Social entrepreneurship continues to grow. On my campus, more students than ever are interested in the subject; classes continue to be added, and faculty experts hired to teach. Also, our Capstone class business plan competition had more plans targeted at non-profits than ever before.
I also caught this interesting post, which I’ll be following as he builds out his list: The Top Trends That Will Shape Social Entrepreneurship in 2010 by Nathaniel Whittemore
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tell a Story
I love stories…maybe it’s my heritage in working for Disney, or maybe it’s just because I think they are a wonderful vehicle to tell about projects or programs…better than reciting a mind-numbing list of facts and figures. To the point of storytelling, my friend Dwain Deville, just sent over this article from Business Week.
From the article:
Tell classic stories. Most reporters don't care about a tiny startup, and that's why Benioff never positioned himself as such. He told a classic David-vs.-Goliath story. "We gave the media something different. We gave them something new. We always positioned ourselves as revolutionaries. We went after the largest competitor in the industry or the industry itself. We made our story about change. We were about something new and different that was good for customers, and good for the community. We talked about the future." Although the media landscape is changing, Benioff believes there will always be a need for content. The delivery model might be changing, but exchanging and sharing stories and information remains as important as ever.
Make your own metaphors. According to Benioff, simple metaphors are a terrific way to communicate your message. "I spend a lot of time creating metaphors to explain what we do. For example, early on I explained what we did with the metaphor "salesforce.com is Amazon.com (AMZN) meets Siebel Systems." Later when we launched AppExchange we called it "the eBay (EBAY) of enterprise software." Anyone can create their own metaphors, says Benioff. "Just remember to test them before you put them out there. Try a few and run them by customers, analysts, and people in your network to make sure they work."
I’d add that even if you’re not dealing with reporters, but instead are talking to board members, funding sources, stakeholders, friends of your program, etc…stories are a powerful way to get your message across. And what’s best, if your Board members hears a story, it then becomes a story that he/she can tell and it gets your message out even further into the community. Think stories…gather them, edit them and tell them to get your message out in way that facts and figures never can.
From the article:
Tell classic stories. Most reporters don't care about a tiny startup, and that's why Benioff never positioned himself as such. He told a classic David-vs.-Goliath story. "We gave the media something different. We gave them something new. We always positioned ourselves as revolutionaries. We went after the largest competitor in the industry or the industry itself. We made our story about change. We were about something new and different that was good for customers, and good for the community. We talked about the future." Although the media landscape is changing, Benioff believes there will always be a need for content. The delivery model might be changing, but exchanging and sharing stories and information remains as important as ever.
Make your own metaphors. According to Benioff, simple metaphors are a terrific way to communicate your message. "I spend a lot of time creating metaphors to explain what we do. For example, early on I explained what we did with the metaphor "salesforce.com is Amazon.com (AMZN) meets Siebel Systems." Later when we launched AppExchange we called it "the eBay (EBAY) of enterprise software." Anyone can create their own metaphors, says Benioff. "Just remember to test them before you put them out there. Try a few and run them by customers, analysts, and people in your network to make sure they work."
I’d add that even if you’re not dealing with reporters, but instead are talking to board members, funding sources, stakeholders, friends of your program, etc…stories are a powerful way to get your message across. And what’s best, if your Board members hears a story, it then becomes a story that he/she can tell and it gets your message out even further into the community. Think stories…gather them, edit them and tell them to get your message out in way that facts and figures never can.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Honoring Social Entrepreneurs
At a time when magazines and tv shows like to celebrate the culture of excess, it’s nice to see social entrepreneurs being honored as a 2009 Purpose Prize Fellow. From the Reuters article:
Kenneth Barnes has been named a 2009 Purpose Prize Fellow, an honor for social entrepreneurs over 60 who are using their experience and passion to take on society's biggest challenges. Now in its fourth year, the six-year, $17 million program is the nation's only
large-scale investment in social innovators in the second half of life.
Kenneth Barnes, Sr., the founder/CEO of the Washington, DC-based ROOT (Reaching Out to Others Together), Inc. was named a Fellow for his work on behalf of victims of crime and gun violence not only in his native Washington, DC, but throughout the US. In April of this year, Mr. Barnes was the recipient of the National Service Award presented to him by the Attorney
General of the United States during National Victims of Crime Week. This honor is the highest awarded to an individual based upon their work on behalf of victims of crime. Just this past month, Mr. Barnes was the recipient of the BET Hometown Hero of the Year award. Since his son was brutally murdered in 2001, he has worked tirelessly and ceaselessly to develop an awareness campaign, programs, and initiatives to help prevent gun violence from a public
health perspective, rather than wait to react to violence, as he feels is so often the norm today.
