Are we open minded enough in business?

Dorsal

Allow me to start a discussion.

Let's start it with a line from Mr. Donald Trump (which should get the blood running through the veins of most, for good or for bad):

"I like thinking Big. If you're going to be thinking, you might as well think Big".

The problem I find, as a businessman in the Republic is a lack of openness. All too often we are presented (and indeed, present to others) business ideas, affiliate opportunities and marketing campaigns and concepts, only to be met with hostility and over-extreme caution.

What ever happened to entrepreneurial minds meeting and assisting the evolution of a place, industry or market specific? To real people doing something that will enthuse change and evolution?

A point for discussion - can we really evolve ourselves, our businesses and our corporate society if people don't network and communicate ideas? If people are not open to new concepts and affiliations?

Does anybody feel that banks and semi-state 'expansion providers' really do what they suggest? Or is there too much red tape? Are innovation and new concepts catered for and nurtured or do these organisations rely on dated and tired industries for self-security reasons? Do new companies stay away from such institutoins due to a lack of understanding on their part? Have times moved on and surpassed such institutions?

Business is too closed and requires some new imagination - Agree? Disagree?

Discuss!

I am eager to learn about other people's experiences with regards to this mindset and I am very interested in chatting to, working with and assisting inidivduals and companies who want to make waves.

xha1r

Very good first post from a fellow D6'er.

I think you're very right in what you say, enterprise is about taking risks but I think there's far less of that here than in the States.

faceman

I disagree to some degree with my experience. (which granted is only limited to some fields)

There are so many factors investors need to take into account before investing. A good idea is only one of them.

antoinolachtnai

It's basically a conservative country, even though it is quite young. That is an aspect of the culture. It isn't just business, it's the whole system.

imeddyhobbs

Dorsal wrote:

Allow me to start a discussion.

Let's start it with a line from Mr. Donald Trump (which should get the blood running through the veins of most, for good or for bad):

"I like thinking Big. If you're going to be thinking, you might as well think Big".

The problem I find, as a businessman in the Republic is a lack of openness. All too often we are presented (and indeed, present to others) business ideas, affiliate opportunities and marketing campaigns and concepts, only to be met with hostility and over-extreme caution.

What ever happened to entrepreneurial minds meeting and assisting the evolution of a place, industry or market specific? To real people doing something that will enthuse change and evolution?

A point for discussion - can we really evolve ourselves, our businesses and our corporate society if people don't network and communicate ideas? If people are not open to new concepts and affiliations?

Does anybody feel that banks and semi-state 'expansion providers' really do what they suggest? Or is there too much red tape? Are innovation and new concepts catered for and nurtured or do these organisations rely on dated and tired industries for self-security reasons? Do new companies stay away from such institutoins due to a lack of understanding on their part? Have times moved on and surpassed such institutions?

Business is too closed and requires some new imagination - Agree? Disagree?

Discuss!

I am eager to learn about other people's experiences with regards to this mindset and I am very interested in chatting to, working with and assisting inidivduals and companies who want to make waves.

Disagree with your outlook.
If you lack vision then dont blame others
100's of business opportunities are springing up while you are trying to answer obvious questions

jayok

I would agree with the OPs post.

As a country with business ideas, we are very conservative. We don't really embrace a new way of doing things, as the old way was just fine. Consider for example the Americans or Japanese, there is a culture there of "good for you" for starting a new idea. Here it's typically met with "what do you want to be doing that for".

I recently looked at diversifying our business, only to me met with closed door and knock backs. Fortunately I am not one who would take this to heart. However, it certainly make things difficult.

As for the semi-state bodies, such as Enterprise Ireland, we have never used these (even though we started as a very small company, and have grown) as the red-tape an apathy display byt these to indigenous companies is incredible.

Generally Ireland doesn't nurture innovation, it simply supressed it until some other country develops an idea to the point where we can copy it.