As a self-effacing Brit, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer optimism and enthusiasm of 5,000 Americans who all seem to have a web app to promote.  Dig a little deeper with some of these guys though, and you find there’s a lot of optimism, and not a lot more.  Their commitment to their idea appears total, but after a while you get the sense that there’s only a single dimension to their vision, a single level of depth to their thinking. 

Not that I’m knocking Americans.  They’re great at this stuff, and they’re great optimistic people who get things done.  But it sets me thinking, what are we Brits good and bad at.

We’re great at ideas: we’ve invented many many things: in the digital world and far beyond.  Our creativity and technical innovation is a genuine strength.  We’re also great at what I’d call ‘commercials: finance, project management, running businesses rigorously at any level, including globally. 

Where we’re not so hot is evangelism of two sorts: the first is the belief and commitment that gets an idea from pub-talk to something viable, something that’s gone beyond ‘I might do that one day’.  That demands self belief and an ability to animate and motivate peers and collaborators.  The second kind of evangelism is promoting the concept to the wider world: investors, end users, the press. 

It’s not that we Brits lack balls, but we’re culturally reticent to shout about how great we are or might be.  Americans have us beaten hands down there; maybe we should import some to Bristol.