They are the ones who build something out of nothing. The ones who dare to take risks. The ones who embrace the unexpected. The ones best equipped to navigate an uncertain world. And perhaps, more importantly, the ones best positioned to change it. And yet, sometimes, entrepreneurs choose a different path…

In times of crisis, the entrepreneur possesses a method that others are still seeking: when resources are scarce, they move forward with what they have. This method has a name: effectuation. You do not start with an ideal plan; you start with the means at your disposal and improvise, much like a chef opening the fridge and creating a meal from whatever is inside. “What’s in the fridge?” That is the key to our survival.

Thanks to this approach, there is no downtime, no waiting around. If any citizens are truly suited to this unstable world, capable of acting swiftly to change it, it is entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur is someone who finds solutions. Their primary concern, our primary concern, should therefore be tackling the urgent crisis: climate change. Finding solutions for the water we drink, the food we eat, the air we breathe. Our researchers and start-ups should have rallied under a single banner.

We have chosen other battlegrounds. For months now, the trend has been drones, launchers, and interceptors, technologies that redraw the balance of power and displace populations. Meanwhile, other talented minds are refining artificial intelligence, often without asking the question that keeps coming back: will it take our jobs? The most pessimistic among us can already glimpse the scenario for the decade ahead: a universal basic income and populations sedated in monochrome housing worthy of A Nearly Perfect World, Laurent Gounelle’s novel.

Faced with this fragmentation, should we wait for a Deus Ex Machina? Or should we simply open the fridge door? France’s entrepreneurs, united and courageous, can offer a different future. This requires getting back to the real world. France is a vast country, and its regions are waiting for solutions and jobs. This is precisely where the entrepreneur’s expertise comes in.

France is experiencing a social anomaly. The employment rate for 15 to 24-year-olds is stagnating at 35%, while their unemployment rate has hit a record high of 21.1%. Behind these figures lie a deteriorating mental health, an economic growth deprived of its younger generation, and a mounting burden on public finances. What if the youth adopted an entrepreneurial mindset? Finding solutions with the resources at hand. But first, we must encourage them.

Ten qualities of the entrepreneur of tomorrow

To turn them into engaged citizens, here are the ten qualities we must pass on to them.

1. Vision. Navigating is not enough; one must choose a direction, understand its meaning, and grasp what it entails building. A generation that knows where it is headed can lead those who are in doubt.

2. Legitimacy. Our youth will surprise us, more committed than we are to the common good and at the forefront of the environmental cause. They will earn their authority through consistency: between what they say and what they do, and what they demand of others.

3. Security. Boldness requires a foundation. Creating an environment where one can take risks, make mistakes, and grow is what unleashes initiative.

4. Courage. Some right decisions will not win unanimous support. They must be made nonetheless, and responsibility for them assumed. Courage reveals itself the moment when one has to make a decision alone.

5. The collective. Individuals –even brilliant ones– remain scattered points until a shared project connects them. We must understand people, bring out their talents, and unite different generations around a common ambition.

6. Passing the torch. Each generation must share its experience, open doors, and make room for those who come next. It is a duty. Nothing lasting can be built for oneself alone

7. Listening. In times of crisis, listening enables us to distinguish weak signals from strong ones before a decision is made. It is the intelligence-gathering of the clear-sighted leader.

8. Composure. When things get complicated, one must keep a cool head, step back, and avoid infecting the group with one’s own fear. Stability then becomes a source of strength.

9. Knowledge of the country. France is diverse, from north to south and east to west, and every region possesses its own strengths. A sound strategy identifies these resources rather than seeking to standardize them.

10. The common good. Serving the common good is the work of a lifetime, and that means knowing when to pass the baton. True success is also measured by the generosity with which one places oneself at the service of a vision and of the collective.

Entrepreneurs serving the common good will save the world –and France along with it. We can all become one or draw inspiration from them. 

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