Ashly Dhani
Entrepreneurship Matters
Dr Kudzanai Vere
Focusing on Innovation, Judiciousness and Knowledge
The ability to think and act in a unique way sets businesses apart. One need to be very uncommon in the way they handle their business to be outstanding. Such abilities speak into the three areas that are a subject of discussion in this article, that is innovation, judiciousness and knowledge.
Innovation
“Innovation is seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” — Dr Albert
The world’s top 10 entrepreneurs stood out mainly due to their ability to innovate. Steve Jobs of Apple Corporation came to the limelight because of his iPhone and iPad solutions and the list goes on.
The mind of an entrepreneur goes further to think in a different fashion from the generality. You all see the same thing but an entrepreneur then synthesises these issues into unique solutions for humanity.
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) an American inventor and businessman was described America’s greatest inventor. Innovation leads to invention.
He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the long lasting, practical electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the world then and even to this day.
Edison’s famous quote, “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration”. But this American inventor was more than that; he was also one of the savviest businessmen and entrepreneurs of his time, coming out with inventions and innovations that have become so widespread, their benefits are still being enjoyed in large doses to this day.
He was the founder of the giant General Electric Corporation (formerly Edison General Electric), and also owned Edison Manufacturing and Edison Studios.
As you can see from the great works of Thomas Edison, entrepreneurship ultimately gives birth to large corporations and manufacturing entities that have a strong impact on people lives in many ways.
Albert Einstein, once said, “You can’t solve a problem on the same level that it was created. You have to rise above it to the next level.”
To innovate, one has to be some level better and higher than the prevailing circumstances first in their minds and then in their operations. Though having spent a few months at school, Thomas Edison immersed himself in quantum reading and researching.
You surely cannot solve a problem at the same level that it was created. Africans! Let’s not only see things, let question them and proffer solutions.
We have what it takes.
What is the calculus of innovation? — William Brody had this in response, “The calculus of innovation is really quite simple: Knowledge drives innovation, innovation drives productivity, productivity drives economic growth”.
An appreciation of what’s happening in the marketplace coupled with thoughtfulness gives birth to innovation which in turn drives productivity and economic growth. So where are we missing the point as Africans?
There is the calculus of innovation.
Judicious
Success in any business is as a result of decisions that are made and acted upon. I like this part of my A-Z of Entrepreneurship that speaks of judiciousness in business. Real entrepreneurs are judicious.
They are known for making, sound decisions and judgements. That’s an outstanding characteristic of a real entrepreneur.
I like the Merriam Webster Dictionary’s definition of judicious, that is, having, exercising, or characterised by sound judgment. Synonyms of judicious are, cautious, prudent, reasonable, sane, sensible, shrewd, skilful, thorough to mention just a few.
It’s important that I put you into perspective so that you understand the importance of judiciousness in entrepreneurship.
As you look forward to being unique and innovative, you also need to remember that you’re employing resources which comes at a cost. Once we talk of resources, sound judgement sets in.
You just need to be judicious, cautious, prudent and at most reasonable as you seek to achieve your overall objectives.
I have seen quite a number of people failing on the judicious front and spoil all their entrepreneurship endeavours.
Some become so overwhelmed and deviate from their main lane into careless zones. If ever you want to succeed in entrepreneurship, you need to be judicious.
Entrepreneurship involves among other things, handling and using resources (materials, money and ideas) these are delicate in business and you need to be prudent when handling them.
How many of you are even to this date blaming some of the decisions they made in their current or past business endeavours? That’s evidence of decisions that were made injudiciously. In business you should always be in your sound mind.
Studies have shown that most people make wrong decisions mainly because of lack of knowledge and information pertaining to a particular issue at hand.
This speaks to the other strand of the A-Z that speaks of knowledge as an imperative to the entrepreneurship trajectory. If you fail to utilise the grey matter housed in the luggage on top of your neck to make sound decisions, often time your whole body and anything yours will be in trouble.
This will not only affect you as a person but even anything that you lay your hand on, including your business. The world is gripped by a pandemic. This is common knowledge. The kind of decisions that you make in your business determines whether you will remain afloat or be wiped out.
At times you need to make decisions in context. Such kind of decisions can only be made by people whose minds are well masked up, sanitised and detoxified. You need to have a sober mind in business to make decisions that forge it forward. The difference between sanity and insanity in your business endeavour is a judicious decision which overly determines the approach you make.
The decision to START, SUSTAIN and SUCCEED in a business is a JUDICIOUS decision and be known for making such. So be reminded from today onwards that Judicious is central to your entrepreneurship journey.
Knowledge
Without knowledge action is useless and knowledge without action is futile. Abu Bakr
All successful entrepreneurs are repositories of entrepreneurship knowledge.
They don’t act from ignorance. They know their stuff. Knowledge acquisition is one area that they mastered with first class. Without knowledge, all your action is misdirected. In business you need to act from an informed position to save costs.
Without action on the other hand, knowledge becomes useless. Refuse to be a knowledgeable destitute. Once you are in the know, act. The world can only be better through the application of knowledge. It is in the execution of the learnt, that we have products and services in the marketplace. That’s entrepreneurship for you.
In order to come up with a unique solution to current and emergent challenges, one needs to have a deeper understanding of issues. Knowledge acquisition in entrepreneurs is or should be a continuous process. You just need to keep track of local, national and global changes in order for you to remain relevant and current.
The affinity for knowledge, like the thirst for riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it. Entrepreneurs naturally are explorative in nature. They are always on the search.
Improving their knowledge horizons for the better. As an entrepreneur or an aspiring one, always update and upgrade your knowledge bank so as to launch from an informed position. Innovate and make judicious decisions as you undertake your entrepreneurship endeavours.
Online Reporter