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Category Archives: Social Innovation
Business as a source of Social Innovation: part 3- Social well-being
In this last post of a series of 3, I talk about how businesses can be a source of socio-economic well-being for employees and communities in which they operate. Continue reading
Business as a source of Social Innovation: part 2- Environmental Stewardship
Enterprises should use resources in a responsible fashion — reduce utilization and waste, recycle, and adopt renewable energies. Unfortunately, economic systems are not well-suited to address environmental issues. Businesses have a short-term perspective and limited geographic impact. Environmental issues evolve over long time periods and have global implications. Continue reading
Business as a source of Social Innovation: part 1- New products, services or markets
In what ways can businesses be a source of social innovation? There are three broad areas where socially innovative businesses should focus their efforts: New products, services or markets; Environmental stewardship; Social well-being of their employees and the communities in which they operate. Continue reading
Posted in CSR & Sustainability, Marketing, Social Business, Social Innovation, Strategy
Tagged business, Environment, Innovation, Mohamed Yunus, social innovation
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The perils of being optimistic and overconfident
Optimism drives you to persevere in the face of adversity, when the odds are against you. It gives you resilience. There is also a negative side to optimism. Be wary. Optimism is “widespread, stubborn, and costly…the optimism bias may well be the most significant of the cognitive biases.” Continue reading
The state of Impact investing according to the Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation just released its report on impact investment titled: Accelerating Impact- Achievements, Challenges and What’s Next in Building the Impact Investing Industry. It provides a snapshot in time of the state of this emerging sector. Continue reading
10 Ways to reduce global poverty according to Paul Collier and C.K. Prahalad
This blog post is a follow-up to last week’s discussion about Collier and Prahalad’s respective perspectives on international development. It looks at 10 suggestions to reduce global poverty. Continue reading
Posted in CSR & Sustainability, Social Innovation
Tagged Africa, Aid, business, NGO's, Paul Collier, Poverty, Prahalad, Trade
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Do you have what it takes to be a social entrepreneur? 5 essential qualities of a social entrepreneur
Tweet So you want to change the world and become a social entrepreneur? Before going too far in your new venture, make sure you possess these five essential qualities: 1. Unwavering Perseverance: Starting a successful business is hard. Starting a … Continue reading
Posted in Social Business, Social Innovation
Tagged business, social enterprise, social entrepreneur, social impact
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The 4 major challenges of social enterprises
Earlier this week, I attended an online webinar hosted by Stanford Social Innovation Review. The topic was “The Hybrid Ideal”. A panel of researchers presented their latest work about the rise of social enterprises, which they call hybrid organizations. Continue reading
What are the 5 top business plan pitfalls?
In this post I discuss the execution of the strategy. Business plans help articulate how new ventures enact their strategies. They include the value proposition, describe products and services offered, sales and marketing tactics, and other details about how the organization will execute the plan. Continue reading
Corporate Social Innovation: beyond CSR and Sustainability
On May 2nd, during a talk to hundreds of participants across Canada, Geoff Mulgan, CEO of NESTA, used the term Corporate Social Innovation to refer to social innovation in business. It is still too early to say if the term will “stick” but it is providing useful language to bring into the fold a neglected social innovation actor. Continue reading