The Power of Leverage

As explained in the dictionary, leverage refers to the power or ability to act or to influence people, events, and decisions. The power of leverage is all that we need to attain out goals. This is the key message Mr. Jack Sim, social entrepreneur and founder of World Toilet Organization delivered at an event on entrepreneurship.

After realizing this fact from Mr. Jack Sim, I had some readings on the power of leverage. Not surprisingly, the more I read up, the more I agree with Mr. Jack Sim.

Mr. Jack Sim mentioned, “If you can use other people’s money, other people’s power, other people’s distribution, other people’s media, and other people’s influence and connections, and you align them towards a common mission, then each of them will join the party willingly.”

This is very much reflected in a formula presented in the book, “One Minute Millionaire” written by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen.  Leverage=Speed=Goals, was the formula pointed out.

Photo: Donna Messer 

Looking at the diagram provided, on the left edge of the lever, firstly, we have a group of people in our network with similar interests as us. They are the ones whom we can interact, share knowledge, skills, contacts, resources etc. for mutual assistance or support. Secondly, we have a cohesive team of members who share a common goal and work towards achieving it cooperatively. Thirdly, we have trusted mentors who provide us with valuable business advice. At last, with all the tools and systems in place, on one side of the lever, we have got all that we need to get us to where we want to be.

On the other hand, our vision and dreams make up the right edge of the lever. Hence, it is clearly shown to us that for social entrepreneurs to truly achieve our social objectives, the fulcrum, the pivotal point of the lever is where we should stand to “be the change”. It is a position at which the lever is balanced upon and at which we could benefit most from the lever. For instance, Mr. Jack Sim shared, “Municipal governments are willing to host the event because it helps solve their own sanitation problems; the media are willing to cover the event because it gives them something to publish; and companies are willing to sponsor because the media coverage is strong.” Certainly, Mr. Jack Sim’s goal to increase awareness and improve people’s sanitation conditions was done by first bringing and aligning every element on the left side of the lever together towards a common mission.

Having realized this concept, I realized that in reality anybody, regardless of age, can overcome limitations and change the world just by connecting and leveraging the right people. It is truly how wisely we use our network - whom we know, whom our contacts know – to accomplish what others deemed impossible. Thus, like what Mr. Jack Sim emphasized, it is time to let go of our pride and leverage on people’s resources to achieve sustainable success. Our social projects are not about ourselves but about the impact our ideas create on generations to come.

References

Shemer, N. (2012, May 21). ‘Use other people’s money to achieve goals’. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 27 2012, from http://www.jpost.com/Business/BusinessNews/Article.aspx?id=270912

Stop Throwing Starfish

Unquestionably, you have probably heard of the Starfish Story by Loren Eiseley: A man, walking along a shore filled with dying starfish, noticed a boy picking them up and gently throwing them back into the ocean, one by one. Realizing that there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish, the man approached the boy and contended that he would not be able to make a difference. Yet, the boy continued throwing a starfish back into the ocean and asserted, “I just made a difference for that one.”

Growing up listening to the famous Starfish Story, the mindset of ‘One can make a difference’ is cultivated in many of us. Consequently, we may not know, the story has also triggered the mindset of an inappropriate social entrepreneur movement – the power of one.

Looking into Indonesia, even though number of companies and individuals involved in social entrepreneurship is on the rise, the widening social gap within the growing middle-class is not shrinking but expanding. Having social entrepreneurs who work in isolation is one major factor that brings about this circumstance in Indonesia. Cases of Indonesia social entrepreneurs refusing to collaborate with one another and share their secret sauce are a commonplace. This in turn causes social entrepreneurs to face difficulties in enhancing and expanding their business to meet the needs of the sizable population.

According to Mr. Aaron Maniam, chairman of the National Youth Council Academy’s Advisory Panel, pointed out that, “Social entrepreneurship is about drawing from the strengths of all to create a cohesive whole. The ability to do this is critical. ”

As a matter of fact, real world problems typically stem from a broken ecosystem and lasting change involves collaborative efforts to tackle the root of the problems. For instance, if actions were not taken to act upon the key reason which caused the starfish to dry up on the beach, the starfish would certainly be washed ashore again. Indeed, time and again, without doubt, as social entrepreneurs, our own way of doing does make a difference. Yet, what many of us not realized is that the social impact we have pulled off is only on the surface. Holding on too tightly to our simplistic solutions, we have often failed to realize the bigger picture – the complex nature of the social problems we deal with to solve the problem wholly.

Mr Mechai Viravaidya, founder of Thiland’s Population and Community Development Association emphasized that, “Rather than simply donating money to causes, corporate could achieve sustainable good more effectively by investing in social enterprises set up and run by young people, and helping train future social entrepreneurs.”

Similarly, starfish throwing akin to philanthropy is not bad. Yet, it is not a sustainable solution to bring about a lasting change to the world’s social issues. As social entrepreneurs, we must be courageous, look beyond the present situation and challenges in taking the lead for sourcing ways to create lasting change – to do more than throwing starfish.

References

Anonymous. (2012, May 19). More firms involved in social entrepreneurship: Experts. The Jakarta Post. Retrieved May 20, 2012, from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/19/more-firms-involved-social-entrepreneurship-experts.html

Hawker Centres With A Conscience

Are you a hawker, a budding hawker or a patron? No matter whom you are, we can all now look forward to a more vibrant hawker scene.

