I recently had a wonderful experience I’d like to share with you. It had nothing to do with “closing another deal” or marketing to new clients.

It had to do with the future. Our future.

When we deal with the daily challenges of today’s competitive environment, it’s easy to become so focused on the next “crisis of the moment” that we overlook our greater responsibility to the business community at large.

Throughout a career of more than three decades, I’ve often wondered why so many cases begin with clear objectives shared by all parties and then somehow spiral downward in contention that can only be resolved through litigation. What is it that ultimately drives lenders, borrowers, vendors, and unsecured creditors to open the “lawyer’s tool box” and seek the services of court-appointed receivers, provisional directors, or liquidating agents to resolve issues upon which there was initial consensus?

While dealing with this phenomenon over the years, I came to believe that even the most successful business needs a constant influx of new ideas, new energy, and new talent. Absent new blood, businesses become entrenched in their own status quo and often find themselves blind to their own mistakes.

The very nature of progress and innovation requires us to nurture those who will inevitably follow in our footsteps, either as partners, competitors, or revolutionary game changers. But to do so, we need to arm young people with the tools to understand the value of integrity in all they do. Future leaders need exposure to the ethical principles and professional skills they will need to avoid the pitfalls undermining so many of today’s businesses.

With that in mind, I accepted another invitation to serve as a judge in Project ECHO’s 11th Annual High School Entrepreneur’s Business Plan Competition held at UCLA’s Harold Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. It was a remarkable and invigorating experience for all who were there.

The objectives of Project ECHO are straightforward: to provide high school students with a dynamic learning opportunity while interacting with experienced business professionals. It is a chance for high school students to be exposed to real-world business challenges in an environment where they are treated as adults and taken seriously. The competition features individual teams as they develop marketable business concepts, assess their need for resources, and then pitch their business plan to a wide range of industry professionals. In many ways, the event was “Shark Tank” for young entrepreneurs.

What first impressed me about this year’s participants was their complete grace under fire. The UCLA Anderson School of Management is an august setting that might understandably intimidate the average high school teenager. Not this group. These students seemed completely unfazed by the setting or by the panel of judges who were each experienced and prominent in their respective fields.

The student teams stood before us fully prepared and filled with confidence for their business plan and group presentation. We judges listened, responded, and gave our comments as though we were dealing with adult professionals, and responded just as thoughtfully and inquisitively as we would to anyone who had come before us in search of serious capital investment.

The student presentations were intelligent and articulate, covering the essentials of demographics, cost of funds, financing alternatives, personal guarantees, cost of living indexes, cost of goods, profit margins, raw materials versus finished product cost, gross and net profit, and marketing and sales projections. These kids were not the scions of industrialists or CEOs, but came from diverse backgrounds of every strata.

Although it was a competitive event, each of these students validated themselves with their fearless approach and remarkable confidence before the judges. This was more than mere “play acting.” It was truly a demonstration of character, intelligence, and a determination to close a deal. One of the participants—who had not been on the winning team—approached me following the awards ceremony to ask, “What did you think, Mr. Owens?” I knew I was talking to someone who understood the value of a strong follow-up and is already on the road to success.

Was I impressed? You bet I was.

Sitting on the Project ECHO panel is always an invigorating, educational experience. The days I spent as a judge this year were as personally rewarding for me as they were for the student participants. The opportunity to help inculcate an appreciation for the realities of financing, building, and operating a successful business in today’s competitive economic environment reminded me of both of our responsibilities to future generations and of the challenges our profession faces in bringing equitable resolutions to those who may have made unfortunate missteps.

Everyone involved with Project ECHO, including CEO Chip Goodman, Board Chair Jeff Kravitz, and Executive Director Diane Quast, deserves the appreciation of the entire business community for showing us all the way to “pay it forward.”

(You can learn Project ECHO program details at http://projectecho.org/our-programs/)

* Leon J. Owens is a recognized expert in the field of Special Assets, business consultation and bank-lender relationships. He’s an active member of the Institute of Management Consultants, the California Receiver’s Forum, and the A.B.C. Institute.