If getting jet lagged meant waking up at 5am, drinking good ol’ A&W root beer while chatting on msn and skyping about how i am a US convert on day 1, then put me on all 15 hours flight to US!

Enthusiasm was the key to keeping me awake; not the brewed dark coffee and not the amazingly rich American breakfast. And it was the tour that Professor Tom Kosnik gave that kept us on our toes, literally. A power network-er, his charismatic smile and intellectual talks were probably the factors that linked the many interesting ‘players’ in his lush and vibrant ‘clusters’.

This was evident in the entrepreneurs he introduced to us, Casey (a graduating student from Stanford who is awesomely into clean technology), Laina and Annamaria (from Green Energy Technology and Information Technology (GET-IT)), and Oofhma (another graduating student from Napa??). These people brought with them their drive, passion and vision that was irresistibly infectious. All of them had this aim in life, worked on it, cracked their creative juices on problems, and were willing risk-takers. You have to be, if you really yearn to be an entrepreneur.

Is it innate, i would reckon so. Is it not possible to nurture and inoculate such spirit in any individuals? Nahh (am i slanging? *laughs*). But as a typical Singaporean, I would attribute the lack of entrepreneurs in our setting to the lack of awareness, and the impoverished ecosystem.

‘Go global’, said Annamaria. It was not a casual remark, neither was she advocating globalization, but it’s a simplistically elegant phrase that has the same impact as Nike’s Just do It (or in Stanford University, Just Start Up). She (implicitly or explicitly) referred to the importance of going global to experience and observe the settings, the players and their stakes around the world so as to gain insights from a global perspective.

And if you look at Singaporeans, many are living in their comfort zone, learning everything they can, but within the boundaries that lineates Singapore. A powerful nation that is puny geographically (try Google Maps), I believe it is critical that we take the step out and network across the globe. You would be this resourceful entity/node in a web that spans thousands, if not millions of like-minded entrepreneurs, that get things done through the notion of sharing and collaboration. And in Tom’s words, ‘it starts with us’.

As iLeaders, we have to. Do you blame your people around you if you do not do well in society? Yes, only if you deem yourself as a loser. Likewise, the lack of a entrepreneurial ecosystem does not, and should not undermine our ambitions and capabilities. The Valley’s culture took time to manifest; so does our culture. We are still hogged by our Asian culture but that does not mean we should be bogged down by it. What worked and appealed in the USA may not work in Singapore. The point that I was iterating is clear: we need to find the right balance for our own ‘Circle of Influence’, not the Valley’s, but Singapore’s own.

Its only day 1, but i hope that through the course of two weeks, we will be able to learn from the Valley’s culture and manifest it in a way that’s truly Singapore’s, or Asia’s.

Tags: Annamaria, Casey, circle, culture, ecosystem, GET-IT, influence, Kosnik, Laina, Oofhma, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Stanford, Tom, valley

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 at 7:23 am and is filed under Random Ramblings, Stanford, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.