He's been called "the prototype of the new entrepreneur whose success lies in steadfast character, passion for life and an ability to marry social responsibility with ground-breaking products and services" by the Center for Hispanic Leadership. His early years in the corporate world culminated in becoming president of the billion-dollar Norway Seafood Company at the tender age of thirty.
Combining lessons learned from his immigrant parents with his observations on the corporate world of the third millennium, Glenn Llopis thinks he sees a path out of the quagmire that the world seems to be mired in- and he's eager to share.
What is the "wisdom economy?"
We have reached a point in time where individuals, corporations, government, academics and leaders alike must serve as "change agents" in the way we think, act and innovate. The past represents a history of lessons learned from the knowledge economy, where ethics were considered a mere choice. The present defines the beginnings of the wisdom economy, where we must give birth to a new form of ethical innovation that propels positive social change to breed global prosperity. Thus the wisdom economy represents a time where we must learn about developing a new ,enlightened form of leadership that is responsible and accountable for the knowledge and information we have access to.
Today’s global economic crisis has affected business and society; and has called for the entrepreneurial spirit from Fortune 500 C-level executives, small business owners and citizens alike as we seek to create new industries and redefine old ones.
Entrepreneurship is no longer just a business term any more, it now must represent a symbol for global prosperity, peace and social responsibility. Humanity must unite in innovation, in undisputed and collaborative efforts to create new products & services, industries, leaders and opportunities the world over. We must all be entrepreneurs both in and outside of the workplace. It is no longer a choice; it’s the “new normal.”
While we are not all born entrepreneurs, we all must now learn to embrace the new core principals of entrepreneurship; not only for the growth of the economy, but for the needs of humanity. These principals include the following:
a. Vision to See
b. Courage to Sow
c. Knowledge to Grow
c. Wisdom to Share, to Make the World a Better Place
Wisdom to share means rediscovering our sense of ethics and responsibility at both the individual and institutional levels. We once again need to apply our attention to discerning the difference between ‘good enough,’ and the best we can accomplish in any given situation. It means remembering that our actions often have consequences beyond our own four walls, and taking actions to make sure that this impact is positive to the best of our abilities.
It is my mission to spread this message and teach others how to view their role in propelling positive social change through ethical innovation. As such, I recently founded the Center for Innovation & Humanity that will host its first annual Innovation & Humanity Summit on January 23, 2010, co-hosted by The Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics at Chapman University. To learn more, please visit www.InnovationHumanity.org.
How does a person start re-thinking their approach to life so that they can begin "earning serendipity?"
The very first step is for people to carefully assess and begin to live for what they stand for. In other words, what is their cause for living? Everyone has a passion for something: helping the homeless, working with under privileged children, ending domestic violence, etc.
Why is this so important? Because the way people earn serendipity is by seeing, sowing, growing and sharing "opportunities that matter" most to them for the betterment of others. I have asked thousands of people to tell me what they stand for, their cause. After a silent pause, they tell me. And when I ask them to tell me how many of their friends, associates, etc. are aware of their cause, 90% of people tell me that less than 10% know about their cause. Then I ask them, what percentage of the 10% help you in your pursuit of your cause? Their response: 1%.
My point to them: they have a 99% opportunity enhancement factor if they align and associate themselves with people that support their cause and do the same for them. You not only see more opportunity when you are associating yourself with others who seek the same cause/purpose- opportunity starts to find you. This is when you begin to earn serendipity!
Unfortunately, people approach their lives in the reverse order. They live their lives waiting for the opportunity versus finding ways to earn it, associating themselves with leeches and loafers versus the leaders and lifters. This happens because people are not honest with themselves - thus are not able to "trust their personal brand". I suggest that you take the Workplace Serendipity Quiz and discover what your SQ (Serendipity Quotient) at www.earningserendipity.com and determine whether you are a 1) seer, 2) sower, 3) grower or 4) sharer. These are the 4 skills that I teach in my book and that can help you propel your new approach to life both in and outside of the workplace.
Intriguing statement from the Serendipity University website: "In today’s marketplace, to become entrepreneurial is mandatory." How so? And where do I start?
Read my book. Earning Serendipity teaches people what it means to be an entrepreneur in order to best see and seize opportunity. During today's uncertain times, we must all be entrepreneurs. I learned in my early 20's that in the United States, people had a choice to be an entrepreneur - but that in developing countries people had to be entrepreneurs just to survive! This is why so many immigrants come to the United States and become success stories, because they are able to see opportunity in everything when most would not have seen it.
Uncertain times are teaching us that the glory days are over, and we must take on this entrepreneurial spirit and reinvent ourselves to view the world through a different lens that will allow us to see and create new opportunities. Isn't that what people want - a new opportunity? They do. Unfortunately, most people are not taught how to see and seize opportunity, and don't know what to do with the opportunity once they have seized it. It's because of this lack of knowledge and wisdom that people make mistakes - sometimes life changing mistakes. This happened to me and that is why I wrote the book - to teach others how to avoid misfortune and to provide them with the tools and wisdom to find good fortune, a.k.a. opportunity.
I wrote the book from an immigrant’s perspective. My parents, entertainment pioneers during the famed Havana Nights in Cuba, were victims of Castro's revolution. They taught me what it means to live your dream and lose it in an instant - and then have to be resilient enough to reinvent yourself all over again. They taught us that adversity reveals you and also teaches you how to better serve others.
How does the concept of earning serendipity relate to social responsibility and the global initiatives you're pursuing? What would a world of "serendipiters" look like?
Social responsibility is an essential component to earning serendipity, because once a person has learned how to see, sow and grow opportunity they must share the opportunities with others in order to sustain them. This is where we, as a nation, took a wrong turn. People became greedy instead of "sharing the harvest" of their success with others for the betterment of a healthy whole. This goes back to ethics. It's no longer a choice, it's the new normal - and until we all accept this fact the crisis will continue and our ability to earn serendipity the world over will be limited. It is for this reason that we must all be "Serendipiters" - socially conscious individuals that serve to propel innovation & initiative - and thus propel good fortune for both themselves and others.
It is my goal to find over 5 million Serendipiters throughout the world in the next three years and hope that they each do the same. A world of Serendipiters is a world of global prosperity where people seek to propel positive social change through ethical innovation.
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