Not just a place to eat, hawker centres with a conscience will be newly built at several towns –Bukit Panjang, Tampines, Jurong West, Admiralty, Pasir Ris, and Punggol – within the next 10 years.

Run by a social enterprise or cooperative, these hawker centres set out with the aim to meet a threefold bottom line – making profits, creating social improvements, and achieving environmental sustainability.

Making Profits

A few slices of thin cucumber, a few pieces of meat – with such paltry ingredients, we, as typical hawker patrons, often supposed that the profit margin for hawkers should be rather handsome. However, that is not the case. Many humble hawkers struggle to make ends meet.

“As sub-tenants, our cost is higher so it is hard for us to keep food prices low” Li Hui Xing, a sub-tenant of a stall selling rojak and porridge in Chomp Chomp Food Centre, expressed.

By and large, for the private gains of the original stallholders, stallholders are often liable to a higher rental rate than the initial subsidized rate. This extra cost often ends up in the price of our meals, causing hawker food to be more expensive than it should be. For this reason, in the new management model, rental rates would be predetermined and subletting of stalls would be restricted to prevent profiteering. This movement not only brings in greater profits for hawkers, but also makes the selling of affordable food possible.

What’s more?  Community spaces (e.g.  Child-care and elderly centres) will also be incorporated into the new hawker centres. This not only means more business and profits for the hawkers, but also helps to forge community connection. A healthy community development brings communities together to work for a healthier, more sustainable future.

Creating Social Improvements

In the modern society, the marginalized, especially the disabled are deprived of basic employment rights. Akin to Dignity Kitchen, a training school cum food centre operator,  the new hawker centres will serve to provide employment for people who struggle to enter labour market habitually – the less privileged or those with disabilities. 

“Dignity Kitchen has fulfilled some of my dreams. Besides being a cashier, I am able to sing and be an entertainer”, uttered Norjumanese, who is visually impaired.

 In this fashion, we can build an inclusive society where people change their attitude towards the marginalized, giving back their self-respect and dignity and also the opportunities they well-deserved to be successful in life.

Achieving Environmental Sustainability

To promote environmental sustainability, environmentally-friendly features – recycling bins, solar panels, food collection points, etc. –will be incorporated into the design of hawker centres. What is more? In a move to promote green initiatives, hawkers and patrons will also be encouraged to adopt environmentally-friendly practices. For instance, hawkers are heartened to use more sustainable packaging alternatives like corn-starch based take-away boxes.

Truly, today, hawker centres remain an important part in Singapore’s life and acts as a social platform where people from all walks of life intermingle. It also plays a significant role as a tourist attraction whereby tourists are offered a wide variety of local food and opportunities to experience the local way of life. As Singapore works towards building a more vibrant hawker scene, without doubt, Singapore will create a “city that cares” image to visitors and also build a culture of doing good amongst citizens.

References

CHANNEL NEWSASIA. (2012, May 5). Social enterprises should run hawker centres of the future: Panel. TODAY. Retrieved May 13, 2012, from http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120505-0000106/Social-enterprises-should-run-hawker-centres-of-the-future--Panel

Feng, Z. (2012, May 11). Most of hawker panel's ideas accepted. The Straits Times. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_797639.html

Kotwani, M. (2012, May 13). Hawker centre to be run by social enterprise. TODAY. Retrieved May 12, 2012, from http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC120513-0000035/Hawker-centre-to-be-run-by-social-enterprise

Measuring The Immeasurable

All around the world, social entrepreneurs strive to create better social value for their clients and bring catalytic changes in the way social issues are perceived and addressed. As the role of social enterprises in the competitive market strengthens, there is an incredibly increasing need to measure their social and community impact. Yet, in reality, little is known to measure the worth of social enterprises. Every social entrepreneur struggles to recognize when he has moved beyond executing a good idea to attaining real change in the society.

Traditionally, organizations increase their impact by focusing on growth to occur through expanding and setting up new sites. However, to date, growth may not be right for all organizations. Yes, it has been typical to judge the success of social enterprise by how rapidly it has grown. Nevertheless, expanding a social enterprise entails cost. It may increase its impact but it also entails new challenges that may require social enterprise to give up part of its ownership and control.

The common perception that social enterprises solve society’s “big problems” created a predisposition toward “bigger is better”. On the flipside, Fergus Lyon from the Third Sector Research Centre pointed out that, “When a good idea or approach has been developed, it is important to find ways of maximising the number of people that benefit.” Truly, many did not realize a larger market penetration speaks more to the public perception of impact rather the actual social impact delivered. What social entrepreneurs actually need is a more useful measure of social impact that merges both the quantity (number of people) and quality (how deeply lives are transformed) of impact.

Many considered scale as a measure of success because no metrics or data points can define the success in the social enterprise sector thus far. Given that reality, we should consider how social enterprises could maximize their impact through building networks, sharing knowledge and supporting others to replicate and adapt approaches. The network of social entrepreneurs can surely generate more opportunities for substantial impact than a social enterprise alone can with its limited resources.

For instance, networks called trade associations connect business groups or non-profit groups together. With a common goal, they are able to influence tax policies and regulations to their own benefits. Today, relative small size social enterprises could also form robust networks and work together to win over government’s support to create a social enterprise-friendly business environment which brings greater magnitude of social impact. Eventually, social entrepreneurs may even find it easier and more accurate to measure social impact at the network level.

References:

The Information Daily. (2012, April 25). ‘UK Social Enterprise: Growth is not the only way to increase impact, says social enterprise research’. The Information Daily. Retrieved May 6, 2012, from http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/49417