Well, our five-day intensive training camp for young entrepreneurs is over. It was my eighth and final such camp, and especially since we had three speakers back this year who I first met at our first camp in 1998, I thought a lot about that very first camp.
A lot has happened in seven years. Our youth program is now more fully-formed, and I leave it in the sure hands of our new director, who I am sure will take it to new heights. Our camp, which had eighty participants in its first year and then swelled to upwards of 220 at its peak, is now back down to that manageable number of 80. Our speakers are better, our production tighter, and our messages and media both much more technological.
What’s interesting isn’t how much has changed, though, but how much has stayed the same. I’m not just speaking of the logistics of planning and hosting the event, although there are some interesting parallels there. But what I mean is in terms of content. Since we first started this camp series in 1998, we’ve changed over from a Democrat to a Republican in the White House, fought two wars, and had a dot-com boom and bust.
But the core business messages our speakers have been bringing to our kids has been the same. Have a vision. Network like crazy. Be a salesperson. Know your technology. And always give back. It’s nice to know good lessons never go out of style.
Comments