Italian bloke Ernesto Sirollo worked in Africa but found his way to Murdoch Uni and then Esperence in WA. He’s brilliant. The first section of this Life Matters interview deals with what he learnt from community development overseas (he tells a great “dumb government” story); the second explains how to incubate a successful business – what he calls enterprise facilitation.
Business is about understanding people, not intellectual strategies. Sirollo demonstrates that listening is a critical skill in helping people achieve their dreams. He also has some lessons for community leaders.
I agree completely with his “trinity” of management – product, marketing and finance. Much more real world than the 4Ps of marketing. In the talk Sirillo completely undermines the current paradigm in small business development; the notion that a small business entrepreneur needs to be trained in every aspect of business management.
His web site, the Sirolli Institute does not do him justice; listen to the interview instead.
