of that mindset in every arena of life.   Just because you are not a start up genius does not mean you never need to critically think or make a risk assesment in your life.  It may not be in your job but it's going to come up somewhere.

I think the author of the article puts a catchy name on it because he's branding himself and his idea.  His title for the article gets clicks. 

At the end of the day though those skills are pretty much anyone can learn to some extent.  Will you use all of them or master all of them?  Probably not but I wouldn't write them off just because one doesn't want to be an entrepeneur. 

[billisonboard]

So I might role my eyes at having to design a start up business in college but is it really that different from designing and proposing a grant for a science project?

So I might roll my eyes at having to design and propose a grant for a science project but is it really that different from designing a start up business in college?

Why require either specifically for all students?

[giramomma]

Mar 8, 2022 13:29:31 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Why require either specifically for all students?

Because you don't know which ones will take the skills and run with them and which one won't.

Not to be snide, but our capabilities are not tattooed onto our foreheads at birth.

*I* didn't even know what I was fully capable of until I was 45. I was slow, what can I say.

I have surprised a lot of people.

Even my old supervisor, who is my best partner in the work world. He told me I'd be nothing more than a button pusher. A good, reliable button pusher.

And then I said "I want to try this and explore that." And he let me go do it. And what came out of it has been fantastic. I am unilaterally pushing my unit forward.

And then he ate his words.

And now I'm getting introduced to equivalent of c-suite executives in the my workplace.

Some of it is luck, but some of it is the entrepreneurial skill set.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Mar 8, 2022 13:29:31 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

So I might role my eyes at having to design a start up business in college but is it really that different from designing and proposing a grant for a science project?

So I might roll my eyes at having to design and propose a grant for a science project but is it really that different from designing a start up business in college?

Why require either specifically for all students?

I don't know if it has to be exactly as the author describes but IMO too much of college has become you go, get a very specific degree and get a very specific career. and usually at a high cost.   

From how I interpreted it outside of his business example is colleges need to make a transition back from being degree churners and into places where you are taught to grow and think as a person. 

Of course you're going to need to get the degree in the meantime but the soft skills he's talking about are important too.  I notice on the boards especially how quickly anything that is not a hard STEM skill is dismissed.  We're doing a major disservice with that attitude.

There is going to come a breaking point in regards to expecting more and more education just to get your foot in the door.  Several industries like nursing are already beginning to see that thanks to the pandemic.  Employers will need to change to remain relevant and in turn colleges and universities will need to change to stay relevant and keep attracting students.

That's what I got out of it.   We need to teach people to be able to think, adapt and grow and stop stamping them with a career path the moment they walk in as freshman (yes I totally stole that from Gira) .

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Mar 8, 2022 13:43:25 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Mar 8, 2022 13:29:31 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Why require either specifically for all students?

Because you don't know which ones will take the skills and run with them and which one won't.

Not to be snide, but our capabilities are not tattooed onto our foreheads at birth.

*I* didn't even know what I was fully capable of until I was 45. I was slow, what can I say.

I have surprised a lot of people.

Even my old supervisor, who is my best partner in the work world. He told me I'd be nothing more than a button pusher. A good, reliable button pusher.

And then I said "I want to try this and explore that." And he let me go do it. And what came out of it has been fantastic. I am unilaterally pushing my unit forward.

And then he ate his words.

And now I'm getting introduced to equivalent of c-suite executives in the my workplace.

Some of it is luck, but some of it is the entrepreneurial skill set.

I've changed paths now four times.   Of course my technical skills got me in the door and if I didn't have those I wouldn't be employed very long. But to get that far I had to be able to communicate to the gatekeepers I know what I am doing.  I had to be able to tell an HR person what I do in a way THEY could understand.  That's not a skill many in my industry have.

I push myself out of my comfort zone and take on tasks that don't normally fall to technologists.  I started learning statistics because it would make me a more valuable and attractive player.  

I am also a gifted orator, writer and as my old PI put it I have an "artist's soul".  Being able to generate data is awesome, but someone has to put it together in a pretty package to attract journals.  That's also something technicians generally don't do.

I've designed my own assays and I was given solo control over a massive project characterizing one of our strains as a vaccine model.  Again something most techs don't do.

Thanks to all that I'm second author on two papers.  As a technologist.  Some of that is luck I landed in the right lab with a PI who does that for her technicians, but I wouldn't be an author at all if I hadn't hustled and been willing to more than "just a technician".

