Think Like A Startup: A White Paper to Inspire Library Entrepreneurialism < Brian Mathews

Wed Apr 11 12:38:12 EDT 2012

Julia/

Thanks for your interest and comment.

One of my favorite quotes is

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." / Alan Kay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay

One of my quotes that is a favorite is

" !!! Our Minds Must Not Be Confined Nor Defined By Our Place Or Time Or Technology !!! "

[  http://mobile-libraries.blogspot.com/2010/07/our-minds-must-not-be-confined-nor.html ]

Regards,

/Gerry
________________________________
From: Paris, Julia [jparis at uj.ac.za]
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 4:50 AM
To: McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]; diglib at infoserv.inist.fr; ifla-l at infoserv.inist.fr; WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Cc: McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]
Subject: RE: Think Like A Startup: A White Paper to Inspire Library Entrepreneurialism < Brian Mathews

Dear Gerry
Thanks for a thought provoking article By Dean Mathews.
Just to share:
I was fortunate to sit on a Board of what is called a Section 21 Company, located in the Papermaking Industry in South Africa. Our university does the R&D of this company and facilitate the testing of innovative methodologies as well. Entrepreneurial leadership was and still is the only way  to steer such a company through the turbulence of uncertainty. As a Board we did  so through continuous organizational development discussions around good governance, oversight of implementation of change strategies, changing managers for continuous new innovative leadership, possibility thinking, addressing beneficiary needs in South African rural areas where we had to oversee capacity building of  rural area small business entrepreneurs,  oversee implementation of R&D, and proposing solutions for profits and sustainability. Even though the industries differ, these are all the dynamics I do find myself in in a major university library struggling to keep up with the turbulence of change and uncertainty in an age where information is exploding through cutting edge advancement in technology and social networking.  Needless to say, the challenges were many and the experience gained invaluable.

Representation on this Board was one of my best opportunities as a librarian to kick-start possibility thinking within me. When I took up the position on the Board, I had no clue that it would even influence my library leadership and management thinking and style. It did in a radical way. It was a struggle to process the many outdated paradigms accumulated over 28years of library service and embrace transformative approaches and inner self-talk.  It was a very exciting experience, but also a very steep birth by fire. Fortunately, I was blessed with a team of very experienced mentors around me to teach and mentor me. I have learnt that to think like an entrepreneur breaks all the rules of everything we have ever known as people, let alone librarians, managers and leaders. I will remain forever grateful for my life changing experience.  So, my question to us as librarians is: are we bold enough  to give up what we have known for so long to venture out into seas that is unfamiliar to us? In the entrepreneurial paradigm uncertainty is the only certainty there is.  I now embrace the idea of thinking transformation and not change, however, always urge facilitation of such a process. It cannot and will not happen just like that. It’s a choice…and a decision. I think we should also look at other industries and learn from them.

I hope this stimulate more thoughts…

Regards
Julia Paris
University of Johannesburg

From: McKiernan, Gerard [LIB] [mailto:gerrymck at iastate.edu]
Sent: 08 April 2012 10:18 PM
To: diglib at infoserv.inist.fr; ifla-l at infoserv.inist.fr; WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Cc: McKiernan, Gerard [LIB]
Subject: [IFLA-L] Think Like A Startup: A White Paper to Inspire Library Entrepreneurialism < Brian Mathews

*** Apologies for Receipt of Duplicate Postings ***

Colleagues/

IMHO > A Great Synthesis and Thought-Piece from Brian Mathews, Associate Dean > Learning and Outreach > Te University Libraries of Virginia Tech

This document is intended to inspire transformative thinking using insight into startup culture and innovation methodologies. It’s a collection of talking points intended to stir the entrepreneurial spirit in library leaders at every level.

Facing the Future > We don’t just need change > we need breakthrough, paradigm-shifting, transformative, disruptive ideas.

Summary / Fulltext / Links Available Via

[ tp://bit.ly/Ho07JX<http://bit.ly/Ho07JX> ]

Also of potential / related interest

The Decline and Fall of the Library Empire / Steve Coffman

[http://bit.ly/HD3wUu ]

/Gerry

Gerry McKiernan

Associate Professor

and

Science and Tehnology Librarian

Iowa State University

152 Parks Library

Ames IA 50011

http://digital-textbooks.blogspot.com/

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2012-04-11
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