Summary

Social entrepreneurs are the source of creative destruction in the citizen sector — identifying systemic problems and building organizations that change attitudes, expectations, and behaviors at scale. Ashoka's 25+ year track record of identifying these people reveals a consistent profile: goal-setting creativity, entrepreneurial quality (they exist to change the world fundamentally), social impact, and ethical fiber. The best social entrepreneurs mix for-profit and non-profit models, build partnerships, and know when to leave — founders should step away after 5-7 years to avoid becoming the bottleneck. Three dominant human motivations drive change: need for power, need for affiliation, and need for achievement — the entrepreneurial drive to make the world conform to one's will.

Key Takeaways

Notes

1: Restless people

• Entrepreneur: source of the creative destruction necessary for major economic advances
• Social entrepreneurs: propel social change
• Rapid global rise in citizen groups
• Non-profit → citizen sector
• NGOs are quicker than governments to respond to new opportunities

2: From little acorns do great trees grow

• Ashoka innovators for the public: 25+ years of identifying, backing social entrepreneurs

3: The light in my head went on

• Agricultural dept in rural town
• Rural electrification
• Managed grazing
• Mix of for-profit and non-profit

4: The fixed determination of an indomitable will

• Changing attitudes, expectations, behaviors
• Long-term system effort

5: A very significant force

• World was becoming too fast, interconnected for rule-based ethics
• 3 dominant human motivations:
  • Need for power:
  • Need for affiliation:
  • Need for achievement: entrepreneurial, long-term goals, making world confirm to own will
• The bubble, emissions trading, EPA

6: Why was I never told about this?

• Fellowship: 3-year social work pegged salary
• Ashoka’s selection process

7: Childline

• Childline service in Bombay
• Private → nationwide
• Partnerships
• Resigned as ED
  • Believes that founders should leave after 5-7 years
  • Needed a new challenge
  • Principle of detachment, dharma
  • Lousy admin, hate routine + systems
• ↑ launched child helpline international

8: The role of the social entrepreneur

• Forces in social change: demographics, tech, economics, social movements, political processes
• Ideas need good producers and promoters
• Especially if it threatens the powerful ↑

9: What sort of mother are you?

• Disabled care

10: Are they possessed by an idea?

• System for finding Ashoka fellows
• 4 categories: creativity, entrepreneurial quality, social impact of the idea, ethical fiber
• Peers → panel → BoD (unanimous)
• Creativity: goal-setting creativity + problem-solving creativity
• Entrepreneurial quality: they are on this world to change it on a fundamental way
  • How society will be different when their idea is at work (marketing)
  • Possessed: growing thru their whole life
  • On top of how-to questions
• Social impact of the idea: is the idea itself good enough to spread, how many people will be effected + how important
• Ethical fiber: do you deeply trust this person (gut feeling)

11: If the world is to be put in order

• Who are your enemies? Who are your allies?
• Financial transparency
• “Paying membership”

12: In search of social excellence

• Foreign aid → local entrepreneurial change agents > parachuting consultants
• To conserve $$, redirect creative energy from citizens around you

13: The talent is out there

• Double down in areas (geographically) of interest
• Work with local champions

14: New opportunities, new challenges

• Struggle scaling into Africa

15: Something needed to be done

• Give people marketable skills

16: 4 practices of innovative organizations

• Institutionalized listening: listen to the customer
• Pay attention to the exceptional: particularly unexpected successes
• Design real solutions for real people:
• Focus on the human qualities: empathy, flexible thinking, strong inner core, believe it’s possible to make a difference

17: This country has to change

• India persons with disabilities act
• Lawsuit versus airline, gov’t
• Threatening hunger strike

18: 6 qualities of successful social entres

• Motivation:
  • Most determined to achieve a long-term goal that’s deeply meaningful to them → systematic in search
  • Long-term considerations > short-term gain
• Willingness to self-correct:
  • Natural growth orientation
• Willingness to share credit:
  • The more credit you share, the more likely people are willing to help
• Willingness to cross disciplinary boundaries:
• Willingness to work quietly:
  • Often only after years of obscurity
  • Groundswell
• Strong ethical impetus:

19: Morality must march with capacity

• Grant and UNICEF

20: Blueprint copying

• 8 → 46 countries, 200 → 1400 fellows
• Mosaic principles broadly applicable

21: Conclusion

• Social entrepreneurship and WEF
• Building momentum of social entrepreneurship
• Serious capital allocation problem: hard to measure performance
• How can social entrepreneurship companies IPO?
• Quantifiable social returns are risky
• Citizen sector research analysts
• Over 55
• People must believe that they can solve problems