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Enterprising vision

4 May 2020

The article at a glance

Why it’s so important to see beyond a crisis and what we can learn from enterprising people, by Bruno Cotta, Director of the …

Why it’s so important to see beyond a crisis and what we can learn from enterprising people, by Bruno Cotta, Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre.

Comic style illustration of enterprising vision.

It was just five years ago that entrepreneur and now philanthropist, Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft, delivered a sobering  TED talk  describing “the next outbreak”, warning that the world was not ready to cope with a global epidemic of the kind that millions of people are now witnessing.

Bruno Cotta, Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre
Bruno Cotta, Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Centre

As each of us attempts to “keep calm and carry on” at home, or at work, two other organisations are similarly known for the foresight of their founders, whose products and services we also depend on daily as this situation unfolds; Apple and Google, have announced the joint development of smartphone technology to rapidly trace contact with COVID-19 (coronavirus).

Meanwhile, even closer to home, the University of Cambridge is partnering with pharmaceutical giants AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline to support the UK’s aim to boost the nation’s COVID-19 testing capacity and nearly 80 companies and academic institutions worldwide are conducting research and development, racing to produce a much-needed vaccine.

This very human spirit of endeavour is also bringing together our next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs in equally timely efforts making a real difference to those on the ‘frontline’, where many talented Cambridge medical students graduating early as new doctors are joining the NHS workforce at this critical time.

Whilst we all hope that this arising risk to our health will subside as soon as possible, nobody can really provide any assurance that we won’t face such things again. It is this ongoing sense of uncertainty, both around and ahead of us, that naturally generates stress and anxiety, as we do our best to adapt to the changing environment of social distancing and other measures.

At times like these, being able to “see beyond” a crisis is a valuable skill, but it’s a huge challenge to maintain this positive vision of what we want the future to look like, when so much that we care about in the present, is demanding our immediate attention or support. If we do give ourselves a moment to pause, we can learn a lot from enterprising people.

They see and exploit strengths, despite weaknesses and they see and exploit opportunities, despite threats. They see failures as stepping-stones to success, rather than reasons to give up. They seem (and need) to be, masters of  resilience.

Such enterprising vision doesn’t have to come from groundbreaking invention or discovery, it could simply be a strong sense of purpose or mission that drives us, but much of what we think (rationally) and feel (emotionally) is inextricable, so it’s hard to see or plan for the future clearly when facing adversity.

Translating vision into action then requires ability and motivation in oneself, but also in others. Enterprising people seem to have an enhanced capacity to creatively generate ideas, but also the skills and support to bring these ideas to life.

In challenging times, they (and all of us) can certainly draw on our “emotional intelligence”, including:

  • Self-awareness – your ability to not only understand your strengths and weaknesses but to recognise your emotions and the effect they have on you and others
  • Self-management - your ability to manage your emotions, particularly in stressful situations, and maintain a positive outlook despite setbacks
  • Social awareness - your ability to recognise others’ emotions and the related dynamics of your organisation
  • Relationship management - your ability to influence, coach, and mentor others, resolving conflict effectively.

So, whatever your own enterprising vision might be, as each of us navigates the coming days and weeks with our family, friends and colleagues, let’s try to understand our strengths, maintain a positive outlook, recognise the needs of others, and influence them for the better.


A version of this article originally appeared on the website of Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.