"Bright young things" certainly bring to the market exciting opportunities, largely because of their tech-savy, their understanding of the needs and behaviours of "their generational peers", and their enthusiasm.


They also bring inexperience, arrogance, unwillingness to learn the lessons of more experienced people and an impatience - particularly with the cultural and human side of organisations and the complexities of building a sustainable business.

These comments are certainly generalisations with many notable exceptions. However, the warning is that it is wonderful to grab hold of the coat tails of a young entrepreneur (of which there are many), but be prepared for the free-fall moments when market or technical intuition is insufficient to inform them of the organisational, people or process needs of the organisation.

On balance, I have a lot of time for the "bright young things" and mentor many of them - a process that is enlightening for both of us.