Social Entrepreneurship This Semester

I am really excited to be taking the social entrepreneurship course with Dr. Kristin Joos at UF.  Her story is inspiring.  Please do take a look.

Final Reflection of an Aspiring Impact Sociologist

Looking back on the blog and thinking about the experiences throughout this course brought a smile to my face.  It has actually been quite fun.  I liked the idea of doing versus taking tests from day one and this has been confirmed week in and week out.

Week 15 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

Working only with women is a novel concept but in America, based on equal opportunity, it would not work.  The rationale behind this approach is sound though and the concept of group lending makes sense because it fosters responsibility, cooperation, and accountability.

Elevator Pitch No. 4

Overall, I received very good feedback concerning previous elevator pitches but one criticism was that I was reading from a script so for this last one, I decided to just wing it.  Another question that people have raised along the way is how do the different initiatives and plans of SORIN functionally work.  This elevator pitch provides one real life example of a financial gap, who can be impacted by it, and how would SORIN respond to it.  Please provide your feedback below.

Venture Concept No. 2

Feedback Summary

I reviewed the feedback from the Venture Concept No. 1 and What's Next posts.  There were a total of 10 comments and all of them had positive feedback.  The most common theme was that my passion for SORIN and the work I plan on doing was picked up by multiple people.  They also respected the research and practicality of the concept and felt that the plan has lots of potential for success.  One person indicated that details about how the plan will be executed were missing.  I agree with this but there are a couple of reasons why this is so.  For one, the SORIN initiative is very ambitious in its scope so I have yet to think through the execution of all the various aspects.  I am still gathering information and seeking counsel.  I also felt like going into too much detail in this setting was not feasible or practical.  Finally, I have laid out a framework for a movement, a concept that will evolve with time.  I am sure there are many facets that have yet to come to light and probably won't until sometime in the future.  I believe there is logic in constructing the SORIN methodology one piece at a time leaving room for flexibility and adaptability along the way.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

The triple bottom line (TBL) is a concept that I was unfamiliar with.  It focuses on a bottom line that goes beyond profit.  It is comprised of economic, environmental, and the social; the profits, people, and the planet.

Google Gold

1) A discussion of your general approach and strategy to search engine optimiation (SEO). What were some of the activities you did for each blog post to pursue SEO?

Very Short Interview, Part 2

The first time through I intended to speak with two entrepreneurs.  I swung for the fences and got a hold of Dan Price of Gravity Payments.  Dan promised to answer the questions via email but never came through even after I did all I could to make it as easy and simple for him.  In the end, what bothered me the most was that he committed but did not deliver.  As someone aiming to craft a socially responsible financial eco-system with SORIN, I relearned the age old lesson about how "your word is your bond" but not from Dan.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

I found the due-diligence and analyzing the business checklists very useful because they approach the acquisition process from two different and necessary perspectives.  Where the analyzing of business checklist focused more practically on the business, how it is structured, and how it functions, the due-diligence checklist was focused on the big picture, the value, and the inherent risks of the business.

Celebrating Failure

The title of Chapter 13 of Stephan Schiffman's book, Telesales, is "Count the 'No' Answers."  Sales is all about overcoming the "NO" but Stephan Schiffman takes it to another level by declaring that a "NO" should be celebrated; it should be counted because every "NO" brings us closer to the inevitable "YES."

My Exit Strategy

The SORIN (SOcially Responsible INitiative) concept that I have been developing throughout this blog is a movement comprised of a central non-profit organization partnered up with for-profit businesses.  The way I conceptualize what needs to be done today and how I envision a potential exit is consistent with the inherent movement nature of the SORIN.

What's Next

Throughout this blog, I have been outlining the concept of SORIN, the SOcially Responsible INitiative.  Take a look at venture concept post for an overview of the initiative.

Existing Market

I believe the next thing I would like to spend more time on is exploring the concept of the SORIN app that I discussed in the Amazon Whisperer post.  This is an idea that I have not fully developed to date.

Interviews

Week 12 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

The fatal visions listed under “Fatal Visions in Strategic Planning” were eye opening in that I never thought about them as such.  I can imagine that entrepreneurs, so focused on making their businesses work, most probably do not realize that they are falling into a fatal vision trap.

