Australia and Ambition.

I’m sitting at the ‘Creative Country’ event organised by The Australian. And the topic of the panel discussion now is – how can Australia attract the best talent from all over the world, and prevent brain drain at the same time.

I spend my time in 3 cities at the same time – I spend 3–4 months a year in Singapore, 4–5 months in Melbourne, and 4–5 months in the San Francisco Bay Area. So this topic is intriguing to me.

Here’s my view – Australia is a great place to live; and therefore, the victim of its own success.

It (the lifestyle) is so good, it actually dulls ambition. This perspective was echoed by an Australian founder I met recently, and by VCs and other founders I’ve met in the Valley.

And earlier this morning, NAB CEO – Andrew Thorburn – pointed out that they key to creativity and innovation and creativity – is ambition… personal ambition.

So here’s what I believe will work – and what the Media can do – to support the nation’s (and any nation’s) innovation agenda.

Don’t overly celebrate the success of entrepreneurs after each and the final milestone.

There’s a lot of focus on the founders’ personalities, their experiences, and the final moment of their success.

Pay more attention to the problems they’ve solved, than the personalities that solved them.

Examine their ambitions. Tell the stories of the ambitions and why they matter.

With every success, turn the spotlight – not on how great they (the entrepreneurs) are, but why the problem they solved was so crucial.

Increase ambition.

Tell stories that inspire people to aim for moonshots – not simply hanker after entrepreneurial success.