July 15, 2024
Collaboration in Entrepreneurship Education
Last summer I was sitting amongst 3,000 people in a crowded auditorium taking copious notes while the speaker waxed eloquently on the key skills needed to thrive in the brave new world we are entering. Much has been said about 21st century skills and the need to empower students to thrive amid such volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). This particular speaker, Malcolm Gladwell, highlighted one skill as most important. In his own words, “Collaboration is the skill of the 21st century.”
Collaboration may well be the skill of the 21st century, but the concept is certainly not new. A famous African proverb lays out a similar message: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Collaboration has been at the heart of progress and growth since the cultivation of human society, and yet we are entering a world where the development of this skill is more important than ever before.
A generation ago, collaboration would have been lumped together with a host of other “soft skills” and packaged as a nice add-on for employees entering their respective fields. Hard skills were required, and soft skills were encouraged. Over time, however, the shift has taken place wherein these so-called “soft skills” became to be seen as more important even than their counterparts—these skills enabled workers to be flexible, to demonstrate grit, and to creatively problem solve. As a result, they became called “durable skills.” Simon Sinek has now even referred to them as “human skills”—especially interesting as this differentiates them from the AI-dominated space.
One space, however, where collaboration has not always been seen as “the skill” is entrepreneurship. Often, entrepreneurs are hailed as the lone wolves—the siloed geniuses who strive forward alone and build empires. Entrepreneurs the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos garner screen time and national attention with every decision, and as this lone wolf myth is perpetuated, our students begin to accept more and more the idea of the “solopreneur.”
Nothing could be further from the truth.
When we venture down the path of the solopreneur and encourage our students to silo themselves and create their own individual business models (often that compete with the business models of other students), we are pointing them toward a path of loneliness and social anxiety.
Instead, entrepreneurship education can and should be the space for collaboration. In previous articles, I have argued for the need for educators to teach the entrepreneurial mindset in all grade levels and in all subjects, and in doing so, we bring real-world applicability to our lessons and prepare students for the future, however uncertain. One primary way we can do this is by encouraging a team-focused approach to student business creation.
Having an on-campus business, run by students, is central to having an effective entrepreneurship program—not having a place for students to test and practice their ideas would be similar to having a swimming program without a pool.
More and more schools are jumping on board with the concept of having one or multiple student-run business ventures on the campus. The coffee bar model is tried and true, as is the school store and the concession stand. These student-run businesses offer more than just a real-world application of the entrepreneurial mindset—they offer a laboratory for collaboration.
When students come together, united by a common vision and working toward a clear goal, the result is often magical. This doesn’t mean it isn’t still messy and confusing and frustrating at times (after all, we’re dealing with humans), but it does mean that students are developing key skills through the experience. Collaboration is an essential human skill—when we learn to work together, when we understand the primary concept that other people exist. It is nothing short of a building block to the development of empathy.
I have seen this happen time and time again over the last ten years of building an entrepreneurship program at a K-12 school in Cincinnati, Ohio. The example that stands out the most is the story behind the creation of our fine dining restaurant. When I tell people that we have a student-operated business on our K-12 campus serving multi-course culinary experiences on par with high-end restaurants, I get looks of disbelief. Until they come to see it for themselves.
Fine Dining Club from Stephen Carter on Vimeo.
And while the concept started as the dream of a single student, the execution of the idea required a dedicated team and a whole heap of the entrepreneurial mindset. In the end, as amazing and cool as the restaurant turned out to be, what the students learned through the process was even better.
Six students came together and created the Wildly Important Goal (WIG) of starting a business so remarkable that they got featured on Good Morning America (spoiler alert—they have not been on Good Morning America yet). In crafting this goal, they went through the four stages of business creation and moved from ideation to creation and ultimately to launch and then growth.
During ideation, the students researched the fine dining industry and attempted course after course to perfect a menu. In the creation stage, the students designed a logo and a marketing plan driven by their agreed upon mission, vision, and values. When they launched, they had a sold-out dinner where they served eight courses to the guests and executed the concept impeccably. In the growth phase, the students worked to operationalize the business so it could be handed off to a new group of students the following year.
This fall, the fine dining restaurant on our campus will enter its third year of operation with a mostly new crew of student leaders. All along the way, the students have collaborated to grow the business together, overcoming obstacles and garnering life skills along every step of the way.
In short, when the entrepreneurial mindset is infused throughout the educational experience, the development of 21st century skills becomes a byproduct of student engagement—collaboration leads to effective communication, creative problem solving, and the development of grit.
The future of education is bright indeed!
You may also be interested in reading more articles written by Stephen Carter for Intrepid Ed News.
