Why I Don’t Like Your Social Business

February 14, 2012 • Beliefs, Blog, Business, nonprofit • by
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I don’t like your “social business” because you aren’t actually a business. You wouldn’t exist unless people donated money to you on Kickstarter and you aren’t even able to give them anything in return, not even a tax deduction. If you have a product people aren’t buying it but you might not even have a discernible product or service that you are offering.

I don’t like your “social business” because you actually aren’t doing much socially. Since you aren’t really a business and aren’t making any money you have nothing to give away and more likely than not your business model isn’t doing any measurable good. You would have been better off pouring your time more directly into the problem you set out to address.

I don’t like your “social business” because you see the “social” and the “business” as being at odds with one another. You steal profits from the one to give to the other. You believe one to be good and one to be a necessary evil. You did not take the time to build into your business model (because you don’t have one) the social side of your business in a way to create harmony between the dual goals.

I don’t like your “social business” because you couldn’t cut it the business world and this is your way to still do something that makes you feel important. Or you think this is trendy or cool or a way to make a fast buck.

Please stop. I just don’t like your “social business.”

That’s not to say I don’t like any social businesses. I like social businesses that are actual businesses. That make money. Have customers and sales. That can operate without charity. They have aligned their social and financial goals so that their shareholders and stakeholders insist that they do more good because that will help the bottom line. They are addressing real needs, both economically and socially. They are meeting a demand that exists naturally. They are not scoring branding points or look to wash their business in charity to trick consumers. There are good social businesses.

But not every problem can be solved with a social business. Lets stop acting like it can.

Not every social business is inherently good because they call themselves a “social business.

Lets stop giving people a pass just because they claim to be a social business.

Unfair Trade: Does it exist?

February 8, 2012 • Blog, Economics • by
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Child labor. Environmental degradation. Abusive labor practices. These are all things that we as Westerners we try and avoid in our supply chain. But does this end up hurting the very people we seek to help?

Throughout history, as countries have developed, they have often gone through a period where each of these practices were present. During the period that moved America from poor agricultural society to massive economy, the industrial revolution, our factories employed children, polluted communities, and abused their workforce.

Simultaneously America and its people began to prosper. Incomes rose as people began to specialize and leave agricultural livelihoods. It was certainly a difficult time but the real question is, was it a necessary time? Is it a necessary growth pain to go through a time similar to what Western countries experienced during the industrial revolution?

I ask because I wonder if the efforts of Western consumers to help those in developing country through fair-trade and such is actually hurting them. There has been an outrage of Foxconn and I do not deny that its practices could border on the abusive, yet they have a line out the door of people willing to work there, fully aware of the abuse that takes place.

Is it right for us as Western consumers to force producers to bend to our moral framework? Should we allow them to develop in ways that make us uncomfortable and yet are ultimately beneficial? Is it better to have a larger portion of a country out of work if those that do have a job are paid what we consider a decent wage?

These are questions that I think deserve to be wrestled with* and I’m not sure what the answer should be. I support and purchase fair-trade products but then I ask myself, is there any such thing as unfair trade?



*It should be noted that in large part this is a thought exercise and not necessarily the beliefs or values I hold.

Generation Sell!

January 19, 2012 • Blog, Business, Ideas • by
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You see them everywhere. They plug hunt in coffee shops. They spam your Facebook wall with their wares. When you ask them what they do they rattle off 3 job titles that you’ve never heard of. Curator. Nerd. Visioneer.

Welcome to generation sell.

I’ve done a lot of thinking these last few months about this new phenomenon. Many of my peers, myself included, have started our own businesses. We view ourselves as the product and sell it off in pieces as comfortably as the whole. We see no need to join hierarchical organizations where managers spend a career to get to the top when we know that by the time we get to the top we could be irrelevant in our fast-paced, digital technology driven world.We comfortably slide in and out of organizations as needed. We seem to have an entrepreneurial drive unmatched by previous generations. The technology that made it possible for us to create more than ever before was followed by systems to sell our creations. So you have the barista/consultant/Etsy designer. The mobile app entrepreneur/chef/stay-at-home mom. The design freelancer/nonprofit Executive Director.

It’s been interesting to find myself a part of this new movement. I definitely view myself as a product that I sell to organizations. Sometimes as a consultant, sometimes an employee. I am the organization that I need to manage and so I focus on gaining new skills and continuing my education. It’s not that I am opposed to full-time work at all, if an interesting opportunity came along I would jump at it, but I am just as comfortable in an entrepreneurial venture as an established company. That is what I find unique about my peers. Entrepreneurialism is hard-wired into us and we’ll sell everything from our photographs to our time to our careers.

Welcome to generation sell.

*I’m indebted to William Deresiewicz who first used the term generation sell first, as far as I can tell, in his November 13, 2011 op-ed. Also check out Design Your Own Profession on the Harvard Business Review blog for further reading.

What I Learned from Foie Gras

January 6, 2012 • Blog, Business, Ideas, Leadership • by
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It’s been said that foie gras, the liver of a goose that is fattened up by having a tube stuffed down its throat, is the most abusive food to produce. Yet for many chefs, it is the most iconic and sought after delicacy in the world. Quite a predicament.

That was until Eduardo Sousa came along claiming to have found a way to produce foie gras naturally. No tubes. No abuse.

