Are You a Platypus?

A few thoughts on David Wiley’s ESR conference keynote, in which he described FlatWorld Knowledge as “a bit of a platypus” in the market.

Think about it: A venemous duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed egg-laying mammal really shouldn’t exist. It’s no wonder that the european naturalists who first discovered the thing at first thought it was some kind of elaborate practical joke.

But the platypus does exist, last surviving member of its genus, and the remarkably well-adapted anchor of the Australian wetlands.

The point is this: Many of the most disruptive social innovations of all time have been playpuses–unexpected, even illogical ideas that reasonably shouldn’t exist. Like banks for people with literally nothing to put in them. Or peasant farmers who give eye exams. Or college textbooks you give away for free.

Each of these organizations, and many who will yet change the face of social entrepreneurship have adapted like the platypus–in some ways to better function in their environments (with webbed feet and self-sealing nostrils) and some in ways that help them shape that environment (like the beaver tail, or even the venom.)

One might argue that you have to be a platypus to make in the space.

But this much is sure. Any platypus out there can relate to the classic Ghandi quote that for me was the crux of David’s talk: “First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Long live the platypus.

Networking 2.0 : “Tools to Put More In”

Nathaniel Whitmore of Change.org blogged this week about a next-generation approach to networking. He concluded by describing social media platforms and utilities as “tools to put more in.” Thought I’d pick up where he left off with a few thoughts about how…

LinkedIn: Write reviews. Be generous in your acknowledgment of others strengths, accomplishments and contributions to your success.

Twitter: RTs and mentions are a valuable form of social currency–spend liberally.

Blogs: Do more than just read–even simple comments, 1-click tweets, diggs, or trackbacks can help boost a contact’s credibility and profile. Keep in mind the 4 Cs to help build authentic online conversations.

Facebook: Here again, small is beautiful. Use Fb Share buttons to promote good content, go ahead and become a fan of someone’s venture…who knows, you might just find a legitimate use for that “suggest a friend” function.

It may come as a revelation to some of the “wired generation,” but networking doesn’t actually require a URL. Some of the best connections, and the best contributions, you can make still happen the old fashioned way–face to face.

• When meeting someone for the first time, make it a goal to ask three meaningful questions before saying anything about yourself.
• Build a mental ‘map’ of the space you live and work in. Pay special attention to the gaps, places where you might be able to facilitate connections.
• When you receive a business card, take a moment to note one ‘gift’ you could give that person–an introduction email you could write, a link you could pass along, even a book you could recommend (or send).

Above all, be sincere. To borrow from Nathaniel again, today’s networking is all about building layers of connection and reciprocity…less transaction, more legitimate network.

“I want to be part of that!” (Part I)

Attended the kickoff event for the BYU chapter of Students for Social Entrepreneurship last night. I left behind half a dozen strangely quiet students. The palpable energy caught me off guard, probably because of its stark contrast to my depleted state.

A few steps later, one of the girls just stopped.

When the others turned to face her, she sort of shook her head and blurted out, “I want to be part of that!” I didn’t catch anything else as they walked away, but it made me smile, and I wondered if perhaps I’d just witnessed what Cheryl Dorsey of Echoing Green calls a “moment of obligation.”

Maybe someday I’ll tell you mine.

Kiva Can’t Get Growth Capital!?

Had a conversation (if you can call shouting into each others’ ears in a dim room over pounding bass a legitimate conversation) the other day with Matt Flannery, founder of Kiva. Went something like this:

SJ: “So, what’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?”
Matt: (with not a moment’s pause) Funding.
SJ: (after a moment of disbelief) Funding? But…you’re Kiva…Funding!?

Yes, funding. Kiva, Matt explained, currently covers about 80% of program and operating expenses through the optional user donations that accompany each loan. The other 20% is made up by various fellowships, grants, and major funders. Kiva is essentially self-sustaining.

But Matt wants more–he wants to grow. And what founder of an organization that fundamentally altered the philanthropic landscape wouldn’t? But the funds for that growth have been hard to come by. In Matt’s words: “No one wants to fund infrastructure.”

Now I’m not saying that micro-finance is a silver bullet, or that Kiva’s model is perfect. There are legitimate questions about impact, about transparency and about long-term sustainability.

But there were a whole lot more questions before Kiva jumped in and changed the game. And if anyone should be given the risk capital to take a shot at these new, deeper issues, it’s Kiva. There are hopeful signs for change on the horizon, but if the foundations and investors of the world can’t or won’t wake up soon, we’re just going to have to find another way.