Venture Concept No. 1

Opportunity

The American middle class has been the symbol of the American work ethic and prosperity for more than a hundred years.  However, over the last few decades, the middle class has been shrinking or losing ground according to Pew Research.  Their share of income and wealth has been shrinking along with the reality behind the American dream that hard work and meritocracy can propel anyone towards wealth and financial freedom.  The reality is that the system has been rigged to the benefit of the ultra rich since the 1970s and and the recent financial crisis left the middle class incrementally worse off than any other segment of society.  The failure of the financial industry evidenced by the creation of the real estate bubble deprived the middle class of their greatest source of wealth, their homes.

Week 11 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

I had no idea that Corning was such a multi-faceted and successful innovator.  I just knew of them from their cookware but to learn about how they have been and are leaders in glass and plastics was pleasantly surprising.

Amazon Whisperer

The SORIN concept that I have outlined in this blog does not neatly fall within the Amazon Whisperer exercise but I will attempt to do what I can.

Current Revenue Drivers

SORIN represents an attempt to establish a socially responsible financial services eco-system that is comprised of a central non-profit surrounded by for profit financial businesses dedicated to the overall mission of providing socially responsible financial products and services.  SORIN earns revenue through revenue-driven contributions made by its partner businesses (type and amount yet to be determined) for the awareness, credibility, and product development services provided by SORIN, the non-profit.  Additionally, SORIN will seek charitable contributions from individuals and organizations that support and advocate its mission.  SORIN will also seek grants that fit within its mandate and those of the granting organization.

My Unfair Advantage

List of Resources

1. Personal experience with socially responsible financial services:  VRIN (Very valuable for obvious reasons, valuable; my experience is also rare because the socially responsible financial services market is still in a development stage; it is also inimitable because copying experience cannot be done; there are other practitioners in this space so I would say that my experience is substitutable)

Growing My Social Capital

This is a very important assignment but one that proved to be difficult for me for two reasons.  One, I was traveling for a good portion of last week and this week so I was not able to devote enough time to the assignment and two, my concept and the industry it relates to is difficult to pin down.

Week 10 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

This chapter is pretty standard for understanding the basic financial statements and metrics.  Therefore, nothing really was a surprise.  I just found the organization of information to be very useful so it stood out but this is a common theme throughout this excellent text.

Elevator Pitch 3

Reflection

I decided to repost my second elevator pitch because I received all positive feedback for it.  I had addressed the issues identified in my first elevator pitch in it.  I am hoping that by reposting it, either the first set of feedback (4 comments) will be validated or I will get feedback in this round to improve it. Obviously, I was surprised by the overwhelming positive feedback.

Week 9 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

The difference between qualitative and quantitative research and its application was a surprise because I had always considered qualitative research to be more important.

My Secret Sauce

I believe that humility is one of the most important of human traits so this exercise presents an interesting dilemma.  I am supposed to talk about myself so, like it or not, here is an honest attempt at it.

Human Capital:  My Perception

Idea Napkin No. 2

The five important elements of my business concept, SORIN (the SOcially Responsible INitiative) are presented here again with the aim of incorporating the feedback that was provided in Idea Napkin 1.  They are as follows:

1) You.

I am a seasoned financial services professional with 25 years of experience that includes a dozen years working with socially responsible financial services.  Professionally, I have been described as a jack of all trades because my experience is expansive comprising of entrepreneurship, technology, finance, marketing, management, business, and product development.  I see SORIN as the embodiment of my ideals and now consider it my life's work because it integrates all of my past experiences and future educational goals into a cohesive movement dedicated to proving that socially responsible financial services are the antidote to the potentially self-destructive tendencies of free market capitalism.

The Twenty Percent

The 80-20 rule is one of those general principles that applies across industries and organizations.  The objective here was to identify a local business entrepreneur to examine his or her conception of the 80-20 phenomenon so I decided to speak to Marco, who owns a great local Italian restaurant in Brandon, FL called More Italian Bistro & Pizzeria.

Week 8 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

I found the discussion about the types of stock surprising in that there is the potential for a lot of creativity in negotiating and structuring a deal with potential investors.  The ability to take debt to equity with some type of a convertible note is very powerful.

Half-way Reflection of an Aspiring Impact Sociologist

I was looking forward to this course and I have not been disappointed.  The most exciting aspect has been the format because it is all about doing; practical application over theoretical analysis.  This is the way entrepreneurship MUST be taught!

What behaviors have I cultivated to to keep up with this course?

