"You don't have to push a handcart..."

This week I did a lot of learning about what is truly required in the mindset of an entrepreneur.
Elder Gay offered some profound insights in his talk, using the word "pioneers" instead of "entrepreneurs."

"True pioneers solve problems. ... Successful pioneers are inward focused and outward driven." 

I like how this identified the jobs of a leader (or pioneer, or entrepreneur... what you will).
Another important job is to lift up those who are working for and/or with you.

"...Companies die because their managers focus on the economic activity of producing goods and services and forget that their organization’s true nature is that of a community of people." Charles Handy, Harvard Business Journal

A couple weeks ago, a friend lent me his book "Business in the 21st Century," by Robert Kiyosaki. In this book, it dwelt on these principles quite a bit. The focus of the book was how to develop a successful business using network marketing. Two key principles are these: be an excellent, innovative leader and focus on building up others.

I definitely need to read this book more and start to put into practice what I have been learning. I'm trying to imagine how I would do this with my violin lesson business, and have started to get some ideas flowing. I have ideas for a bigger vision than just teaching lessons, for how to get a team together, and things like that. It's a lot more investment than I was originally planning on, but I can't see how it would be a bad thing.

• Based on what you read in the first two pages (pages 3 and 4), why are virtue and integrity so vital to an economy?

"Trust, too, is fragile. Like a piece of china, once cracked it is never quite the same." I have seen this in my relationships with others. After knowing that they have lied once, it is harder to believe them as wholeheartedly as you did before. 

• According to Charles Handy, what is the “real justification” for the existence of businesses?

"The purpose of a business, in other words, is not to make a profit, full stop. It is to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better." 

We could all just make food, but really living is making a difference in the world. Many people seek to do that through organizing a business.

• What are two solutions proposed by Handy that you agree with? Why?

"More honesty and reality in the reporting of results would help, for a start." 

Although, as Handy mentioned, it would be difficult to regulate something like honesty, it would help to mend the trust between the large companies and the customers and investors.

He also talked about the importance of employee's rights.

 "These rights", he said, "Certainly limit the flexibility of management, but they help cultivate a sense of community, generating the feeling of security that makes innovation and experimentation possible and the loyalty and commitment that can see a company through bad times." 

I agree with this principle. Employees should be treated as individuals with rights, and not just as company property.