Introduction
Last week we started with provoking creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship as one of the management solutions to youth unemployment and restiveness in Nigeria. Today, we shall discuss it more deeply.
1. Provoking Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship –cont.
Let us start with provoking creativity. What are your goals, job tasks, and spare time activities? What are your thoughts, imaginations, and actions? What is in and on your mind?
The electric bulb first existed in the mind of a man called Thomas Edison, telephone existed first in the mind of Alexander Bell, most of the beautiful things in life existed in the minds of some persons before they were created. God did not create all things; He created some and deposited the materials to create others in man. We are co-creators with God. The question is; how much of your brain capacity have you put to use? American Psychologist William James said the average person specifically ‘develops only 10% of his latent mental ability’.
Creativity is the ability to think and act in ways that are new and novel. Creativity can be innovation or invention. Innovation is thinking creatively about something that already exists while invention is creating something that did not exist. Everyone can develop leadership skills and everyone can benefit from using them .How can you be creative? First, take time to honestly analyse yourself and identify areas for improvement. Ask yourself honest questions and proffer answers as much as you can. It is also advisable to seek for help when necessary. Analyse your strengths and weaknesses, that is, do a SWOT analysis of yourself, then take action through setting Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Result-oriented, Time-bound, Ethical, and Realistic (SMARTER) goals.
Considering the current state of Nigeria right now, I will dwell next on entrepreneurship as one of the best ways out of any messy situation.
The sudden surge in the entrepreneurial interest is not unconnected with the increasing rate of youth unemployment and its attendant consequences. Nigerian youths constitute the bulk of Africans illegally migrating by perilous means to Europe and other parts of the world. Statistics on youth unemployment suggest it will be very difficult to stem the current tide of illegal manpower drain. The ILO reports that nearly 20 million sub-Saharan Africans are migrant workers. It predicts a dramatic rise; about one in ten Africans are likely to live and work outside his or her country of origin. Young Nigerians make up the largest population of the growing flow of migrants to developed countries. In 2016, over 20,000 persons involved in the Mediterranean Sea crossing were reported to be from Nigeria. In addition, from 2017 until late 2019, hundreds of Nigerian migrants were deported from various destinations including Italy, Libya and South Africa. These young people embark on very risky journeys across the globe, and casualties continue to increase, daily.
Apart from illegal migration, some of our youths have also found solace in operating as kidnappers, armed ethnic militants, political thugs, human and drug traffickers, commercial sex workers, and cyber fraudsters. At present, white-collar jobs are on the decline yet the tertiary institutions are churning out a large number of graduates, every year. Entrepreneurship is a feasible solution.
The word entrepreneur originates from the French word “entreprendre” which means “to undertake” “to initiate”. In a business context, it means to start a business. The Merriam Webster Dictionary presents the definition of an entrepreneur as one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.
Entrepreneurship is first and foremost a mindset. It is the art of finding profitable solutions to problems. A successful entrepreneur or businessperson is someone who was able to identify a problem and came up with a solution before somebody else did. Entrepreneurship is much more than just learning to run your own business. It is an approach to life that involves thinking of yourself as a “can do” person.
Entrepreneurship is also a process of committing resources (factors of production – Labour, Capital, Land, Materials, Machines, Intellectual Capacity) into a business/economic project/venture in expectation of commensurate returns (profit).
The entrepreneur brings all these resources together for production to take place. He is the ‘visioner’ and risk-taker. He or she should possess the following qualities:
• Perseverance
• Determination
• Goal orientation
• Achievement orientation.
• Opportunity orientation
• Creativity and innovation
• Persistence in problem solving
• An optimistic risk-taking mindset
• Good leadership
• Quality orientation
• Flexibility
• Resourcefulness
• Vision
• Knowledge.
We shall stop here this week, thanks for your time.
Next week we will discuss Reasons for Starting Your Own Business.
Sunday Ade Bello (SAB) is a multi-talented and analytically inspired management trainer, writer, and examiner. He is the CEO of WorkLife Training Professionals, Lagos.