Kenneth Barnes has been named a 2009 Purpose Prize Fellow, an honor for social entrepreneurs over 60 who are using their experience and passion to take on society's biggest challenges. Now in its fourth year, the six-year, $17 million program is the nation's only
large-scale investment in social innovators in the second half of life.
Kenneth Barnes, Sr., the founder/CEO of the Washington, DC-based ROOT (Reaching Out to Others Together), Inc. was named a Fellow for his work on behalf of victims of crime and gun violence not only in his native Washington, DC, but throughout the US. In April of this year, Mr. Barnes was the recipient of the National Service Award presented to him by the Attorney
General of the United States during National Victims of Crime Week. This honor is the highest awarded to an individual based upon their work on behalf of victims of crime. Just this past month, Mr. Barnes was the recipient of the BET Hometown Hero of the Year award. Since his son was brutally murdered in 2001, he has worked tirelessly and ceaselessly to develop an awareness campaign, programs, and initiatives to help prevent gun violence from a public
health perspective, rather than wait to react to violence, as he feels is so often the norm today.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Is it a Good Idea?
Have you ever wondered if your social entrepreneurship idea is a good one? Here is a short piece from the Huffington Post that might help you answer that question.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
If You Aren't Listening...
I love the newspaper industry…always have. However, I’m probably exactly what’s wrong with it because even though I read more newspaper now than ever, I only pay for one. I read the Wall Street Journal and parts of the NY Times, LA Times, Denver Post, the Syracuse Post- Standard, South Bend Tribune (to keep tabs on Notre Dame) and the Chicago Tribune (to keep track of my beloved Blackhawks). But I only pay for the on-line and print edition of the Wall Street Journal, and the others I read for free on the internet.
Which brings me to Peter Kann’s column in today’s Wall Street Journal. As you read this article, for a moment, forget about the newspaper industry and insert your sector of the non-profit world whenever Mr. Kann refers to his industry. That’s to me the interesting thing about the demise of the newspaper industry; just a few years ago it was unthought-of that the thing could go down in flames as it has. Sure it’s been in trouble for a while, but no one really saw this coming and that’s the lesson for all of us no matter what we do in our space. Look; watch; and think because if you are not careful…if you aren’t innovating...if you aren't paying close attention to your business model…if you aren’t talking and listening to your clients…if you aren't listening to your funders and your board members and your volunteers…you too someday could be sitting in the same place that they are today.
Which brings me to Peter Kann’s column in today’s Wall Street Journal. As you read this article, for a moment, forget about the newspaper industry and insert your sector of the non-profit world whenever Mr. Kann refers to his industry. That’s to me the interesting thing about the demise of the newspaper industry; just a few years ago it was unthought-of that the thing could go down in flames as it has. Sure it’s been in trouble for a while, but no one really saw this coming and that’s the lesson for all of us no matter what we do in our space. Look; watch; and think because if you are not careful…if you aren’t innovating...if you aren't paying close attention to your business model…if you aren’t talking and listening to your clients…if you aren't listening to your funders and your board members and your volunteers…you too someday could be sitting in the same place that they are today.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Colleges and Universities and Social Entrepreneurship
It’s been interesting watching the colleges and universities that are getting involved in social entrepreneurship. In the last week, I’ve seen articles on schools as different as Tulane, Case Western Reserve and the New School of New York on all launching new and different initiatives in this space. Take a look at something interesting from the New School:
A new program in social entrepreneurship is beginning at the New School in New York and there is a kick off on Monday night. There are lots of them at Columbia University and around the country but this one might be different. New School is a university with Milano, a school of management, Parsons a school of design and Social Research, with degrees given in Anthropology, Sociology and other social sciences. In short, students can learn to do, to build, to create products and services specifically in the social space. Most other programs in social entrepreneurship come out of business schools where students generally apply markets to solving social problems.
A new program in social entrepreneurship is beginning at the New School in New York and there is a kick off on Monday night. There are lots of them at Columbia University and around the country but this one might be different. New School is a university with Milano, a school of management, Parsons a school of design and Social Research, with degrees given in Anthropology, Sociology and other social sciences. In short, students can learn to do, to build, to create products and services specifically in the social space. Most other programs in social entrepreneurship come out of business schools where students generally apply markets to solving social problems.
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