Built on ‘ROCK’: Responsibility Opportunity Creativity Knowledge

WHENEVER the word ‘rock’ is mentioned, two impressions are etched in my mind. The first is not far-fetched, which is my sentiment for the first stanza of my secondary school anthem – “School of our pride built on the rock…By order, justice and fairplay ruled” (Up GCI!). The second impression is a verse of the Holy Scriptures: “So every- one who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods and torrents came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” – Matthew 7 verse 24-25 (AMP). So, whether it is a school or a house you want to build, it must have a solid ‘ROCK’ as its foundation.

Possibilities are responsibilities

As a first-year university student in 1987, Eric Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom Video Communications, was inspired to develop videotelephony software while he took 10- hour train rides to visit his girlfriend and was looking for an easier way to “visit” her.

Entrepreneurship is everything about re- sponsibility; risk-taking and resilience. The word “entrepreneur” is a loanword from French. In French the verb “entreprendre” means “to undertake,” with “entre” coming from the Latin word meaning “between” and “prendre”meaning “to take.”

Every successful entrepreneur started out with a vision to either undertake responsibilities or overtake possibilities.

The experiences (failures and successes) of entrepreneurs in the process of implementing their entrepreneurial ideas have become a “rock formation” that provides raw information and guide for aspiring entrepreneurs to build on and be built, re- spectively.

Entrepreneurial possibilities are built on responsibility, opportunity, creativity and knowledge – this ‘rock’ of possibilities constitutes a framework or model for entrepreneurs to practice methodically and systematically. From the imagination of an entrepreneurial idea to its implementation, an entrepreneur is involved in creative thinking and knowledge-intensive activities which drive innovation and pro- ductivity.

Qualitative (innovative) entrepreneurship is built on ‘ROCK.’ Innovation is the application of creative solutions to prob- lems and to opportunities to enhance and to enrich people’s lives. A problem to an entrepreneur is an opportunity to deploy creativity and knowledge in a socially and culturally responsible manner to solve the problem and be rewarded for it.

Economically, hard times bring out the best entrepreneurial initiatives which require a solid ‘ROCK’ for proper and effective implementation.

Entrepreneurship is a function of the entrepreneur. Both have a ‘rocky’ foun- dation. Geologically, rock connotes a solid mineral deposit. Logically speaking, rock is a symbol of strength, stability and depend- ability. So the next time you are called an entrepreneur, let this impressions be etched and not far-fetched. You are a custodian of creative knowledge and an expert when it comes to identifying opportunities and solving problems responsibly. Note that this logically connotes you as a rock, meaning “solid intellectual deposits.”

The 21st Century entrepreneur connotes solid intellectual deposits. The emergence of technology-driven entrepreneurship, for instance, is a testament to how knowledge-intensive activities are disrupting practices and improving processes.

Digital platforms, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, blockchain technol- ogy, etc., are products of intellectualism (knowledge) and entrepreneurialism (creativity). Innovation is simply a combination of knowledge, creativity and technology.

“Unlike the stomach, the brain does not alert you when empty.” – African Proverb.

Knowledge entrepreneurs rock! Keep learning! Keep innovating! Keep ‘heat’ up! So everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them, will be like a wise man [a far-sighted, practical, and sensible man] who built his house on the rock. “Experience of a seasoned entrepreneur is precious – and no matter how many the- oretical models you study, you simply can’t replace the experience they’ve gained through actually doing the work, failing and succeeding.

Again, ROCK is my model of entrepreneurship, which represents Responsibility, Opportunity, Creativity and Knowledge. Upon this ROCK will I build my work and the gates of failure shall not prevail against it!