Free Money

How I Gave Away Free Money

Where did I you go?

Right off the bat, I have to admit that this was the most daunting exercise of all.  My first inclination was to go to the beach but then I found about the Ybor City Chocolate Festival in Tampa where food trucks were selling all types of chocolate goodies.  I decided to take my family to this event and conduct the free money exercise so kill two birds with one stone.

Week 7 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

I did not appreciate the detailed history and depth of market segmentation.  The article did a great job in tracing the history of how market segmentation has evolved after changes in product innovation and marketing strategies after WWII.

Elevator Pitch No. 2

SORIN (SOcially Responsible INitiative)

This is a follow up to the first elevator pitch post when, thinking like an impact sociologist, I focused primarily on statistics to make a case for the SORIN, the Socially Responsible Initiative concept.  I received positive feedback - a surprise for sure - on that pitch so in this second version, I decided to try more of an emotional appeal based on real life examples that highlight the problem of the shrinking middle class.  

Customer Interviews No. 3

Finally, this week's interviews made it possible to get feedback on the idea itself:

1) Define your interviewing strategy - I asked people to look at my elevator pitch video using it as a description of the idea and opportunity and comment on it.  I also followed up with questions about some of the key points I was hoping to convey to see if they got them and how they felt about them.

Week 6 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

If you reflect on it, the five competitive forces are pretty intuitive.  The way Michael Porter breaks them down and then provides specific examples was something that I was not expecting and learned a lot from.  His examples were especially pertinent and made the concept come alive.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The difference between factors and forces is something that requires more reflection and research.  The distinction is hard to identify in some situations.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

The exhibit on page 6 shows profitability of selected U.S. industries.  Where is the profitability of financial services companies?  I would speculate that it would be above the mean of 14.9%.

Is it not possible for some factors to be forces in specific industry situations?  For example, government or government regulation may be a competitive force in some heavily regulated industries.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I need to better understand the distinction between forces and factors but overall, I don’t disagree with anything the author wrote.  His competitive force framework is very powerful in analyzing business at the micro to the macro levels.

Idea Napkin No. 1

The five important elements of my business concept, SORIN, the SOcially Responsible INitiative are as follows:

1) You.

I am a seasoned financial services and technology professional with 25 years of experience.  I have been described as a jack of all trades in that I have been experience in technology, finance, marketing, business development, product development, and management.  I see SORIN as being my ultimate accomplishment typing in all my past experiences and future education into a movement dedicated to proving that socially responsible financial services are not only possible but necessary to thwart the potentially self-destructive tendencies of capitalism.

Interviewing Customers No. 2

This week, it was time to hit the road and talk to some folks.  The steps were as follows:

1) Fine tune your opportunity - I believe I am on to something with social responsibility and financial services.  So far, people's opinions are quite varied and I am still searching for and wondering if there is a pattern or trend in this regard.

2) Fine tune the "who" - My opportunity covers a very broad area and I have to interview a lot more people to get a better sense of how people conceptualize the intersection of social responsibility and financial services.  I tried to interview varying types of people who had a greater exposure to financial services since last week, most of the interviews were of college students.  I always felt that my "customer" can be any adult in society because financial services and the economic system impacts everyone and this belief has not changed during this process.

3) Tweaking your interview questions - I will need to ask more detailed questions at a later stage but for now, I am very comfortable with the questionnaire that I have.  It covers people's understanding of social responsibility, its intersection with financial services, and their desire for socially responsible products and services.

Week 5 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

The biggest surprise for me was the Entrepreneurial Business on E-Bay box listing various tools that E-Bay makes available to entrepreneurs.  I did not know of their existence but can see how properly assessing them can really lead to success on the E-Bay platform.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

Truth be told, this was a pretty straight forward chapter and I did not find anything really confusing with the exception of a couple of ratios listed in table 6.3.  I plan to review them in more detail.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would ask why the differences between a feasibility analysis of different types of businesses were not identified.  There is a big difference between say a manufacturing startup versus a professional services one.

I would also like to know which new-venture evaluation approach (profile analysis or feasibility criteria or comprehensive feasibility) is better and how does it relate to different types of start-ups?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

Again, this was a straight forward chapter so there was not much to disagree with except that the author should have spelled out how the various assessment techniques differ from one type of start-up versus another.

