When will we learn that you cannot buy success?

So Dragons Den star Peter Jones has been exposed by the Mail on Sunday. The report claims that his New Enterprise Academy has hoovered up £9m of Government money and delivered just 10% of the new entrepreneurs it was set up to create.

When will the Government learn that big budget, big target, big name initiatives never work? Our Big Society will only be created when millions of ordinary people feel empowered and capable of doing extraordinary things. It's not about aspiring to own a plane and visit Buckingham Palace; it's actually about becoming proud of yourself, your neighbourhood and knowing that perhaps for the first time ever, you're in control of your future.

By happy coincidence I'm launching my own Barefoot Business Academy in September and recruiting participants now. There will only be 100 a year and they'll work together and in small groups to define then achieve the success they want for themselves.I'll simply be catalyst, coach, mentor and champion, making their journey easier as the work through the 10 month programme. I'll share their pain, fix their challenges and help them see that they really can do it. We'll be answerable to no one but ourselves.

There'll be no free rides either. People will pay their way, £100+ vat per month and get their money back if it doesn't work out. Their only risk will be an up front assessment / commitment fee of £150+vat. That's to prove that their serious.

Three have already signed - I'm expecting plenty more. No plans, no medals, just common sense and collective success.

A call for debate from a man of words

I've shaken hands with the Archbishop of Canterbury and bashing bishops of any kind is not something I'm inclined to do. Rowan Williams is a very bright, passionate and surprisingly pragmatic cleric. I've heard him speak and know he sees his church as a strong force, capable of delivering real societal change at grasssroots level.

But why this week did he choose to attack Cameron and 'Big Society'? His call for more national debate, involving no doubt more national figures and coverage in national media, actually dis-empowers the very people Big Society is supposed to be encouraging

We've had decades of idiotic planners, bureaucrats and petty politicians telling us what we need. Big Society surely is everyone's opportunity to actually go out and do stuff, 'be the change they want to see' as Gandhi once said.

So, I'm not sure what motivated the outburst, but frankly I think he was wrong. Oops, I've just bashed an archbishop!

Nat the hat

I was impressed by Nat Wei when I met him 10 days ago at the House of Lords. Young, bright and clearly determined to make a difference he somehow seemed out of place in what to me looked more like a gentleman's club than a place where social change is possible.

If' you've not been through the 'Peer's Entrance' at Westminster you might be surprised (as I was) to find the guy behind reception wearing white tie and tails. Then after the inevitable photo ID and security scan, you find yourself in a large cloakroom. Each member of the Lords has a coat-peg and like Primary School, each has their name by in so they don't lose their coat.

I've no idea if he arrived there because he was 'chosen' or if in fact he threw his hat into the ring. I guess it was a bit of both. Clearly though the place has beaten him and the crusty old farts who form the bulk of inhabitants will feel they've won. After all, who wants someone to challenge the status quo, demand change and present very cogent arguments for what for many must look like rocking the boat.

I wondered what could have gone wrong and quickly realised that Nat had made a big mistake on day one. A mistake from which he never recovered. You see he was expecting to be paid, not unreasonably, but was told that the quota for paid Cabinet Office advisers was full. He took this at face value, worked for free and the rest is now history. To do 'Big Society' you have to challenge the status quo, bend the rules and sometimes overturn tradition.

Someone told me that the quota system for paid advisers was a Tory move to counter the massive influx of paid advisers hired by the Labour administration, but that's politic, not pragmatism. Big Society is not political; it's about doing what's right so that the masses of frustrated folk trying to make a difference at grassroots level can actually succeed.

Now Nat's hanging his hat on the Community Foundation Network coat peg. Here I know he'll be able to move on and make the difference he is clearly capable of delivering. What's more I'll be there helping him where I can, as I too work closely with the Community Foundation movement.

In three weeks time, I'm meeting Nick Hurd to talk Big Society. Do you think I should drop a few hints about my future role?

Why are too many social enterprises like warthogs?

I recently came home from a visit to my daughter. She lives in Uganda so inevitably, I found myself out in the bush watching the wildlife. Game drives are a big money spinner in East Africa. Eco-Lodges are popping up in the game reserves attracting Europeans and Americans happy to pay top dollar for a far from authentic African experience.

One day, my daughter and I encountered a lone Warthog on a grassy track. He didn't seem keen to see us and was clearly undecided about what to do. Should he charge and frightens away or should he be doing the running? You could see the indecision as he made ready to run one way then the other. In the end he wandered off, still unsure what to do.

