Over the last few years, as I have spent more time studying the impact of social enterprises and looked to understand how to maximize the impact of entrepreneurs who hold an issue of society, environment, or economy at their core, I have begun to understand that the future of social entrepreneurialism is VERY different today than what it will be in 5 years from now. At present, if you take a…
Last week, I was asked to speak at the British Chamber of Commerce about corporate volunteering in China. Specifically, how can firms develop a program that has a long-term benefit to the community. I was encouraged to see between 30-35 firms in attendance, and my counterpart, Roy Zhang from Abbott, and I spent about a hour on the process and benefits of building a program. In my presentation…
For many organizations, increasing headcount is a sign of "making it", of "scale", but as my former CEO once said to me when I asked to be made the GM of their Shanghai branch: "You really don't want the job and manage an office full of people. Stay in the field, make money, and leave the administrative headaches to George" Being the founder of a social enterprise can at times be tough, as I me…
A few weeks back, while a friend was preparing to give a presentation about her work (motivating others), she asked me a couple of questions about how I maintained my positive energy while constantly battling through barriers. It was an interesting way to frame it, positive energy, as it is something that I (and other social entrepreneurs) have spoken about as we built out our ideas. And my an…
In the recent HBR piece If the Auditors Sign Off, Does That Make It Okay?, Lawrence Weiss writes about a recent lecture by Andrew Fastow (former CFO of Enron) in front of his class. It was a lecture where Fastow runs through what happened, and where he felt things went wrong. How he, and others, ended up making decisions that bankrupted the company, defrauded thousands of employees, and ultimately…
In preparation for an academic paper that I am working on with several colleagues at CEIBS on the Responsible Leadership Program, I came up with a list of items that I felt were required for us to be able to effectively transform our students into responsible leaders of change. Clarity of Purpose Tangibility of Issue A strong kickoff - Regionally/ Issued Focused Getting off campu…
A couple of days back I was contacted by a headhunter looking to fill a position for one of the world's large international NGOs. A senior role, she contacted me because she thought I would know the right person, and she had it clear it wasn't me. IT wasn't until I read the JD that I understood why: Ten+ plus experience in the development of marketing and strategic communications plans, implement…
