When entrepreneurship students focus on creating value instead of just starting businesses, they develop skills that will benefit them throughout their careers. Those with a growth mindset believe they can continually enhance their entrepreneurial abilities and use these skills to positively impact society.
Since few students have the means to start their own companies, schools shouldn’t measure the success of their entrepreneurial programs by the number of businesses students launch. Instead, schools should help students identify opportunities for value creation and understand the purpose behind their entrepreneurial activities.
The Goal of Business Schools
The ultimate goal for business schools with entrepreneurship programs is to ensure students think entrepreneurially and aim to create value for society. One way to achieve this is by helping students develop growth mindsets. This mindset fosters the belief that with time, effort, and the right strategies, students can continually improve their entrepreneurial skills and make a positive societal impact.
Understanding Mindsets
To grasp the importance of a growth mindset, it’s essential to understand how mindsets work. According to psychologist Carol Dweck, individuals form beliefs about whether human abilities and characteristics can change. A person with a fixed mindset believes abilities are static, while someone with a growth mindset believes they can be developed.
People can have different mindsets in various areas of their lives. For instance, one might have a growth mindset about athletic ability but a fixed mindset about artistic talent. The good news is that mindsets can be changed through practical exercises and strategies.
Encouraging Growth in Entrepreneurship
Business schools can promote growth mindsets toward entrepreneurship by providing evidence that developing such mindsets can enhance students’ confidence and interest in entrepreneurial activities. This leads to long-term engagement in entrepreneurship, both academically and professionally.
New Metrics for Success
Business schools often judge the success of their entrepreneurship programs by the number of student startups. However, most students are not ready to start businesses during or immediately after school due to their age, limited resources, and lack of experience.
Instead, schools should measure success by how well they prepare students to create value. They should encourage students to articulate the purpose behind their entrepreneurial efforts and focus on creating societal impact, not just starting businesses.
Broadening Perspectives
Schools should adopt a broader perspective on entrepreneurship, emphasizing that it’s about more than just starting businesses. They should encourage students to think about the purpose behind their entrepreneurial activities and focus on creating value in various contexts.
Identifying Opportunities
Students should be encouraged to identify opportunities for societal impact and sustainability. For instance, when brainstorming ideas, they should consider gaps in the marketplace, problems they’ve experienced, and needed innovations. Pitch competitions should also emphasize value creation, not just venture creation.
Beyond Careers
Schools should also help students see beyond their careers to other ways they can contribute to society, such as through volunteer work and charitable activities. This broader view will help students apply entrepreneurial principles to various aspects of their lives.
Shifting Educational Approaches
Promoting a growth mindset in entrepreneurship requires schools to change how they view success and failure in their programs. Schools should see students as value creators rather than products, adopting a holistic view of societal impact through entrepreneurial action.
By focusing on value creation, schools can foster a growth mindset that students will use throughout their careers to create positive societal impact. This shift in mindset will help schools develop more realistic and impactful metrics for their entrepreneurship programs.
