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