Recently at TEDxEdmonton, Cameron Herold discussed what he considers a fundamental flaw in contemporary education, the lack of attention toward teaching young entrepreneurs. Herold argues that many kids who are bored in school might in fact be budding entrepreneurs. In his talk, he implicitly criticizes education that is too focused on cultivating academics over children’s ability to speak publicly, to motivate others and other “entrepreneurial traits.”
Parenting and education can be used to help would-be entrepreneurs flourish, both as kids and as adults. As he says, “I think we should be raising kids to be entrepreneurs instead of lawyers… we’re missing an opportunity.”
Herold is himself a teacher of entrepreneurs who has spent the last 20 years helping others build their companies, as the COO of BackPocket. His most famous business, though, is 1-800-GOT-JUNK? Even if we’ve never called the number most of us know what to do if we’ve GOT JUNK thanks to his savvy understanding of branding and our current emphasis on recycling. As he explains, those smarts were entirely self-cultivated, just as they are for so many entrepreneurs. Why do we think it has to be that way?
Check out Herold’s talk at TedxEdmonton. Tell us whether you think Herold is still “the dumbest guy in the room” or not.
