Hybrids

 This week the study was Hybrid organizations. Basically a hybrid company is one that takes parts of the nonprofit a for-profit business and combines aspects from both. This idea is really taking off. They are not without their trials however as a business who is trying to be socially innovative. 

One of the things that stood out to me this week was the chapter we read in the book “How to change the world”. The author talks about six qualities of a successful social entrepreneur. They are 1. Willingness to self correct 2. Willingness to share the credit 3. Willingness to break free of established structure 4. Willingness to cross disciplinary boundaries 5. Willingness to work quietly 6. Strong ethical impetus. I believe all of these to be great characteristics of a successful social entrepreneur. 

The question was posed as to why Hybrid’s are so successful. The first thing that came to me was they are the best of both worlds. They have a business model and background that helps them be the money behind the idea. As much as we want to believe things are different, they aren’t. It takes money to make real change. Having a hybrid allows money to be made to put back into the business to continue to bless others lives. 

Non Profit or NGO

 I think non profit organizations are amazing. They make things happen in this world in a time when many people thought it would be a good idea but they didn't put the rubber to the road. In todays world many business' are trying to do good in this world, hopefully with people in mind as well as the world we live in. Society at large is requiring business to do something to protect the environment and to help people who need it. 

We read an article called "Building Movements, not organizations" by Hildy Gottlieb She talked about how the world is experiencing individual organizations all over the world trying to become socially minded but they are all individual organizations or business'. She presents the idea that we need a movements! Doing so would help us define success, define leadership, and define means. 

This weeks assignments could help as a non profit volunteer, donor, board member, or employee in several ways. First off they address the issues and problems with current trends. This lesson can help to understand why we need sturdy infrastructure and we need to spend money on overheard. We need to be honest about our overhead. It takes money to be able to make a difference in the world and that includes paying the electric bills and rent on the organizations offices. We need to have honest conversations and portray things how they truly are if we are going to succeed. 

CSR

     CSR is a acronym for Corporate Social Responsibility. That means that Corporations feel and practice social responsibility hopefully in three different ways. These are called the triple bottom line. Basically it explains that profit is not the only thing companies need to focus on. It includes people, people and profits. I love the idea of a Venn diagram that overlaps all three parts. We need all three of these points to have success. Customers are interested in social issues. They want to take care of the environment, they want to support business that cares for the environment and try and leave the smallest carbon footprint as possible. The video from our studies this week did a good job of explaining the triple bottom line. 

    They also want to help people. If a business uses their business to help a population with a social need. Some help people have clean drinking water, sustainable farming, or literacy. There are tons of different issues that social innovation are addressing. They are using some of their profits to help people!

    CSR has become more popular in recent years because with the World Wide Web we are shrinking the world. We can see into many countries around the world. The social issues are more real for us when we can access it anytime on the internet. Also, I think we live in a time of plenty. Many have the things they need and they then look to help others. If there is a business that is helping others they want to spend their money there. In fact, it is demanded. If a business wants to succeed society is demanding a CSR.

 The Ted talk “5 keys to Success for Social Entrepreneurs”  really helped me understand what a good one liked. He spoke of five  points. Each one made so much sense. Number 5 was actually realizing  that your idea is worth nothing unless you have action. Talk is cheap but tam to implement what you have  is value. Number four was hating whatever they were fighting for. They are fired up about the social issue. Number 3. They are not quiet about their project. They want everyone to know about it. Number 2, They are paranoid! They are so focused they can’t sleep. They are keeping themselves up at night worrying about their venture. The number one tip for success is to look at social impact and at money

This week was not the easiest for me. We talked about lean start-up and business model canvas. The business side of things is not my expertise however I know how important it is in all aspects of life. Having a social business or non profit will need business skills to make this work!

Sharpening my business skills is imperative to being successful We are learning that all sectors of social entrepenurship needs money. Even if you are not for profit, everyone needs money to function. There can and are people with excellent skills but if they can’t run a business they will be ruined. 

Financial Impact

 NGO’s have a big job to raise money to solve the ills of our society today. Social Entrepreneurship  has become a great way to solve issues. Start up expenses are high for such adventures. This week we talked about options to fund the amazing ideas and business’ that can literally solve some of the the ills of this world. 

One such option is crowd funding. It is a great way to start up a business venture. Many people are invested in social issues and they want to make a difference in the world. One holdback is many people don’t have large capital to invest. Crowd funding allows many people to put in a small amount of money. Many people contributing a small amount ends up being a large amount. The article “Social Entrepreneurs don’t have it easy raising capital” does a good job of sharing these principles. It seems like people are wiling to donate money and invest in  a good cause. 

Can money change the world? I think it can. Money along with people with good hearts and  desire to do the right thing. Those desires to change the world and do good by the people of the world but it also takes money to solve many of the problems we face. So Yes, money can change the world along with good deeds of others. However, money doesn’t buy happiness. Life is happier when you have money. It is hard to be happy if you are hungry or don’t have a warm house to live in but I have learned from people who have very little, you can be happy. The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our life. No matter what, we can have happiness depending on where our life is focused!

Impact Change

 This week learning about impact evaluation and change reminded me that knowing the full impact of the things you do is not as easy as it would seem. Data is important in identifying the impact. Evaluating the data on a daily weekly, monthly and yearly can help you understand the impact you are having. Figuring out how you will measure success is and important step. Also identifying the steps you must take to measure that success. Figuring out your impact and the steps to get to that data will help you understand the impact of your data. 

The eight word mission statement was very interesting. I won't lie, reading long drawn out ,mission statements often never get to the point. Having 8 words really gets to the point. These mission statements include concrete results and they talk about the what, not the how. These are made by using a verb, a target population and an outcome in eight words or less. 

The article Starfish Hurling and Community Service gave a new perspective I had never though of. The author suggests five problems with the story. First, the story is simplistic. Most of the time the problem is much more complex.  Second,  the story is apolitical. The starfish have no voice. Third the complexity is not addressed as we don't know why the starfish are washing ashore. Fourth, the story demonstrates and emotional response rather than a rational one. Lastly, the story is about random acts of kindness. It is an interesting take on a well known story,. I think some things can be simple and often emotional responses are what get things moving. Random acts of kindness may not be the most efficient way to get things done but they are important for the population you can affect with your act. 

Design thinking

I thought this week was going to be difficult for me because I think I am not a very creative person. I really enjoyed the ted talk by David Kelley "How to build your creative confidence". I realized that I do have more creativity then I think and I need to use that creativity. I think I just need to revisit it and get comfortable with it. I also realized that I don't want to be a person who squashes other peoples creativity. Creative design is a process of finding solutions to problems in our world. There are a few process' to design thinking but the basic overview is understanding a need by observing and engaging. Nest step is define the issue and a solution. Then brainstorm different solutions and come up with a plan. The last step is to test out the solutions. Human centered design is imperative as we need a deep understanding of the needs of the people we want to serve. 

I am so glad I took the time to watch the optional video for this week's study called "Design for the Developing World" by Christopher Mattson. When he spoke about putting our capacity to design to work on difficult problems, I realized I need to stop holding myself back. My strong suits are with people and if I am able to be people centered and understand what people need and be creative with my solutions I can solve problems.

This is such a needed skill to have in social innovation. We must have creative design. Understanding a need and them creating ideas around that need are how we will solve problems. It takes critiquing and evaluating and doing the process over and over again. It is hard work but the benefits of solving social issues are exciting!