Becoming an Agnostic…

Question from an application I recently completed: “[fantastic mentoring organization] attracts leaders from a wide range of fields: traditional non-profit, social entrepreneurship, traditional for-profit, public service, and academia. What sector do you most closely associate yourself with?”

This question comes up a lot–in my opinion, more than it should.

I have started describing myself as “sector agnostic,” a term I first heard in a presentation by David Bornstein. It’s not merely a matter of semantics, either. For years, we’ve talked about and worked to move past the “silo-ing” that wastes resources, squelches collaboration, and limits the impact of all kinds of organizations–businesses, non-profits, agencies, and departments alike.

Perhaps one of the greatest strengths any social entrepreneur (or intrapreneur) can offer is an ability and commitment to “associate closely” with ALL these sectors; to take lessons, adapt best practices, seek inspiration and integrate principles from each of these traditionally segregated arenas to get beyond the semantics and the status quo and focus on solutions.

So what does that look like? How do you recognize a sector agnostic?

I think there are some subtle cues: Their circle of friends and mentors is wide and varied…so is the magazine selection on their coffee table. The examples and stories they bring up in conversation come from everywhere and nowhere, yet they always end up relevant. You might even find yourself stumbling as you describe their work; “well, technically…” But they never seem to.  In fact, you seldom hear them using neat conceptual handles at all. Labels just don’t stick with them. All they seem to think and talk about is what works.

The world looks pretty different as a  sector agnostic. And I like it.

Lost and Found

On the poster-sized post-it calendar on my living room wall, I called this “the Month of Jetlag … or How to Write a Prospectus at 30,000 Feet.” And, though I am no closer to clearing that particular academic hurdle than I was a month ago, JetBlue’s “all-you-can-jet” pass has proven quite an adventure. Here’s a quick recap:

Number of Flights: 20
Cost/Flight: $29.95
Miles Flown: 39,248

LOST/LEFT/MISPLACED

• 1 black half-zip REI layer jacket
• 1 pair of fuzzy green slipper socks
• 3 sets of miniature shampoo/conditioner bottles
• 1 set of scriptures (left with CouchSurfing host on first NYC visit)
• 1 Pilot G-tech C4 pen. Dangit.
• Cell phone (temporarily—on the seat of the car that had just dropped me off at the airport—thanks JetBlue ladies and Jessi)
• A couple hundred hours of sleep

FOUND/GAINED/DISCOVERED

• A new allergy
• How to walk on a fractured foot
• The best place to spend the night in JFK.
• Not the best place to spend the night in LGB.
• 1 set of scriptures (delivered to airport by CouchSurfing host last night in NYC-thanks, Julie!)
• A fantastic spot for home-made whole-wheat vegetarian pizza in Portland
• Great 4/$1 dumplings in Chinatown in New York
• The “historic nub” of Boston (and it only took about 2 hours to get there…from across the highway)
• Increased appreciation for the designers of public transportation systems
• Half a dozen fantastic organizations with whom to collaborate on a social entrepreneurship curriculum
• Great new vocabulary words like “sector agnostic” (more on that later)
• About a hundred follow-up emails to write

I’ll be attempting a return to “normal” life this week and anticipate blogging will be an integral part of processing this past month. Stay  tuned.

Is Social Entrepreneurship a Double-Edged Sword?

The germ for this post comes from a tweet by @montero a few days ago describing social entrepreneurship as a double-edge sword; one edge entrepreneurship and the other the “social” element.

I admit the idea made me chuckle at first—the most common use of the idiom being to refer to something risky, unsafe, something that “cuts both ways.” And I suppose social entrepreneurship has the potential to be just that. But, I thought, there must have been a reason someone centuries ago decided to sharpen both edges of his sword.

It seems to me that at least two conditions must be met before a double-edged sword would be a relative advantage.

1. The blade has to match the style, skill and training of the person using it.

Double-edged blades are used differently then single-edged ones. They require a different stance, different attacks and different defense maneuvers. This can be a distinct advantage, especially if one’s opponent (say, poverty, ignorance, or social injustice) is only accustomed to attacks from single-edged weapons (maybe government programs or pure market enterprises.)

But in the wrong hands, especially hands that tried to use it as it if it was something else (a single-edged blade perhaps), a two-edged sword could be much more dangerous for the one wielding it than the opponent.

