It's a question that business experts love to debate: is it possible to teach someone to be a successful entrepreneur? The latest guru to come down on firm...

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Can entrepreneurship be taught? No, says Digby Jones

It's a question that business experts love to debate: is it possible to teach someone to be a successful entrepreneur? The latest guru to come down on firmly on the 'no' side is Lord Diby Jones.

The former director-general of the Confederation of British Industry was speaking at the Entrepreneurs' Forum event 

run by Saffery Champness in conjunction with Insider

Lord Digby Jones

Interviewed on stage by North West Business Insider editor Chris Maguire, Lord Digby was asked whether entrepreneurship can be taught. "Categorically not", he replied. "You can't teach leadership either. You can teach management but you can't teach leadership.

"All you can do is grow and develop leaders and get them to learn from mistakes. Entrepreneurship is the same.

"Where we fail badly as a country is we don't facilitate these people with an entrepreneurial gene to do it, which is different to teaching it."

What do you think? Do you agree with Lord Digby? Or should be stop thinking about it and just get on with building businesses? Tell us in the comments below.

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Thanks for visiting my profile 🙏

Let me introduce myself.

I've been living in a world of strategic creativity for over 23 years (so far) and have worked both client-side and agency-side, as well as operated a successful agency myself, which means over the last couple of decades, I have been at the table having strategic conversations with 1000's of businesses and leaders, helping them apply creativity so they might grow themselves and their organisations.

Today the 'day job' is heading up th

Can entrepreneurship be taught? No, says Digby Jones

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