Elevator Pitch No. 1

SORIN (SOcially Responsible INitiative)

In my top 5 world problems post, thinking like an impact sociologist, I listed capitalist cultural hegemony as the top problem.  So this elevator pitch is for SORIN, the socially responsible initiative, a movement dedicated to social justice in the financial services space.

Week 4 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

I thought the section on entrepreneurial imagination and creativity was excellent.  The text did a fantastic job looking at both the right and left brain aspects of entrepreneurship.  The four phases of the creative process were defined very well and the advice offered really hit home.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The complementary or appositional relationship took some time to sink in.  I don't know if it was confusing or just something that I never thought about in that way.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

Why not list more creative exercises?  This would help, especially those people that want to train themselves to become entrepreneurs and creative thinkers.

Why not add more global perspective sections?  This would allow people to get a flavor of the business and entrepreneurial climate in different parts of the world and introduce them to different cultural trends and incongruities.

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I am going to keep going back to the common theme that great entrepreneurs can be trained.  I am still not convinced about this.  I can see that people can learn to be entrepreneurs but the great ones are born with a little something extra.

Customer Interviews No. 1

This week, it was time to hit the road and talk to some folks.  The steps were as follows:

1) Find an opportunity - With an aim of becoming an impact sociologist, I decided to focus on social responsibility and financial services.  I designed a simple questionnaire to assess where people stand in relation to these concepts.

2) Figure out who might have the unmet need - Financial services impacts everyone in different ways from collegians dealing with student loans, to individuals figuring out what insurance to purchase, to businesses looking to secure financing for growth.  Hence, I wanted to talk to anyone and everyone who is willing to share their thoughts in order to understand the unique needs of different types of people.

3) Come up with a list of questions. I came up with a list of 5 questions that attempted to understand what people believe social responsibility is all about and how they relate it to financial services.

Top 5 World Problems Ordered by an Aspiring Impact Sociologist

This is the third post following up on the original bug list, which led to the world's 10 biggest problems post dealing with issues and problems on different levels.  Today, after thinking about it some more, I will list the top 5 problems and spend more time outlining potential solutions with an emphasis on practical implementation; a "feasibility analysis" if you may.

This is just an attempt by an aspiring impact sociologist to rank the world's biggest problems and is always open to critique and debate.  I hope that we will continue to think about OUR problems so that we can begin to IMPLEMENT solutions that will benefit humanity at large.

Top 5 World Problems Ranked From Most Serious

Week 3 Reading Reflection

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

The Entrepreneurship in Practice section spoke of a Harvard Business School study that showed the chances of future success for experienced entrepreneurs being 34% as compared with previously failed entrepreneurs, 23% and 22% for first time entrepreneurs.  I had always heard that investors favored working with entrepreneurs who are experienced or who have failed previously because they would have learned from that experience.  I was really surprised that the difference between failed and new entrepreneurs was only 1%.  Somehow this still does not make sense to me.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The metacognitive perspective was new to me hence was more confusing than other sections.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

Why not devote more attention to entrepreneurial motivation?  This is the one area that would really benefit new and experienced entrepreneurs.

42 characteristics are often attributed to entrepreneurs based on table 2.1.  Some of these seem inconsequential and even redundant.  Has research not determined a shorter list that is more meaningful?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I will go back to the study cited as part of my answer to question 1.  The author should have showed more compelling evidence suggesting that the difference between the chances of success of a failed versus new entrepreneur are negligible.

Identifying Local Opportunities

The local opportunities discussed in this post are from the local Tampa - St. Petersburg area.

Local Opportunity 1

• For middle-income families, Obamacare costs are a Catch-22
• Obamacare has accomplished the goal of providing access to millions of Americans but for many Americans, premium costs place it beyond their reach.
• Premium costs for Obamacare may be low and for low income families, tax credits are available, but for many premium plus out of pocket costs to meet deductible requirements make health insurance still an unattainable dream.
• Middle class families, especially those earning around $48,000 who are just on the wrong side of the tax credit cutoff, are suffering the most.

Local Opportunity 2

• Letters: Fracking bad for water supply, property values
• A letter responding to and arguing against an article advocating pro-fracking bills in Florida.
• Fracking is bad for health due to potential contamination to local water supplies and ultimately reduces property values.
• Anyone living within a mile of a fracking facility is impacted by reduced property values and health concerns.

