Leaders stories

Alex Dossche, Managing Director, Sage Belgium

A new era of entrepreneurship

I am very hopeful because for the first time the entrepreneurial landscape is illuminated by “digital natives”. They seem to be very enthusiastic and ready to start working, whether they want to create their own company or not. This enthusiasm even increases from the moment they get a greater insight in the numerous challenges ahead.

Being a Managing Director, I come across a lot of members of Generation Z who all seem to have a very refreshing attitude. As opposed to the previous generations, Generation Z is less naive, has a clearer view on what happens in the workplace and knows how to deal with it, based on their own values.

These youthful and entrepreneurial post-millennials do not let anyone impose dogmas on them, such as the “work-life balance” ideology (as if “life” and “work” were two opposites, incessantly fighting for our time and attention and between which we have to spend our whole lives trying to find a balance). The members of Generation Z are convinced life stands for acting how you feel and doing it your way while still managing to succeed. Success in life equals success at work, where developing your skills and activities makes you feel appreciated.

Generation Z is filled with visionaries who see opportunities instead of obstacles, who strive harder, dig deeper and reach higher. They are driven to accomplish something meaningful and productive.

I have a lot of faith in this new generation of business builders and in their digital background, which will help them to be creative and innovative. Sure, they are easily distracted. Of course, they will need to turn it up a notch. And oh boy, will they make mistakes. That’s why, in order for them to succeed, it is our job to create the right environment. The kind of environment where they will learn the most from their last mistake, where “actions” are greater than “intentions”, where creativity is encouraged and where commitment is key.

At Sage, we understand better than anyone that these digital natives are going to need the right tools to build their businesses and it is us who can serve them these tools. In fact, they are the reason we build our software. The passion of these business builders drives worldwide progress and that’s why we, at Sage, will continue to invest in their success. We invest in their future, supporting, amongst others, the JA initiatives through our Sage Foundation.

I am looking forward to the next time a student will join me for 'The ‘Leaders for a day’ program. It is the perfect opportunity for both the student and a leader as myself to learn from each other and to understand the similarity and difference in values. In a world where only the voices of the biggest are heard, we will always fight to hear and amplify the voices of young business builders everywhere. And that’s why this program fits so perfectly into the core values adopted by Sage.

Thank you all for joining me in this epic and rewarding story. Be Sage. Build on.

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