Many in the culinary world found this impossible to believe and yet when chefs tasted what his geese produced they found themselves completely surprised to find the most tasting goose livers they had ever eaten.

Eduardo Sousa raises his geese in the countryside of Spain. Here they live in a goose’s paradise with plenty of tasty and fattening things to eat. What Sousa realized is that as the weather turns cold, geese will stuff themselves, making there no need to stuff a tube down their throat. However, they will only do this if they feel they are wild. As soon as a goose felt domesticated they would not indulge in this behavior.

To that end there are no fences on Sousa’s farm. All the geese are free to leave at any point. Very few utilize this freedom though. Since Sousa has created such a paradise for them they choose to stay until their death.

What’s most amazing though, is that as flocks of geese fly over Sousa’s farm, his geese call up to them, apparently sharing how wonderful the farm is, and these completely free geese join his flock on his farm!

Let that sink in for a minute. He has created such an enticing environment that his geese that are heading to the slaughter are calling completely free geese to join their ranks.

Think about this from the perspective of an organization. Do you have the kind of organization where those working feel no desire to leave and in fact invite others to join the team? While we all know the stories of tech companies like Google that create lavish work environments, I don’t think that the average organization has taken this lesson to heart.

In today’s economic environment it is even increasingly tempting to sacrifice environment and organizational culture at the altar of austerity. Managers and executives might say to themselves, “There is a line of people outside who are more than willing to take anyone’s place who chooses to leave.”

This is certainly one model, but how much more productive would your organization be if everyone who works for you felt appreciated, served, and in an environment conducive to productivity? Your organization would attract and retain top talent far better than your competitors and even in today’s world, talent is the ultimate productivity.

So how can you follow Sousa’s lead and create a goose’s paradise?

Good Intentions or Good Thought?

July 15, 2011 • Beliefs, Blog, Measurement & Evaluation • by
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Seth Godin has a great post today entitled Naive or Professional? I think he’s right on and it applies especially to the social sector. In the social sector though, I think we see the good intentioned and the good thought.

The good intentioned care, a lot. They sacrifice and they show up early and stay late. They give and give and give and yet always seem to be just scraping by. They seek to meet the immediate need. The good intentioned never have the time to stop and think about what they are doing because they are too busy caring for people.

The good thought measure and evaluate their work. They seek to improve themselves. They set boundaries and do what’s best for the long-term good of their clients and those they work with. They care but are able to detach enough to think clearly.

Good intentions are necessary but they are not sufficient when it comes to creating positive social change. Good intentions power people forward but good thought ensures that you are accomplishing what you care about.

Sevenly: Bringing Philanthropy to Ecommerce

July 14, 2011 • Blog, Development, nonprofit, Philanthropy & Giving • by
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Yesterday Mashable highlighted the new online t-shirt store, Sevenly. It’s a simple model, sell a t-shirt designed to raise awareness about a particular non-profit, and then give $7 of every purchase to that non-profit. Their first partnership was with International Justice Mission, and this week’s shirts support World Relief.

It’s probably no surprise to many of you but I love this kind of stuff. I love integrating social causes into business and seeing the market support social causes. Nonprofits need to take this kind of revenue stream seriously and think of creative ways to tap into the market.

This is just another example of how philanthropy is beginning to change. Everyone wants to be a donor. It is not just the wealthy who are giving. The more we can find ways to tap into a broad market the stronger your revenue streams will be.

Of course, these kinds of projects are often limited in scope. IJM for example, only received $6,125 from the sale of Sevenly t-shirts. But I do believe potential is there and that moving forward these kinds of social entrepreneur projects will begin to play a larger role in the revenue streams of nonprofits.

To read the articles from Mashable click here and here.

Something Is Not Better Than Nothing

July 12, 2011 • Blog, bloggers, Development, nonprofit • by
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Sasha Dichter, Business Development Director for Acumen Fund, nailed it this morning in his blog post. Regarding those who view philanthropy or nonprofit work as a hobby he wrote:

Doing something poorly and inattentively, especially service work, can be worse than nothing, because we’re making promises we can’t keep to people to whom too many promises have already been broken. Real lives, real hopes, real dreams walk through our doors every day, and if we don’t treat these dreams with the respect, the seriousness, and the professionalism they deserve, we and they are better off just staying home.

We can do this just a few hours a week, do this as part of something bigger, do this in whatever way works in our lives. But no hobbies, please. It’s just too important.

To read the whole post click here.

Business is not the Enemy

July 4, 2011 • Blog, Business • by
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Business is not the enemy of positive social change.

Profit is not the enemy either.

In fact if you want to create sustained change in this world, start a business, or at least make money. If you were to look at the organizations that have most changed people’s lives, that effect people everyday, they would almost all be businesses.

The reason that so many people seeking to create positive social change have a distaste (if not outright hatred) of business is because traditionally the mindset has been that business must maximize profit uninhibited. Business leaders acted irresponsibly and unsustainably and even immorally in the pursuit of immediate profit maximization.

However, it does not need to be like this.

Business can incorporate some of the values of the social sector; sustainability, workers rights, etc and still maintain a strong bottom line. In fact, many organizations that incorporate positive social change into their value system see worker retention increase and stronger consumer engagement.