NORRIS IS A…. SLACKER!

For those of you who know me, I have been busy – conferences and projects and now teaching for 2 weeks in Athens! (It is a very promising new entrepreneurship program – can’t wait to share that with you. )

 I’m busy but am I… productive? I’m not so sure.

More to the point, am I making money? ;)

So time for a bold experiment!

I need to do a lot more to help communities grow entrepreneurs;

I need to do a lot more to help create world-class entrepreneurial learning;

I need to do a lot more to help organizations be more entrepreneurial.

So…

HIRE ME!!!! ;)

As the old joke goes, I may not be cheap but I am easy. That is, I bring value and always over-deliver no matter what the assignment; I am never a snob when it comes to helping people.

OR PUT ME ON RETAINER?

That is, if you think there is any way that I can bring value to you, your organization or your community, you can get Norris at a significant discount if you invest in a retainer.¹

So… how can I help your community? How can I help your organization? How can I help…. You?

At your service! /Norris

       ^{1.  yeah, you caught me… I’m raising money for a new (stealth) project.}

Ok, back to your regularly-scheduled blog…

Some Things I’ve Learned in My Travels

1.      

Nobody is all that great at growing entrepreneurs but the best places all try to get better like crazy, seek out great feedback and question their assumptions (do  you think that Helsinki and Boulder rest on their laurels? That’s how they became great!)

2.      

Everyone CAN get going right now. Yes, growing your ecosystem is a long game but do you remember that tv show “Extreme Makeover”? Well, you could do an Extreme Entrepreneurial Makeover and start on it right now. Won’t be easy and will be disruptive but I can show you how. I want to show you how!  [free preview available upon request!].

Brad Feld talks persuasively that a good entrepreneurial community grows bottom-up, led by people who truly get it, who share the entrepreneurial mindset. It is not led by posers and wannabes, no matter how well-intentioned… or well-positioned politically.

The key to the “Extreme Makeover” is hearing what the entrepreneurial community is really saying and that means leaders who get all of this. So….

“Steal This Op-Ed”*

It’s election time in the USA and I’ve pitched an op-ed column to the paper about what voters should ask candidates about growing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. What would entrepreneurs want to hear from civic officials, regardless of political stripes? I’ve been hearing from the entrepreneurs, now let’s hear the candidates!

Here’s a link to a longer piece [http://bit.ly/CandidateGuideEntrep] and HERE is the draft op-ed! [http://www.slideshare.net/norriskrueger/what-voters-should-ask-candidates] Also I’d be tickled to turn this into a shareable questionnaire.

* So if YOU want to steal my op-ed for YOUR paper, I am happy to have you steal it! If being an entrepreneur taught me anything, it’s that we are all in this together.