Local Opportunity 3

• State senators scrutinize violence in Florida's mental hospitals
• A follow up into what has happened since a Tampa Bay Times and Sarasota Herald-Tribune yearlong investigation into state run mental hospitals.
• Mental hospitals are not being funded adequately and this is leading to decrepit conditions, violence, and even death in state run facilities.
• The state of Florida is 49th in the country in mental health spending.

Local Opportunity 4

• Proposed Madeira Beach development draws room full of objections
• A battler over the building height of a proposed luxury hotel complex and the traffic congestion it would cause for local Madeira Beach residents.
• The size of new hotel complex will increase traffic and congestion in the area according to local residents.
• The city of Madeira Beach and local residents living in the immediate vicinity of the newly proposed hotel complex.

Local Opportunity 5

• Thousands rally in Tallahassee urging teachers' union to 'drop the suit'
• Coverage of a rally in support of the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program that is being challenged by the Florida Education Association (FEA).
• The FEA is contending that the Florida Tax Credit Program is diverting money away from the public school system so they are challenging its constitutionality.
• The FEA has the problem with the tax credit.

Very Short Interview No. 1 (Two)

My hope with the entrepreneur interview was to get two viewpoints.  Therefore, from an impact sociologist perspective, I reached out to Dan Price who is the founder and CEO of Gravity Payments, a credit card payment processing company that is community focused and committed to conducting business in a responsible fashion.  Dan was awarded entrepreneur of the year in 2014 by Entrepreneur Magazine but his real claim to fame is being recognized as the $70K CEO because he made sure that everyone at Gravity Payments earns at least $70,000.

Gravity's financial services focus and Dan's commitment to social responsibility made him an ideal candidate for me to approach.  He responded promptly but did express that due to time constraints he may not be able to meet my deadline.  I pressed further and he promised to give it his best effort.  The big lesson learned in this instance was that I should have approached him sooner being more considerate about the fact that successful entrepreneurs are very busy.

I also wanted to get a multi-dimensional perspective so I contacted Asif Khan who is a CPA and owns his own CPA firm in the Tampa area.  Asif has been quite successful continuing to grow his accounting practice over the years through excellent service and multiple acquisitions.  I felt that Asif's accounting background and exposure to many businesses would allow him to offer entrepreneurial advice from both vantage points, an entrepreneur and a professional who regularly works with entrepreneurs and has a good sense of their characteristics and best practices.  I asked Dan and Asif the same three questions.

Question:  How would you define entrepreneurship?  Is it restricted to business ventures only?

Dan's Answer:  Coming soon...

Asif's Answer:   I would define entrepreneurship as developing or launching a product or service based on certain resources in order to make a profit.  So since I said profit, I believe it is restricted to businesses only and for profit only.  I would consider a non profit organization more a social work rather than entrepreneurship.

Question:  What do you think I should learn in an entrepreneurship course?

Dan's Answer:  Coming soon...

Asif's Answer:   I think in any business venture the most important thing to learn is to manage risk.  There are a lot of resources given and what business managers fail to do is manage the risk and usually they don't have clear vision so if you learn how to manage risk you can really be a good business manager.

Question:  What do you wish you had been taught in school before setting out on your own path as an entrepreneur?

Dan's Answer:  Coming soon...

Asif's Answer:  I would say again managing uncertainties is very important.  What is usually taught in school is usually black and white but when you go to the real work you see that you're faced with uncertainties that you have to really manage with given resources so if in business school, you're taught the real life uncertainties that business managers of certain type faces that would be really helpful.

Dan was quite busy this week so I sent questions to him via email and I was able to speak to Asif on the phone.  The biggest surprise was how quickly Dan and Asif responded to my inquiries.  They are both very busy people but they showed a keen interest in helping out.  I look forward to following up with them in a few weeks.

World's Biggest Problems - The Assessment of an Aspring Impact Sociologist

This might appear to be too much of a coincidence if you read my original bug list but, scout's honor, I had no idea that the next task would be to identify the world's biggest problems.  So I am compelled to build off of what I wrote last week but this time, I plan to start with the problems that I believe are more causes than symptoms and work my way down to those that are more symptoms than causes.

Before we get to it, please note that this list is not inclusive by any means and a ranking of problems in this way is my take and is very much open to debate and open to interpretation.  In the end, as an aspiring impact sociologist, I just hope that my sociological perspective helps you reflect on our collective problems until you are ready to make a concerted effort to take action in whatever meaningful way you deem appropriate.

