TEDxMonteCarlo alumni Ernesto Sirolli shared personal stories from the past 12 weeks in a memorable and witty talk entitled Strong Together? Sit Up and Listen about entrepreneurial spirit and obligation in the time of coronavirus and beyond.
The world has changed forever from the effects of the recent health crisis, but change doesn’t have to be all bad. Ernesto Sirolli, a sustainable development expert and former aid worker, argued on his recent TedxMonteCarlo Talk that “no crisis should be wasted” and that opportunities abound for people to come together to be better global citizens.
Sirolli posits that what we are currently looking at is akin to a wartime economy, and the companies and businesspeople who adapt their business models to be of service to the people will come out winners in the end. Community led, “glocal” entrepreneurship is highlighted in his speech and is a solid way forward for companies to extract themselves of the quagmire the health crisis has caused, saving their companies whilst creating jobs.
He has spent his career teaching civic leaders, governments and corporations how to partner with local people for long lasting prosperity. He is called the “Iron Man” of community development, running the Sirolli Institute in California which is “a model of local economic development based on capturing the passion, intelligence and resolve of local entrepreneurs.
After the talk, Sirolli took a full half an hour to let the audience answer questions, share ideas and ask for advice.