Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught in a Classroom?
According to some, entrepreneurship skills can be taught at higher education institutes and high schools.
Others believe that entrepreneurship can only be taught to people by other entrepreneurs who have gathered practical experience from years of practice on the field.
In a situation where disruption and uncertainty are the order of the day, It can be argued that following the typical business school approach when deciding to pivot your business might lead to analysis paralysis.
In some circumstances, it makes sense to just simply take action based on the resources at your disposal.
This approach to entrepreneurship is called “effectuation,” or leveraging what we know, who we know, and who we are in order to take action.
In challenging times like a pandemic, there is no time to conduct long-term market analysis, develop a business plan, or weigh various alternative approaches.
This underscores the importance of preparing entrepreneurs to face an increasingly challenging, complex and uncertain world.
It is now critical that we educate our future leaders to view the uncertainty of our unknowable future not as a problem to be solved, but rather as a reality to be embraced.
After all, in the unknowable future, all leaders will need to be and think like entrepreneurs: they must become visionaries that can imagine, adapt, and act nimbly to address whatever challenges come their way.
What is now more than ever critical is for business schools to adopt new teaching philosophies that empower the next generation of entrepreneurs — as well as all business leaders — to meet these challenges.
Robert Ikwue is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of BiiZBoX.
