WHAT CAN WE DO TO BE TRULY ENTERPRISING?

The secret lies in making a real difference

Whether in business, or as individuals, we talk a lot about 'enterprise'. But looking around, it sometimes seems that we have forgotten exactly what it means .

A dictionary definition says: "adventure, bold or difficult undertaking, capacity to take an initiative.". But is that really what most of us are addressing when we use the term? Isn't it true that often 'enterprise' is just being used interchangeably with the word 'business'?

As many of us know there is a big difference between an organisation which is dynamic, forward-thinking, and innovative and one which just goes through the motions of delivering whatever it's established to do.

Yes, the latter can be profitable financially, but is it profitable in terms of the motivation it provides to its workforce, the satisfaction it creates for its customers, clients or end users, and the beneficial impact it has on the environment in which it operates?

There's a huge gap in business today between the top performing, cutting edge, ground breaking organisations and the rest. It's not a matter of size, structure, nature of business or geographical location but all to do with leadership, vision and true team-working. Those are true 'enterprises' which day by day, in large ways and small, have the courage to enact 'a bold and difficult undertaking'. 

Exploring the meaning of enterprise

Last year, together with two other explorers, I completed the 2004 Nordkapp expedition - an enterprise which involved dog-sledding over 500 kilometres to Nordkapp, the northernmost tip of Norway, mastering a trail that had never been done before. Our team comprised three different disciplines, three different nationalities and three very different personalities working together to achieve our goal.

Ultimately it meant us all getting right out of our comfort zones so that we could open up the wilderness to allow others to follow in our footsteps and experience the environment, the challenge and the achievement. It was an enterprise which those in the know said couldn't be done.

How does this relate to what you might be doing? Well, if we're all looking for rewarding work for a visionary endeavour to which we feel we can contribute something of value, then surely the big question is:

'What can each of us do to ensure that what we are doing, or aiming to do in our working lives is truly enterprising?'

 Enterprise equates to individual responsibility

We all have it in our power to make a difference, and by taking individual responsibility for going the extra mile, making an effort, and thinking beyond the boundaries of what is strictly necessary then we have the ability to create a dynamic, exciting, evolving whole which is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts.

Whatever our role or status - whether business owner or manager, academic, or employee, if we each make the effort to create or support stimulating ideas and innovation, we potentially will also be creating and supporting an environment that will allow a true entrepreneurial spirit to flourish to the benefit of us all.

Of course, such growth and vision has many dangers - both economic and in terms of personal security. However, to return to the dictionary definition given above, 'enterprise' is a 'bold or difficult undertaking' involving risk-taking and risk-management. So by definition, it is never going to be easy!

Enterprise is all about fostering and combining skills and attitudes in a way that will produce measurable results and make a measurable difference. Enterprise Week, a UK-wide programme, celebrates enterprise in all its forms - skills development, business start-ups, social enterprise and enterprising activity.  Its aims are laudable, but it is equally important that such an ethos isn't just something on which the spotlight falls once a year.

© Rona Cant, The BIG Question