Some time ago we ran a post on Mental Fitness and are now doing some further reflection on the idea in relation to the announcement of RBS’s Business Bootcamp.

We get it, we need to make businesses work.  But it’s easier said than done.  In this instance, an analogy to none other than the barefoot running seems only appropriate.

The rational goes like this: Humans were born to run and as we got caught up in gels, pumps, and cushions – we lost the true essence of our natural state.  The time (not sure why exactly now) is here to unlearn our bad habits and get back to nature: with the good ol’ barefoot.  But every sportswear brand will claim that their gel infused or pump laden runner was ‘Designed only with function in mind.’

Entrepreneurs likewise, in their natural state,  possess many defining attributes.  In varying degrees this may be passion, drive, creativity, knowledge, and leadership – all fusing to make up a bespoke Entrepreneurial Engine.  However it really is the shell or skin that an entrepreneur chooses to employ, that can be the make or break.

Are the features simple or complex? Designed with looks or function in mind? Or both?  The overall prescription is by no means easy but in this metaphor the theory is simple:  Strip things down to their bare bones then dress the runner with the perfect fit.