“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare”, so goes the Japanese proverb.

I was reminded of this quote on Tuesday whilst listening to the launch of the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (or NSET as it is now known) which sets out a vision for Scotland for the next 10 years.

As an optimist, I applaud the ambition to unlock Scotland’s latent potential in our people and our resources for the good of our society and the world at large. Doubling down on the ingenuity, passion and creativity of Scotland’s people. Harnessing our natural resources into a net-zero future. Building on our existing world-leading expertise, yet leaving space for new innovations and endeavour to emerge.

It recognises that our economy, society and environment are all deeply interconnected. For too long, the economy and business has been de-coupled from society, community and the environment. We can do so much more to address structural inequalities, retain and reinvest the wealth created in communities back into those communities. All laudable.

Yet is it just a daydream?

As a pragmatist, I recognise it is our collective actions that will define success or failure in the “decisive decade” ahead. The strategy only sets a direction of travel yet the one certainty is that it will never be perfect. With change of this scale set in the context of a climate crisis, Covid, Brexit, war in Ukraine, Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is impossible to foresee the next few months never mind the next 10 years. We must learn and adapt as we go – be entrepreneurial dare I say it.

Success will be defined by whether we can galvanise collective action, collaboration across the public, private and third sectors at a level and in ways never seen before.

Given the importance of collaboration and collective action, I was saddened that STUC and others have already rejected the strategy. Perhaps collective action is itself a daydream. Perhaps, in Scotland, we are more comfortable in our tribes, our clans and would rather fight than collaborate. Perhaps that will never change. Private v public sector, start-ups v scale-ups v corporates, the union v independence, trade unions v the bosses. Maybe, we are happiest in opposition, not in collaboration. If so, we have no chance. After all, as Drucker said, culture eats strategy for breakfast.

At its core, Scotland is uneasy with business and entrepreneurship, associating it with bad bosses and downtrodden workers. Exploitation does exist and must be called out, by everyone especially business.

Yet, this is not the entrepreneurship I recognise. I recognise the entrepreneurship of Peter Proud who founded the world-class Forrit, has created over 50 high quality jobs and yet his proudest moment is the graduation of his first cohort of apprentices. I know the social entrepreneurship of Sylvia Douglas and David Duke whose passion, grit and can-do attitude have made a profound impact on the most disadvantaged. I know the rural entrepreneurship championed by Jackie Brierton where small rural businesses have a disproportionate impact on the confidence and wealth of local communities, offering opportunities and hope to young people. I know the commitment of Ana Stewart, tech entrepreneur, who is leading the project looking to unlock the huge potential in female entrepreneurship. All of these people are restless, seeking to disrupt the status quo, carving out new and better ways through action.

Perhaps, Scotland needs a new understanding of entrepreneurship and what it means to be entrepreneurial, in every organisation, every sector, every part of Scotland.

Daydream, nightmare, bright future or inevitable decline? We have a choice and it starts with a shared, collective ambition.

Sandy Kennedy, entrepreneurial optimist