As we are headed down a path of recession or even depression, societies and governments reflex and protectionism take the lead.

While understandable from a perspective of fear (people losing their jobs and livelihoods) and the need for governments to implement policies that reflect the demands of a society (“locals first”), protectionism is not the solution and never will be.

History has shown us that ‘open’ societies always win from those that are ‘closed’. Protectionism can bring us on a path that is very dangerous and we simply don’t want to go there.

In its most innocent form, protectionism just freezes the problem and doesn’t take us anywhere.

Focus on creation

We need to focus on finding and supporting architects, sunbirds, and integrators. These are the people that can create regardless of the circumstances. They are resilient enough to pivot when everybody else is ducking.

Exceptional entrepreneurs can create job opportunities and prosper regardless of the economical situation.

The categories have been made famous in The Creators Code by Amy Wilkinson:

Architects

Those that see problems (“What’s missing”) and are capable to come up with a solution where others didn’t even know they were missing something.

Examples: Elon Musk and SpaceX. Apple.

Sunbirds

Those that see analogies (“What if I could use this solution for problem X?”). They see a solution in an unrelated field and are able to copy them to a whole new place.

Also Read: The 6 types of entrepreneurs

Example: Starbucks, inspired by the coffee culture in Italy to enrich the ‘third place’ in society.

Integrators

Those that combine existing solutions and create a whole new product or service by smartly combining existing products and services.

Example: Chipotle.

Curiosity

All creators are driven by curiosity and an open mind (typically found with immigrants) and they disregard race, borders, and, to a certain extend, rules.

Creators are very hard to find and the country, ecosystem, or government that is the most welcoming will be the one that ultimately wins. The opposite is also true; creators might leave if they find that their existing surroundings are not ideal.

The solution is clear

We need leaders that don’t give in to fear or populism.

Also Read: What should be the vision of an entrepreneur?

Curiosity and creators are the solutions to any problem, it doesn’t matter where they come from. And honestly, we are looking for a needle in a haystack when it comes to these kinds of entrepreneurs.

So bring them in, embrace them and any society or economy will thrive.

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