Someone told me a great warthog story that evening. It seems they are not the brightest animal in the bush and when confronted by a lion, they'll run without looking back for a kilometre or more. Here's the story. Having run away from a lion, tail in the air and feet pounding until out of breath a warthog stopped for a rest. Having stopped, it promptly forgot why it had been running and started to graze. The lion however, had followed and was waiting. It had not forgotten at all why it was chasing the warthog and soon pounced on hapless beast, that now was blissfully unaware of the danger.

Too many social enterprises also have a tendency to flee at the first sign of danger. Then they find something nice and forget why they fled. The corporate lions on the other hand know exactly what they're doing. Many will play a clever game and just when it's least expected, will pounce on and consume the unprepared social enterprise.

The moral of the story is this: if you decide to flee from adversity, make sure you keep looking over your shoulder and watch what your rival is doing. Mindless flight inevitably leads to needless defeat!

Drink coffee; change the world

I was in Swansea last week speaking on social entrepreneurship at an event organised by the Wales Cooperative Centre. The two day conference formed part of a digital inclusion campaign, which is successfully getting more social enterprises, charities and community organisations online.

The even took place at the DVLA's super training centre. It was a suitably high-tech venue from which many of the presentations were streamed live to viewers around the world. (Who tweeted questions to me @robertashton1)

But I want to talk about Avenance, the company who run the catering here. They are a national provider of excellent catering services. The food was good and the service exceptional, but a huge opportunity was missed. You see the espresso machine was not turned on and the staff on duty were not selling nice coffee, or selling sweets. You could only have the catering included in the conference package.

I asked the audience for a show of hands: 'how many of you would have paid for a decent coffee today?' Around 50 hands went up. And that's the lost opportunity for us all. You see had they sold coffee to those willing to pay the premium for froth, chocolate sprinkles and freshly ground beans, they might have taken £500 over the counter over the two days. The staff were there; the till was there and the coffee machine was there.

What could Avenance have done with that money? It would be 'bonus income' and thus available for CSR activity, such as providing additional staff time to help provide work experience to someone regaining confidence and workplace skills after a spell of poor mental health. It could have been given to the local playgroup to fund much needed new toys, or used to pay for a pensioner Christmas lunch in that same venue.

You see were well all willing to pay and the money could have be used in many useful ways. Instead the opportunity was lost. This surely is what Big Society is about - responding to opportunity, meeting a demand and using the profits for social good. It's not difficult; all that's needed is for employers like Avenance to empower, excite and entrust their people.

Add all these small opportunities together and the money is there to change the world. Let's do it!

I've been outed by the BBC as a fan of Big Society!

I've long stopped being worried about speaking in public. I've also now done several radio and TV interviews and of course with help from my friend Nik written and presented my own series on a Sky channel.

But the BBC felt somehow different. I was interviewed for this week's BBC One Politics Show (the BBC East) version. My brief was to explain why I think Big Society is about much more than saving the Government money and persuading Britain's good folk to volunteer to deliver public services. 

So the first half of the programme (the national bit) had big names including Norman Lamont talking about big issues like Ireland's national insolvency. Then it was teenage pregnancy in Great Yarmouth and then Big Society. I appeared after a grumpy, cynical trade unionist and was followed by Phillip Blond, Mr Big Society himself!

What surprised me was the mounting anxiety as the moment neared. How had I been edited? Would I be presented in a positive way or as an idealist, out of touch with reality? Of course it was fine and tomorrow afternoon's BBC Look East will have me re-edited to respond to the comments phoned in after today's broadcast.

The thing is, Big Society is a huge opportunity for everyone to make sure that what happens in their locality is what needs to happen, rather than what some centrally generated Government policy prescribes. It's common sense and very exciting. And now the BBC have outed me as a Big Society enthusiast, I can't wait to see what happens next!

Be nice to a bureaucrat today!

I recently wrote a newspaper column about my experience of 'Big Society' . In it I mentioned the fact that the team at Norfolk County Council's Children's Services are making a huge effort to adapt to the fast changing environment. Traditionally schools and local authorities rarely agree on everything and too often the relationship becomes rather adversarial.

Here in Norfolk I'm working with a school to create a 'Big Society' solution to their urgent need of a new campus. The way school and local authority are working together with my help to create the best result, involving both private and third sector partners is breathtaking. It's a pleasure to witness the enthusiasm with which both teams are looking for the pragmatic middle ground between safe but slow bureaucratic process and edgy, innovative new ways of working. Good governance must be maintained, but so too must opportunities be grasped before they disappear.

Feedback from County Hall suggests that my column was well received and rightly so. It's too easy to default to past mindsets and be critical, missing the fact that times have changed. Everyone is in the same boat now, anxious about the inevitable change, but also excited by what the future holds.

So before you start complaining, kicking and undermining the bureaucrats in your life, think again. Recognise how times are changing and try being nice to them instead. You'll be surprised by what happens!