“It is increasingly possible to make money and be true to oneself”, argues Colin Coulson-Thomas of the University of Lincoln. The Professor’s continuing investigation into opportunities for entrepreneurship and how best to succeed reveals that increasingly people both want to have it all and can have it all. His book ‘Individuals and Enterprise’* shows how.
Speaking this week at the 4th international engaged research conference being held at the university’s Lincoln campus Prof. Coulson-Thomas will explain how the principles set out in ‘Individuals and Enterprise’ can enable people to achieve both commercial success and personal fulfilment.
According to Coulson-Thomas:
Yet for many the ‘good life’ remains elusive. Coulson-Thomas finds: “From time to time many individuals consider their future or a change of direction. Some seek a more equitable balance between work and life, or want more control over their destiny. Others harbour a desire to become entrepreneurs. They are fed up being a piece on someone else’s chess board and want to play their own game.”
Coulson-Thomas explains: “People can experience a range of emotions, from apprehension on starting a new job or when facing re-organisation or a change in circumstances, to a mid-life or family crisis. Some are plagued by demons in the night. They lack a driving sense of purpose and come to question what they are doing with their lives.”
Appropriate guidance can be difficult to find. The Professor suggests: “People weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different courses of action. They listen to their heads not their hearts. They assess whether the risks and costs involved will outweigh desired benefits. They wonder whether the grass really will be greener on the other side of the fence.”
Colin Coulson-Thomas’
The central message of ‘Individuals and Enterprise’ is one of hope. Prof. Coulson-Thomas believes: “There should be so much more to life than waiting to die. We have a historic opportunity to reconcile people and organisations. Employers can sometimes become enterprise partners. There are so many options. Entrepreneurship is for all, not just a favoured few. Just about anyone could become an entrepreneur of some form and on their own terms if they approached it in the right way.”
The Professor wrote ‘Individuals and Enterprise’ to help people to better understand themselves, create opportunities that are right for them and work with the grain. He believes: “It is better to be warmed by the sun than burned by it. Whether people work with an existing employer or break out, creating a new venture is easier when people do it their way. Measure yourself against your own aspirations rather than compare yourselves with others. Be and remain true to yourself. Dreams can be turned into realities.”
*’Individuals and Enterprise, creating entrepreneurs for the new millennium through personal transformation’
Colin Coulson-Thomas, author of ‘Individuals and Enterprise’, is an experienced founder chairman of award-winning companies and Professor of Direction and Leadership at the University of Lincoln. He has helped over 100 entrepreneurial teams to build their businesses; authored over 40 books and reports including ‘The Knowledge Entrepreneur’
