by Brian Brus

Published: February 23rd, 2010

 

Ernesto Sirolli, founder of the Sirolli Institute – an international nonprofit organization that teaches community leaders how to establish sustainable economic development – was guest speaker at the annual Oklahoma Entrepreneurship Conference in Norman on Tuesday. (Photo by Maike Sabolich)

OKLAHOMA CITY – Little good is accomplished by dumping money into a community without an invitation or letting the people identify their own needs, Ernesto Sirolli said.

And only harm can come from asserting one’s own plan over the will of local residents.

“The world is littered with the mistakes of good intentions,” Sirolli said. “White people are the most arrogant bastards in the world.”

Sirolli, the founder of the Enterprise Facilitation entrepreneurship model, was guest speaker at the annual Oklahoma Entrepreneurship Conference in Norman on Tuesday. He is founder of the Sirolli Institute, an international nonprofit organization that teaches community leaders how to establish sustainable economic development, and author of Ripples from the Zambezi – Passion, Entrepreneurship and the Rebirth of the Local Economy.

Oklahoma Small Business Development Center Director Susan Urbach said the state’s own business support agencies could benefit from Sirolli’s perspectives on strengthening the economy one person at a time, as well as provoking thought about how money is often wasted.

“As he pointed out, it’s an entirely different scenario to come in and say you’ll pay people to work, versus fostering entrepreneurship,” Urbach said. “You have to engage the spirit and passion of the local person with their local ideas and consideration of their sustainable local resources.

“From our perspective at the SBDC, it’s really great to hear someone talk about these issues. Because what Sirolli did was talk to entrepreneurs about what they wanted and needed specific to each of them. As an economic development service provider, it’s important to come into these relationships with our clients with an open mind about finding solutions together.”

In 1985, Sirolli studied in Esperance, a small rural community in western Australia, where he pioneered an economic development approach based on identifying the determination and resourcefulness of individuals. The Esperance experience has since spread to more than 250 communities worldwide, using his resultant Enterprise Facilitation model.

The primary principle of offering aid is simple, he said: If people do not wish to be helped, leave them alone. Western cultures should stop visiting their goodwill on other societies without an explicit invitation to do so.

Without that underlying attitude of responsible economic development, billions of dollars are wasted around the world on systems and structures that do not fit the community naturally, he said.

The biggest problem for small business is not finances, but management. And the principles of management pass from person to person by osmosis, Sirolli said.

The conference continues Wednesday at the Norman Embassy Suites Hotel & Convention Center. It is sponsored by the state Commerce Department and the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. Scheduled session topics include savvy marketing, business idea development, understanding lending practices, social networking and company culture.

Chris Brogan, president of New Marketing Labs media marketing agency, is scheduled as the lunch keynote speaker. Brogan is an expert in using social media, Internet and mobile technologies to build relationships between businesses, organizations and individuals.

http://journalrecord.com/2010/02/23/good-intentions-not-enough-supporting-entrepreneurship-requires-respect-general-news/