BOOM! Ways to Scale Your Impact as a Social Entrepreneur
Social entrepreneurs have proven time and again that they really can improve the lives of others when they focus on a cause they are passionate about and much the same as every other business owner, there are challenges they face when it comes to scaling: How to scale their impact? Should they expand their organisation? Should they seek larger financial backing?
Professor J. Gregory Dees, co-founder of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University, theorises that if one stops asking “can” and starts asking “how can” then we will be better able to find solutions. “That’s the kind of conversation we need to be having about social entrepreneurs scaling impact—not framing this as a yes or no proposition—can they versus can’t they, but as a challenge to which we all need to rise. In reframing this as a “how can” question, I think we can be a bit more precise.” Says Dees in his blog: Creating large-scale change: Not ‘can’ but ‘how’ (http://voices.mckinseyonsociety.com/creating-large-scale-change-not-can-but-how/) This is a much better question to ask and it gets us thinking of constructive answers.
We must seek out all methods for scaling impact. Expanding the size of your organisation is one route to take, and can be quite effective. Another method is one that was taken by Dr. Cecily Saunders, who founded St. Christopher’s Hospice in London. Her passion was to introduce the idea of a Hospice to all other countries, she achieved this by
replicating what works,
creating a cultural change and
changing public policy in many countries, not by growing St. Christophers.
We must also empower those whom we wish to help. Katie Smith Milway feels that “Even far-flung or pint-sized choruses for change can wield great influence when they unite and come from a place of deep authenticity. Any social entrepreneur, who wants to help a disadvantaged constituency help itself, needs first to give power to its voice.” (http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/05/how-social-entrepreneurs-can-have-the-most-impact/) It is one of the greatest gifts.
In this week’s #BBLChat we want you to tell us what you think is the best way social entrepreneurs can scale their impact and how we as a society can assist them.
Join us on tonight, Thursday 10 July at 8pm SAST on Twitter.
Q1: How do you think social entrepreneurs can achieve a greater, more widespread and lasting, impact sooner and more cost effectively?
Q2: ‘Money makes the world go round’ but is it the be all and end all of a social entrepreneurs’ ability to scale their impact? What role do you think finances play in this regard?
Q3: Dr Cecily Saunder’s example at St Christopher’s Hospice is an example of how it was not necessary to grow the organisation in order to scale her impact. In what instance/s do you think growing an organisation is the best solution to scaling the impact of a social entrepreneur?
Q4: Name ways a social entrepreneur can increase a community’s interest and participation in their cause.
Q5: How would introducing social entrepreneurship to our children at school level bring about change to the industry?