Enterprise Catalyst

Philip Kerr, MD of Innovas Consulting Ltd talks to EnterpriseUpfront about his experience of enterprise education and how a focus on personal learning and thinking styles is beginning to revolutionise how enterprise is delivered in schools. ‘For years our company has sought to put the individual at the centre of education policy and enterprise support and now, working with Venture to Think Ltd, we have a tool to make this happen.’

‘I am often asked by schools to talk to pupils about my experience as a businessman or invited in to be involved on Dragons Den style panels, Business Challenges as a mentor or judge, or to discuss the challenges and rewards of business ownership. Although these are enjoyable activities and clearly have a role to play, I can’t help feel that the message that this sends out is that ‘enterprise’ is synonymous with ‘entrepreneurship’ and it focuses young people on the wrong attributes to fulfil their potential.’

‘Being enterprising is not necessarily about how much you understand about the workings and operations of business; it is about how you operate yourself. Not everybody has what it takes to strike out into the world of business, and nor should they, but with a little bit of coaching and support everyone can develop and enhance the attitudes and qualities that will serve them well in their future lives and careers. These attitudes and qualities are to do with things like motivation, willingness to learn, their self-reliance, open-mindedness, commitment to making a difference, perseverance, flexibility etc.’

So how can you teach these attitudes and qualities? It requires a focus on the individual and recognition of where each person is at, how they think and behave and personal coaching to help develop and enhance these attributes. ‘A little bit of reflection goes a long way’.
 
That is why I like to use the Enterprise Catalyst as a personal coaching tool, originally developed in the North East by Dr David Johnson. It is a free online self-assessment tool designed originally for a younger school audience but now has versions designed for older audiences and people in business or employment. Over 30,000 young people have already completed the Enterprise Catalyst and the feedback from participants is overwhelmingly positive.

This online profiling tool, that takes five minutes to complete, provides the young person who completes it with their own immediate personalised report designed to promote awareness of enterprise and a positive attitude as an enterprising individual, by providing feedback to the individual on the following behavioural attributes:

1. Their Enterprise Fuel
a. Level of Motivation
b. Level of Self-Belief
c. Willingness to Learn
2. Their Enterprise Style, preferred team role and preferred learning and thinking styles.
3. Sections on Personal Learning and Thinking Skills also make it attractive to teachers who can easily structure classes around the content of the report.

The Enterprise Catalyst is available to use for free at www.enterprisecatalyst.co.uk