The World's Biggest Problems

1. The Gradual Unleashing of the Capitalist Ethic

Slowly but surely the laissez-a-faire capitalist ethic of profit maximization and free market has been prevailing.  This has led to a world where inequality, poverty, environmental pollution, sweat shops, and other symptoms of a capitalist system, especially where largely devoid of regulation, is causing great distress in the world.  The remaining list will highlight some of these symptoms but candid reflection and logical analysis will point to the gradual unleashing of capitalism over the past few hundred years as the cause.  This does not mean that we have not overcome some or even a lot of problems that the laissez-a-faire capitalist ethic has wrought but it appears to me that we continue to bandage the wound that just pops up again at different times and places with varying symptoms.  The solution is not easy nor do I proclaim to have a magical answer but it revolves around reforming the capitalist ethic so that profit maximization must be balanced with social good and free market must be regulated to protect consumers at all costs.

2. The Globalization of Individualistic Culture

In order for capitalism to realize its full laissez-a-faire potential, the concept of laissez-a-faire must be made to extend beyond just governmental regulation becoming part and parcel of an individual's self-conception.  Hence, Western culture (American culture) - globalizing across the globe since the advent of imperialism - has been built on the concept of individualism which posits that everyone should mind their own business so that every man or woman is able to pursue his or her concept of freedom and happiness.

In order for this to happen, people's historical affinity with religion; their connection with a supreme being (an individual's conception of a deity) had to be broken because religion holds some universal values as absolute (helping to reign in capitalism) and ultimately demands adherents to be accountable to a higher authority.  Individualism, on the other hand, preaches that everyone pursuing his or her self interests will somehow be accountable to each other eventually leading to a collective balance and harmony in society.

Human actions throughout history and during present times continue to demonstrate that when we are accountable to each other, the powerful will oppress the less fortunate.  Exceptions may exist as with anything but the general rule is what I am referring to.  In an individualistic culture that is not accountable to a higher authority, values will always be subjective and shifting because morality and ethics will be self-defined and inherently self-promoting.  How will we ever be able to achieve peace, prosperity, and equitable treatment for all standing on such an evolving and shaky foundation?  Religious people, as a rule, have also fallen prey to this trap because they fail to internalize beliefs into a way of life that is truly accountable to their recognized deity.  The way towards a solution is take the best of an individualistic culture and meld it with a collectivist culture and for people to seek accountability from a higher authority of their choosing.  

These laissez-a-faire conceptions of capitalism and individualism are, in my humble opinion, the root causes of the problems we see in the world today.  The rest of the problems in this list are more symptoms or sub-causes within the umbrella of capitalism and individualism.

3. Human Automatons

The classic black and white film Metropolis and the modern Matrix trilogy depict a world where people are essentially automatons going about their business, cogs in the greater capitalist society, unable to see the reality that they are being manipulated and oppressed by others.  Today, we are engrossed in such a system that manufactures us to be parts of the machine and distracts us with worldly possessions (materialism) and entertainment (i.e. music, movies, games, sports) so that we do not have the time nor the will to reflect on our  predicament and work towards improving our individual and collective relationships.  Such a stressful life may just be toxic for us.

Social science demonstrates through experiments such as the classic Milgram Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment to what extent human beings will go to oppress each other when urged by authority or by even by adopting to the roles inherent in a given situation.  The Holocaust, the Mail Lai Massacre and the Abu Ghraib torture experiences bring these chilling realities home because these were not social science experiments but real life incidents of human automatons' capacity for oppression.  See solution to number 2.

4. Inequality:  The Wealth and Poverty Divide

Laissez-a-faire Capitalism fuels inequality by funneling wealth to a very small minority.  This is not something that can be altered.  It is the essential nature of capitalism.  Regulation and other measures are just band-aids.  The result in America is over 45 million people living with poverty and according to the World Bank, over 2 billion people living off of less than $3.10 a day or less than $12,000 per year.  In contrast, unless current trends reverse, the wealth of the world's richest 1% will surpass that of the rest of the 99% during this year (2016).  See solution number 1.

5. The War Machine

For capitalism, war is just another revenue stream.  By war, I mean state versus state conflicts, civil wars, terrorist acts, gang war, drug war, or basically anything that requires a group of people in armed physical conflict against another.  Whether small or large, every conflict needs weapons of varying types that someone is manufacturing and profiting from.  See solution to number 1.

