Entrepreneurship | David M Howie

This month shall be paramount in developing A-LEAF going forward. It all starts today with Scottish Business Week 2022. Business, What Business? What am I in Business to do? Well, it is not to build up the funds in my bank account. If increasing my account balance was the goal. I could have continued my hunt for employment with the Scottish Government or Glasgow City Council. No. am in business to build a better me. And, to build resistance in Scottish Communities.

Earlier this morning I found out Rule_ette_out (Darren) win the Alliance Scotland self-management award. Darren offers peer-to-peer support for people struggling with gambling addictions. Darren’s story got me thinking about A-LEAF’s Purpose, Values, and, Vision. Not only A-LEAF’s Purpose, Values, and, Vision but also my own. What makes me the person I am today. What makes me have the Purpose, Values, and, Vision I have today? In another blog post, I concluded that my childhood Medulloblastoma was the reason I am the same person today as the child I once was. Nigel Warburton- writing the textbook ‘The Self for the Open University module A222 Exploring Philosophy, would be so proud of me. I have to amend that conclusion. You see the Entrepreneur genius test says am a Dynamo Genius. What is a Dynamo Genius? It’s me, I just told you that. Dynamo Genius, such as myself, use your Frontal lobe more than other parts of the brain. When the location of the Medulloblastoma in the brain. Being a Dynamo Genius completely makes sense.

Am a dreamer, I have my head in the clouds. I want to save the world one community at a time. Yes, that sounds about right. When Ben Freedman & Craig Carey- authors of 4th Sector Entrepreneurship say fourth sector organisations take on the Purpose, Values, and, Vision of their owners. That is also true. I have still to define A-LEAf’s PVVs. They will be up on the A-LEAF page of the website later today. With the A-LEAF website up ASAP.

On Wednesday I have a meeting with the Scottish Government’s Human rights lived experience board. What I am about to suggest is that Human Rights are the writings of Dynamo Genius. Or you could look at it another way. After World War Two the Frontal lobe of world leaders took over their brains- all world leaders became Dynamo Geniuses.

The fact that everyone can think with their Frontal lobe after a major life-changing event. Opens up the question. Why as societies as Human beings, can we not Upstream?

To stop the cats from drowning in the river, find out why there are so many cats in the river in the first place.

paraphrased from Upstream by Dan Heath

I started this blog off by pointing out it Is Scottish Business week. As a Business leader, to be. I want to put to my colleagues at the Scottish Business week. Should we not be in the business of adding more people to our boards that think with their Frontal lobes?

This would be a good place to end this blog post. However, am not going to do that. Am going to ask a question. Two questions. Question one of two. Given Darren’s exigency to support others. And given we all know someone like Darren. Why is it not all our Business to support the Darren’s in our Scottish communities?

Final question. Wednesday’s Scottish Government’s Human rights lived experience board meeting is on the cost of living. And, given that it is widely known that people who require access to self-directed support have the highest cost of living. Why is it not all our business to reduce the cost of living for
everyone in our Scottish societies?

Ben Freedman & Craig Carey in the book 4th Sector Entrepreneurship. Suggest Social enterprises take on the values of their owner(s). Given I follow good social science procedures (not so much). And, according to Jennifer A Moon’s book Reflection: in Learning Professional Development. I now have to reflect on how my personality has shaped A-LEAF to date. As I said to David Lyon- jobs and Business Glasgow, last night I once considered that Third Sector organisations would step up and fill the void resulting from spending cuts. However, “understandings of the world [lived experience] that people bring to a learning situation” (Moon, 1999, p. 3) are immensely overlooked. For example, David still refers to Social Enterprise organisations as the third sector. As does Caledoinain Business School I should add. I, however, take the view that Social Enterprises are in a sector of their own.

Am I correct? Is David Lyon and Glasgow Caledonian Business School wrong? No, it is the other way around. According to social norms. Am wrong. If am wrong then Ben Freedman & Craig Carey are also wrong. Here is the perfect opportunity to remind the reader the name of the blog and podcast is ‘so wrong, it is write (right)’- meaning if it is written into law or has become a social norm. No matter how wrong it is or how unethical it is viewed to be right in the eyes of the beholder.

What does all the talk about Third Sector/ Fourth Sector mean for the Social Enterprise A-LEAF? As Moon rightly points out lived experience is paramount. A-LEAF is shaped a lot by how I am. The values and the goals of the company are shaped by who I am both professionally and personally.

Here though is where I think Ben Freedman & Craig Carey are as far down the echo chamber as everyone that follows social norms. I am reminded of the book “that’s not how we do it here! By John Kotter. The world is neither black- all social enterprises must be in the fourth sector. And, the value systems of social enterprises must be shaped by their owner’s lived experiences. The world is also not white as the policy farmwork or social norms would have citizens believe. The world is grayscale. The world has many different voices. I believe the values and the mission goals A-LEAF will have moving forward will be shaped by listening and hearing all the voices in our grayscale world.

What I originally wanted to do with this blog was to show how in part how A-LEAF is shaped by my lived experiences. Hopefully, the reader did not miss that point. My colleague Iain also played a significant part in shaping A-LEAF. As did Mairi Lowe and Liisa Lehtinen of Sustainable Fashion Scotland all be it indirectly. Here is the fundamental point, I hope the reader takes this away. If you do not do any reflection on it. at least think about it. A-LEAF’s tagline is:

A rising tide lifts all the boats; only when the original focus is on rising the little boats.

If the only thing, you take away after reading this is anything. I want it to be this. In society there are many little boats, make sure you hear their voice.