Starting the
Application of the Nucleus Approach: shall one begin with smaller,
weaker and less organised enterprises?
Martin Strähle, bfz
Hof, writes concerning the application of the Nucleus Approach in
textile associations in Pakistan: “The idea concerning Nuclei is to work
first with smaller, less professionally organised enterprises in order
to gain experiences and to integrate later medium enterprises.
The strategy sounds
reasonable: at the beginning the counsellors are inexperienced and
insecure. In comparison with the owners of bigger and more advanced
enterprises those of smaller and weaker ones might be less demanding
concerning the performance of the counsellor. They are “easier” to
handle. Therefore, when the first Nuclei are created with such
entrepreneurs the counsellors gain experiences in the moderation and
management of Nuclei. And after a learning period they can dare the
creation of Nuclei with more demanding entrepreneurs.
But following this
strategy we encountered a serious problem: the Nuclei got very fast the
reputation of being something for the micro, weaker and poorer
enterprises only and not for the bigger and more advanced ones.
The consequences:
-
It became difficult
to convince the owners of the medium enterprises to join Nuclei.
-
It became more
difficult to convince the chambers’ leaders to invest in qualified
and well paid counsellors
–
the “cheap” counsellor is good enough for the micros …
-
It became almost
impossible to change this reputation of the Nuclei as being for the
micros and small ones.
Recommendations:
-
Start as early as
possible with a Nucleus of bigger and more advanced enterprises. If
possible consider the participation of one or more board members of
the chamber / association.
-
At least one
counsellor should have right away the qualification and personality
for being capable to work with more demanding entrepreneurs after
the first training in moderation and management of Nuclei.
-
If there is a
project team: consider the possibility that one of the team members
manages the Nucleus for some time or does it together with a
counsellor.
-
Do everything that
the first Nucleus with advanced enterprises becomes a success. See
also Which sector is suited for
the foundation of a Nucleus?
A Checklist
05/06/2009 - MueGlo
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