Opportunity Orientation

Opportunity orientation is being able to see the world filled with opportunities, how you might create and/or access opportunities and learning optimism that flips challenges and “failures” into possibility and opportunity to make a difference as a Changemaker through multi-purpose entrepreneurship and innovation.

Let’s Practice

 A list of 99 real opportunities for positive change in our Bellingham/Whatcom (not campus) county communities including a one sentence description for each. These can be of any type and size. This may require multiple walkabouts!

Narrow the list to your top three opportunities that you think are most feasible and potentially impactful. Clearly identify these and then link the three to the Sustainable Development Goals from the UN. How well do they fit?

Meet with two other IDEA students and share your top 3, and ask them for feedback and then share who you spoke with and the highlights of their feedback.

Describe your entire process for the above, how it went and what you learned.

Written answers to the following:

• To what degree do you believe you are able to see opportunity around you? What does that look like for you?
• Identify and describe a time within the last 3 months that something you cared about did not go as you wished.
• Describe how you behaved and felt in that situation.
• Describe how you tend to behave when something does not work out as you thought it would. How does this candid description of yourself align with an orientation toward opportunity?
• What are the implications for you? o Identify and describe a time when you were able to create an opportunity when there were none obviously available to you.
• Describe how you behaved and felt in that situation.
• Tell us about the degree to which you are able to create opportunity when none is being given to you. What are the implications for you?