The time has come to talk of emperors and entrepreneurs.

Is Scotland's economy being held back by a managerial class of leaders who are too risk averse and wedded to steering an even course, to achieve more than modest growth?

That is the thesis advanced by one of Scotland's leading businessmen, Sir Brian Souter. He believes that an 'emperor' class of company chiefs has come to dominate our leading businesses.

Centralising power and ruling in a top down way, intolerant of new ways of working, Sir Brian says they are 'control freaks'. While they may provide a steady hand, he suggests they could be stifling the chances of firms responding effectively to new challenges and opportunities - including those of the digital world.

"Entrepreneurs have ideas bursting out of their heads, are creative and willing to take risks. Emperors are not interested in doing anything else", he adds.

Is caution the enemy of growth? This is a concern which seems to find plenty of support among Sir Brian's peers. Captains of industry who constantly have an eye on their share price and on their backs are unlikely to drive forward innovation or explore new opportunities with enthusiasm.

There are two sides to this equation, of course. We have seen the downside of business leaders who are too ready to take risks. The banking crisis was a harsh lesson in what can happen if executives are allowed to gamble recklessly without sufficient regulation in the name of profit. This is not an argument for the kind of casino banking from which the UK is still arguably to recover.

But this is not what Sir Brian is referring to. He is concerned that Scotland can be too backward looking in terms of investing in new ideas and that entrepreneurs need more support and encouragement.

This extends from the grassroots, where it can be hard for start-ups to get the backing they need, especially if someone has had business failures in the past - but we know that many successful businessmen have failures on the way to great success. And it extends to the top of major companies, with too many top firms headed by unexceptional talents, who view their role as simply to continue doing what they have always done.

But this cannot work in the modern world, where rapid change is the norm and adaptability and an ability to seize new opportunities are the recipe for commercial success.

There are reasons to be optimistic. We know that the rate at which new businesses are being created is growing faster in Scotland than the rest of the UK. However the proportion of these which are high growth firms has fallen, according to recent Entrepreneurs Index, published by Barclays.

As to whether we need more entrepreneurs or more emperors, the answer, of course, as Mr Souter himself points out, is we need a mixture of both.

But, with impeccable credentials himself as a self-made creator of jobs and companies, he is right to call for a return to an emphasis on creativity and wealth-creation, at all levels in Scotland Plc.