Grading the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship

I was curious what being a delegate to a Presidential summit would be like, and now I know. It's like being a passenger on very slow roller-coaster ride, but with awesome fellow passengers. The panels have been pretty typical conference fare, with way too much happy talk about dream fulfillment. But it's important. Really important. In ten years, the most important outcome of the summit will simply be there was a summit at all. I'd venture to say the very idea could not be topped by the substance, no matter how good. 

Consider the "Force of Fortune," recently reviewed in Foreign Affairs:

Renowned Middle East expert Vali Nasr's bestselling The Shia Revival profoundly transformed the debate about the Iraq War by unveiling how the Sunni-Shia rift was driving the insurgency. Now, in Forces of Fortune, Nasr presents a paradigm-changing revelation that will transform the understanding of the Muslim world at large. He reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists. His groundbreaking analysis will utterly rewrite the wisdom about how the West can best contend with the threat of Islamic extremism, as well as about what we can expect from the Muslim world in the future. The great battle for the soul of Iran, the Arab world, Pakistan, and the entire region will be fought not over religion, Nasr reveals, but over business and capitalism.

So after one full day, here's my report card:

Title: A
Think about it. They could have had a summit on "Development" or on "Peace" which would have been instantly forgettable gatherings. This topic has some bite to it, and it's something tangible and deep enough that all Americans should be cheering the President. I tried to find out who coined the term, and have been crediting Esther Lee or Secretary Locke at Commerce, but she says it was one of President Obama's speechwriters. If you believe in the transformational power of market capitalism, you believe in this summit.

Team: A
The Obama administration is playing its first string team on this one. Secretary Gary Locke kicked things off, Melody Barnes was on a panel, the President himself gave a long speech today (including a rope line and numerous shout-outs to delegates, though he called me the Governor of Virginia for some reason). Tomorrow Secretary of State Clinton will speak. Arne Duncan. Rajiv Shah. There are many more. To be fair and balanced, I'm not sure all of the White House folks get entrepreneurship and you get a sense some want to talk about social entrepreneurship instead. Believe me, the delegates from the Middle East noticed, and one would-be entrepereneur commented to me that, "We need help creating wealth before we start talking about giving it back." Regardless, they appreciate the symbolism and ceremony of having the President's A team show up, and it means a lot. 

Agenda: B
The panels have been good. Missing so far is an objective accounting of which countries are getting which policies right. Where are labor regulations most efficiently reformed? Who is solving the problem of access to capital and middle-tier loans? Maybe we'll get into the nuts and bolts tomorrow, but I doubt it. That's not the point and/or that point is very much alive without being on the podium, if you know what I mean. Besides, the hallway conversations are excellent. These delegates are players. Biggest surprise of the day was that a lot of folks recommend betting on pro-market reforms in ...Syria.  Young Syrians, apparently, are ambitious capitlists agitating for growth.

Finally, I don't think it's appropriate to simplify a presidential speech with a letter grade. But I thought President Obama's remarks were excellent. I can't find a transcript, but will link to it tomorrow when I can.

Like 99% of you, I don't agree with the Obama administration on everything. But this summit deserves our full-throated support.

Comments

[Patriotson]

Would it not have been great for Obama to have invited business leaders from the 50 states to discuss entreprenuer enterprises in America. It seems to me, Obama has his objectives backward. Forget American businesses and invite muslims to a forum for future business opportunities.
Why is not Obama as interested in doing something for American as he is for helping his muslim brothers? Is it an indication that he really desires to see the American economy enter a black hole and self destruct this country? All the indicators certainly show such Obama could care less about his own country's economy and small businesses. The facts speak for themselves.

[Susan Schindehette]

The President has hardly forgotten so-called "American business." (What the heck does that mean anymore anyway, Patriotson? In case you haven't noticed, it's a global world...)

I wasn't invited to the Summit itself, but am participating in an adjunct SoCap meeting the day after-- which is intended to bring U.S. entrepreneurs together with our colleagues (and yes, prospective future partners) in the East.

I'm the former top writer for People Magazine (where I wrote for a weekly audience of 43 million), and am using my 32 years of experience at Time Inc. to launch a global communications and commerce portal, MiWorld.com (http://www.miworld.com/), that promises to benefit us ALL.

If you don't believe me, check out our beta, and read this:
http://miworld.com/press/Kiplinger_4-10.html

[Business Loan]

Susan commented that this is a global world - if it is, why are we the only country that thinks that or acts that way.

In business - if you are a private company, your objective is to increase your own wealth. If a public company, increase your shareholder's wealth. I don't see anything global about that.

It is good that the administration is talking about business and their impact on this economy. The shame is that it is all talk - actions speak louder than words.

[Bee Leng Chua]

Why promote entrepreneurship in the Middle East? Its one of the solutions for peace. The region has a young population and there is high male unemployment. You can envision what this means for a country in terms of unrest. Entrepreneurship creates enterprises and jobs.

When the economies out there in the rest of the world are active and vibrant - US businesses will have new markets. This is to say - to increase wealth, and for shareholders too, if relevant.

The Administration has a strategy and milestones and it proposes that the US companies getting involved as business partners, and mentors. This requires information, communication and cross cultural knowledge on both sides, leading to trust and understanding. Once again, good for business and peace in the region. May be a simplistic view, and I'd like to be optimistic.

[Ruth Hedges]

Who is solving the problem of access to capital and middle-tier loans?
We are !
www.fundingroadmap.com is a virtual platform where entrepreneurs and mentors from anywhere in the world can work together in their own language and can build and fund new and long term successful businesses in the cloud to a world of possible investors from a global market place.

[Gneumann]

I agree with Tim Kane that the good news is they actually had a entrepreneur summit. The Muslim connection threw me off a bit but it's a start. The facts are we need help here big time. Take a ride around and look at all the empty stores. These were entrepreneurs who are no longer in business. I went to a entrepreneur meeting here in Orlando with the Chamber of Commerce last week. The stat I heard was 86% of companies here in Florida have only 1-9 employees. Small business is running our country. how about some help for them? I have been an entrepreneur for over 25 years. I am on the Small Business Advisory Board at the Disney Entrepreneur Center and do FREE consulting to entrepreneurs in our community. For the last 2 years I have been working on a matching website or (online incubator) that connects up entrepreneurs to experienced professionals who can help them succeed. We launched a few weeks ago. I personally think I can create thousands of jobs by connecting up people who can help others succeed. I am looking some resources who can help me launch this site. My goal is to Grow America by helping our entrepreneurs succeed. Check it out www.experienceconnection.com Much Success To All Entrepreneurs.

[Suresh Kumar]

As a entrepreneur and a researcher on the topic of entrepreneurship, I was very much intrigued by the idea by the idea of global summit of 'real' entrepreneurs. I believe the President deserves credit for the initiative for reaching out to the Musilm nations and in particular for including social entrepreneurs. I would have liked to see some more substance in the form of sharing of best practices and some of the excellent research done in the USA and other countries on topics such as opportunity recognition, international and transnational entrepreneurship, impact of culture etc. Also it would help to have invited at least one top minister or government official from each nation and share to exchange views on what programs have worked and what has not- so as to facilitate learning and putting scarce resources to the best possible use.
Perhaps future events can focus on some of these topics.

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vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists. His groundbreaking analysis will utterly rewrite the wisdom about how the West can best contend with the threat of Islamic extremism, as well as about what we