What are the key challenges facing your generation? Op.

In your opinion, what are the key challenges facing your generation? *
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“Act as though it were impossible to fail.” Millennials. Challenged to frame obstacles as opportunities; create synergistic communities; and reconcile it all into a single perfect ledger- one would opine that this generation is primed to resolve such complexities by applying innovative knowledge and using the skill of self-starting entrepreneurs. Inspired by Dorothea Brande’s cross-generational clarion call on one hand, we find Scientific Director, Philippe Chereau’s video explanation of the SKEMA MSc in Entrepreneurship & Innovation (2014) a paraphrase, of striking similarity, positioned in parallel, echoing the same.

Framing challenges as opportunities, African philosophies & theoretical knowledge must be incorporated into the Western paradigm. For example, “community”, in the ears of Millennials registers as co-dependence thus the perceived rise in narcissistic tendencies in response to hyper-individualism. “Image management”, in the minds of Millennials mutates into depression as over-reliance on self deters many from asking for help thus isolating the self in a mind-made prison. Synergy, summed up in the hearts of Millennials is the drive towards reconciliation as a strategy of counter-attack on the overload of sensory information. Facing these negative connotations responsibly and squarely, using accountability as the decision-makers’ tool, ethically sound solutions can thwart the Populist agenda which exacerbates people’s fears or superstitions.

Furthermore, Collective Knowledge would agree that conformity to ideals of right human conduct, overrules anarchy. Therefore, a monopolistic market structure is bad for business (evidenced by civilian aggression towards the feudalistic 1%). It appears not to be a sustainable model to have a single seller of goods with no close substitute, reaping majority of the gains at the expense of the masses. As natural resources are depleted in the absence of sanctions and controls, the ecological balance is threatened and fosters societal insecurity. So then, if security is the quality or state of being free from fear or anxiety (as extremist as the prospect of terrorism or as familiar as a fear of being laid off), then ethos, logos and pathos must be synergised so that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole enabling an environment of security, sustainability and limited monopolies in this generation.

Like an accountant reconciling their ledgers, the balance brought forward must be technically sound so as to establish a new opening balance. Questions about social exclusion is another challenge this generation must grapple with. Social exclusion is characterised by the lack of participation in decision-making within civil, social and cultural life (due in part to factors such; as age; disability; ethnicity; gender and employment status). On one hand, free form alone creates chaos, and on the other, regulation alone creates rebellion. This, juxtaposed against social inequality, which is the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social positions or statuses within a group or society (inclusive of the dimensions of; power; occupational prestige; schooling; ancestry; race and ethnicity), it is clear that tolerance alone creates a culture that is overly permissiveness of pervasive ills. So, the ones with the ability to reconcile what one hears, thinks and feels, amidst the mire, will indeed be the most valued asset when it comes to resolving complex situations.

In conclusion, to mediate, overcome or incorporate risk in corporate business decision making bridges must be built by the ingenuity of innovation. Those who embody this really will be the civil engineers of tomorrow, beginning today. Although there are plenty of reasons why this generation could fail, the Innovative Entrepreneur supersedes the status quo by putting Dorothea Brande’s words into practice by willing to “Act as though it were impossible to fail.”

*Author- Rugare Tambo, original piece submitted to the SKEMA Business School, FR. Photo Credit Tumblr*