I get not every technician wants or cares about being an author on a paper.  That was a lifelong goal of mine.  HOWEVER doing all the above even if it didn't lead to papers has kept me employed since 2006.  Since I like eating and having a roof over my head I would consider those entreprenuerial skills to have been of benefit to me.

[Tiny]

Mar 8, 2022 10:10:16 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Mar 8, 2022 9:48:09 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I think it can to an extent. Can you make me be internally passionate about something I don't give two craps about?  No.

Can you teach me how to present external passion and energy iwithout it being obvious I'm faking it?  Yes.

Like it or not there are times in my professional life I am going to have to put on an act.  Knowing how to be able to do that and when is beneficial.

Lots of science people think there work should speak for itself and couldn't give two craps about writing eloquently about it or presenting it.  Guess who isn't getting the grant or the big donation to their department? 

The head of my old department is a typical scientist when you meet him in the office but when it's time to collect he can really turn on the charm.  It's a part of the job you have to do whether you are passionate about it or not and you can't let your audience know that you'd rather be anywhere else.

I'm not sure if that is what the article writer means but that is how I interpreted it.  I did a lot of theater and even though I didn't pursue it as a career I'm able to use a lot of the tools I learned elsewhere. 

You're not going to get every person on stage but you could get them to take this type of class.

teach acting skills.

In the acting theme... maybe teaching "Energy and Passion"  might entail a lesson from  Mary Poppin's -   "make the job a game!"  from the Spoonful of Sugar part of the movie.   In otherwords - look at whatever it is from a different point of view (find the fun).    Learning how to "motivate" yourself, to build some passion/energy for a task or a project or an ideal  you have a "Meh" reaction to, is a very useful skill.    Some people don't even want to consider a second look OR attempting to "find the fun" in something  when their first reaction to it is "that's a waste of time" or "that's stupid!".   They are done with it right from the get go.            


I know I have learned that when my first reaction is "it's a waste or it's stupid" to doing something means I need to look wider or deeper or step into someone else's shoes, to change my perspective - and then determine if it's a waste or stupid (generally it's not... I was being "hasty" in my judgement).     I still might not be passionate about it - but I might have more energy/time/whatever to give to it (because I now see it's worthwhile...).     

[Tiny]

Mar 8, 2022 10:33:37 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

When I started this thread, I indicated I was

Not sure i know exactly what an "entrepreneurial skillset" consists of ...

As I read what has been offered, it seems a lot of it is general life skills that are important in every aspect of human existence, e.g. parenting and personal relationships. I was thinking there would be something unique.

I think it was Phil who would point out that Education in America was geared towards teaching children how to sit still for hours, pay attention for hours, follow directions, and spit back the right answers.     All the skills necessary for working in a structured repetitive job -- like a factory or an office (running the switchboard, writing out ledgers, typing up letters, filling out forms, etc...) .    

The nature of work has changed.  And the skills we teach children in schools needs to change.  

and so it is kind of unique.    Today's kids would be ahead of the "game" if they didn't have to start learning (or practicing) the skills this thread talks about ONCE they graduate from school.  
 

[billisonboard]

Mar 8, 2022 14:18:48 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Mar 8, 2022 10:33:37 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

When I started this thread, I indicated I was

Not sure i know exactly what an "entrepreneurial skillset" consists of ...

As I read what has been offered, it seems a lot of it is general life skills that are important in every aspect of human existence, e.g. parenting and personal relationships. I was thinking there would be something unique.

I think it was Phil who would point out that Education in America was geared towards teaching children how to sit still for hours, pay attention for hours, follow directions, and spit back the right answers.     All the skills necessary for working in a structured repetitive job -- like a factory or an office (running the switchboard, writing out ledgers, typing up letters, filling out forms, etc...) .    

The nature of work has changed.  And the skills we teach children in schools needs to change.  

and so it is kind of unique.    Today's kids would be ahead of the "game" if they didn't have to start learning (or practicing) the skills this thread talks about ONCE they graduate from school.  
 

Agree. In fact I am battling that daily, at the elementary school level.

[billisonboard]

I was a poli sci major. I could argue that in our democracy, it is important to teach most of the skills discussed here to develop a Citizenship Skillset. For example, sell a policy position or electing candidate "A"