2. It has to match the task at hand.

Fine blades are crafted with specific characteristics that suit them to a particular purpose. (Think bread knife vs. meat cleaver, bone saw vs. scalpel.) In fact, some of the best knives (like that odd split one for sectioning grapefruit, or the almost floppy one for filleting fish) are only really good for one task—and ill-suited for just about anything else. A double-edged sword is unsuitable for most blade tasks in my daily life, but if I ever meet a dragon, (or the six-fingered man who killed my father) I sure hope I have one handy.

So, is social entrepreneurship a two-edged sword? In the right hands and put to the appropriate tasks, I think it could be.

A New Prescription for Innovator Growing Pains?

Aaron Sklar’s exposition on the potentially analgesic effects of integrated evaluation really got me thinking. He points out that innovation is by nature uncomfortable, and suggests carefully-defined and continually re-defined meaningful metrics can play a role in easing that discomfort by clarifying the”end” to keep in mind.

Perhaps there’s even more to it than that:

So often in life, discomfort is the result of poorly managed expectations: It’s the classic “this won’t hurt a bit” you hear from the well-meaning nurse as she jabs a 4″ needle into your hip, the regularly-spaced reassurances of how important your call is while you wait interminably on hold, the gut-wrenching panic when you try on “your size” at a new boutique only to discover you can’t even button the trousers.

In addition to, or perhaps as a result of providing structure in a new (ad)venture, integrated, authentic, continual evaluation creates a different set of expectations in an organization. We expect to discover things that don’t work, we expect middle-of-the-ride course corrections (and the accompanying jolts), we expect transparency and honest critique, and we expect iteration.

It’s amazing the levels of “discomfort” we can adapt to if we expect it, and the performance we have the capacity to achieve through it is even more exciting.

Hello? … Anybody home?

Head spinning right now with thoughts from SoCap09. Wasn’t there, mind you. Just eaves-dropped through twitter. More on that later…maybe.

But this line’s on repeat in my head: “Social Media advice…don’t just talk about yourself, talk about the world and show that you’re listening.” As far as I can tell, the tweet originated from David Jay, and it’s got me wondering: How do you show the world you’re listening? Here’s what I’ve got so far:

• Compliment. Affirmation has always been a powerful social currency. RTs, comments, track-backs and diggs have put flexible, convenient new denominations at our fingertips. Spend freely! Look for reasons to congratulate, to thank, to encourage and to acknowledge to efforts and contributions of others.
• Critique. Obviously not as easy or as fun as the previous option, thoughtful criticism (carefully given) can build even deeper, more active social capital.
• Coordinate. Connecting individuals and organizations with potentially synergistic interests/objectives/resources etc. can be rewarding in so many ways. A simple introduction can inspire loyalty and the oh-so-valuable (sometimes even sub-conscious) desire to reciprocate.
• Collaborate. Taking time to understand someone’s thoughts/ideas enough to actually build on them is a significant investment–one not commonly made in today’s information-saturated world. Don’t underestimate the potential impact of the effort.

The obvious corollary to this sort of strategy is that it’s not the world you’ll be listening to. The world is too big, too loud for anyone to really listen to. Listen to your tribe, that self-selected sub-population you want to lead. Get to know them, engage, and reap the benefits.

Who knows, with all this engaged listening, you might just learn something.

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants–at least for an hour!

They call it Power Hour–after-school tutoring for at-risk kids–and it works wonders. Connects kids to positive role models, keeps them of the streets and passing algebra, and fosters social adjustment and self-esteem.

I figure I could use a little tutoring (not to mention positive role models who understand the “algebra” that is the intersection of business, social change, technology and media) to prepare for some of Tipping Bucket’s next adventures. So, I’m launching my very own PowerHour!

This next week will be a big jump-start, but I plan on 1/week into the foreseeable future. For now, we’ll meet on BYU campus; Tanner Building W139 conference room. Come in person if you can, but Skype can work wonders for you geniuses outside “happy valley.”

Here’s the tentative lineup for next week (starting the 13th).

MON: Target Market/Market Sizing
TUES: Branding/Messaging/PR
WED: Social Media Strategy
THUR: Development (Prospects List/CRM)
FRI: Strategic Partnerships

Please leave me comments with the topics you’re interested in, your broad availability next week, your lunch/snack suggestions… and vote here on the best time slot for you going forward.

Let’s see if this works as well as it does for the 4th graders!