6. Prejudice, Discrimination and Racism

Living lives focused on ourselves, competing with everyone else, and without being accountable to a higher authority in the truest sense, are we surprised that prejudice resides in our hearts, seeps into our discriminatory actions, and permeates as institutional racism into our society.  The examples are everywhere plain as daylight.  Only those blind to reality itself will not perceive them.  See solution to number 2.

7. Toxic Stress

When it comes to disease, we can point to many that are major problems in the world such as cancer, aids, drug addiction, malaria, among others but diseases that affect our children directly impact our future as human beings.  In this vein, recent medical attention is being brought to the ailment of toxic stress that mostly afflicts people on the wrong side of inequality and those habitually struggling with poverty.  The more I learned about toxic stress the more I realized that if we don't take action against the root causes of our problems, we are not only harming ourselves, others but tragically even our future generations.

To see what I mean, watch the Harvard University video on toxic stress below and start by reviewing the American Academy of Pediatrics approach to toxic stress and this article on American Psychological Association's website.  See solution to number 1.

8. The Destruction of the Environment

Capitalism and its thirst for profits and markets, at any cost, is destroying our environment.  Just today, news came out that 2015 was the hottest year in recorded history and the previous record was held by 2014.  In America, routinely companies expose minority and poor communities to environmental pollution because they have a better chance of getting away with it.  See solution to number 1.

9. Technology:  A Friend and an Enemy

Technology is great.  Medical science has extended our life spans and improved our daily living conditions, sanitation has enhanced living conditions, transportation has made it possible for us to traverse great distances but we have also built weapons of mass destruction and our e waste is destroying the environment and exploiting billions of people who earn a measly and dangerous livelihood as its scavengers.

Neil Postman, in his book, Technopoly the Surrender of Culture to Technology, warned us that technology is the type of friend that shouldn't be trusted blindly.

In fact, most people believe that technology is a staunch friend. There are two reasons for this. First, technology is a friend. It makes life easier, cleaner, and longer. … Second, because of its lengthy, intimate, and inevitable relationship with culture, technology does not invite a close examination of its own consequences. It is the kind of friend that asks for trust and obedience, which most people are inclined to give because its gifts are truly bountiful. (xii)

See solution to number 2.

10. Political Correctness

How can we practice accountability to any degree if we are constantly afraid that we will offend someone?  How can we build relationships that are truly meaningful if we can't be completely honest with each other because we are afraid to hurt each other's feelings?  How can we expect our children to be accountable if we don't let them experience failure along with success?  Political correctness may have had sound beginnings but just like anything else in life, it not balanced, it becomes another way towards oppression.  See solution to number 2. 

Week 2 Reading Reflection

The first chapter was well-constructed and pleasant to read.  I appreciated the groundwork laid for future chapters and the framework from which entrepreneurship will be examined.

Questions

1) What was the biggest surprise for you in the reading? In other words, what did you read that stood out the most as different from your expectations?

The history of entrepreneurship, especially the origin of the word from French, was a surprise.  I was also intrigued by how the concept of entrepreneurship has been expanding outside of just the business realm.  This is actually productive because innovation, passion, and resources are needed to solve problems that fall outside of the scope of business but the processes and dedication of business are very much needed to tackle all kinds of problems.

2) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

The schools of thoughts were confusing to some degree but mostly because the concept was one that I have not thought about much before.  With further reading, I am sure this will become clear.

3) If you were able to ask two questions to the author, what would you ask? Why?

I would want to know if this great emphasis on entrepreneurship – the heroes of today – is diluting the field or bringing so many people into it for the wrong reasons.
How dangerous are gazelles?  I say this because striving for 20% or more success, for many entrepreneurs, can be quite dangerous.  Shouldn’t expectations be tempered by lowering the “gazelle” bar?

4) Was there anything you think the author was wrong about? Where do you disagree with what she or he said? How?

I do believe that there are many dimensions or aspects of entrepreneurship and much of it can be taught but there is also something special about entrepreneurs that truly make a difference.  This is only the first chapter of the text so my thinking is open and could change dramatically but as of now, I still believe that the great entrepreneurs are born with something that others do not have.  So I am not convinced that entrepreneurship or everything about it can be taught or learned.