Social Good is Also a Business- MC Hammer at e-week

These words, doing social good is also a business, music to my ears, came from MC Hammer at the eweek event "The Power of Social Technology". Unfortunately they came right at the end and I didn't get to ask him specifics. But still, having him say it at an entrepreneurship event was good. The panel of experts which included Robert Scoble and Loic Le Meur, shared tips and personal experiences around social media engagement. I was there to find out "why you don’t need money or power to ignite seismic (seesmic - get it?) social change." Well, I was far from convinced, but certainly a good time was had by all and nobody was sleeping - granted - it was lunch time and all around me were scarfing sandwiches. And, it was interesting to see in real time how, even as each panelist logged into their twitter stream, attendees sent messages. So:
- Social software never sleeps: the world is moving fast - its real time -so 24/7 engagement is important - solution is to get a partner in another time zone (not wear yourself to the bone). Loic said his company has no PR department - just 2-3 people managing social media engagement.
- Always try to add value - social media are great source of information: eg. if you are interested in a VC follow him/her on twitter; or follow those who follow them etc. - find out how you add value and pitch to the right people - network in person after getting informed
- Content is king- Don't get caught up in the tools- Before you engage find out what you are passionate about, develop a voice that is personal but also amenable to being a brand

GSB dean made some good points:
- Social media - fastest communication medium today
- increases need for traditional content (else nothing to tweet about)
- is not a substitute but a complement to current tools
- finding a vice on twitter et al is hard - balance your personal voice with the institutional voice

Bottom line - work hard and smart and social media is your ally in getting eyeballs - which can lead to heart and mind.

Social Entrepreneurship During Stanford E-week Feb 21-28

The annual Entrepreneurship Week at Stanford, is February 21-28, 2010 and this year we have more events dedicated to celebrating social entrepreneurship and clean-tech than ever before. These are 2 events I am helping organise which are free and open to all:

February 26, Cordura Hall,9-6: Relief 2.0 in Haiti: Enabling Agile Crisis Response with Entrepreneurship In Relief 2.0 we'll take an inside look at an emergent phenomenon - Agile Crisis Response made possible by social ventures, social media, crowdsourced solutions and other entrepreneurial approaches. We will look at lessons learned and how we might rethink and redesign the way we approach disaster relief and rebuilding, starting with Haiti’s reconstruction effort.

February 28, Wallenberg Hall, 3-5: Structures for Social Enterprise: Panel and Showcase- this lively panel discussion features social entrepreneurs Kjerstin Erickson (FORGEnow.org), Eve Blossom (Lulan.com), and Esther Kim (REDF.org). Moderated by Kriss Deiglmeier, executive director for the Center for Social Innovation, the panel will discuss nonprofit, for-profit and hybrid models for starting and growing a social enterprise. From 4-5 p.m., mingle with entrepreneurs at a fair showcasing their intriguing early-stage social ventures. Social entrepreneurs available for interaction during the showcase are:

Lloyd Nimetz: Blitz Bazaar: Starting and Creating a Movement
Akshay Kothari, Kapeesh Saraf: Design for Extreme Affordability Workshop
Varun Jain: E4SI: Engineers for Social Impact
Anu Mahal: Development Alternatives
Carlos Miranda Levy, Margarita Quihuis: How Social Media Allows Us to Instantly Organize for Crisis Intervention
Viji Dilip: Bookshare International: Reaching Out to the Print Disabled in Developing Nations
DC Jayasundera: Rural Returns: Better Value Chains for the Rural Poor
Rodrigo Santibanez: Puentes Global: Non-Profit International Employment Agency for Low-Income Workers

Additionally the Graduate School of business has a panel discussion on social entrepreneurship on 26th afternoon as part of their annual entrepreneurship day

Newsprint: Does it Deserve to Die?

I confess. I am a newspaper subscriber. But for how long? Newspapers are more than news. These days one could argue that newspapers aren't about news at all because a print headline is by definition a day old (compared to TV, Internet, Grapevine). So what is the "more" part? It is a trust I have in print, that I do not have in the other named sources, that information is somehow more authentic, more unbiased. This is the "burden of legacy" of print media. I read stuff on the Internet and I feel compelled to triangulate fact, author credentials etc. but if I read it in a paper, it is gold. Well, no more. Pieces like David Broder's adulation of Sarah Palin "pitch perfect populist message" somehow gain weight by being op-eds. I am depressed, lose faith in my fellow Americans especially women. And then later, I read in small print, in an easy to miss place, that on the same day a nationwide poll showing that 71% of Americans say Palin is unqualified to be president. I feel betrayed; I lose trust in print. Become cynical. Its just another information source. Anything for an alliteration.

Business is built on trust and it is getting harder and harder to trust pundits who pontificate in print.

3 Tips for a successful internship

A successful salesman "sets customer expectations and then meets (or barely exceeds) them." The first time I heard this was at an HP training event and it has stuck with me ever since. The wisdom in this strategy is undeniable- oversell and the customer is disappointed (or worse, loses trust); undersell and you risk losing the sale altogether. However, setting and meeting expectations is a skill- not always easy to do. Social entrepreneurship is all about selling (your idea, your business plan, your dream, your team .... whatever) and internships are a great way to hone selling skills because an intern has the benefits of a student status, yet is exposed to real life ambiguity. If you have secured an internship, it means the employer has already made an investment (time and /or money) in you. The top 3 things an intern can do are:


Do the Research: Before your first day on the job - research the company, industry and their strengths. Examine your own background and identify skills or reasons why the company wants to invest in you. If you can, figure out a way to make a contribution that would be beyond expectations or make that a goal during internship. Read related professional journals, magazines; keep up with the latest developments

Attitude- Professional, positive, punctual, enthusiastic: Its a job and all the rules of professional conduct apply. Stay away from gossip and drama and make sure to offer to do some grunt work. However, take advantage of your student status to ask questions beyond the scope of the internship. Network with people who interest you professionally. If possible find somebody who will let you shadow them to a relevant meeting. All this of course, providing you have met your assigned internships tasks - (meet and only then exceed). If you can, find a mentor in the organisation. If things go wrong don't take it personally- help others if you can.

Followup: Closure is important. Ask for feedback; ask if you can keep in touch; prepare some written reports; give feedback professionally keeping it factual and unemotional. Above all, remember that the employer wants you to succeed just as much as you do. Make sure they know you understand that.

Go ahead - make it a win-win and convert an internship into a job offer. You can do it!

Trend-spotting and ecars

On January 18th my inbox had an email : My Alerts: NYT-ecars (5 articles) which made me sit up immediately. I know, you are wondering: why? You see, my strategy for alerts is minimalistic: I put alerts for what I think are obscure topics from a media perspective- so I am not bothered by those pesky emails. It's not just a matter of self defense (or your inbox will overtake you) - its also because I use alerts are for trend-spotting. In the long-long time that I have had an alert out for ecars, I don't think I have seen a total of 5 articles in the New York Times and here I am - 5 in one alert! Not only that - these were good stories:

Renault Pledges to Keep a French Factory Busy
By DAVID JOLLY (NYT) : Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of Renault, met with French officials to address concerns that the carmaker was intent on sending jobs to Turkey.

Renault Pledges to Build New Electric Vehicle in France
By DAVID JOLLY (NYT) : Renault said it would split production of its new Clio model between France and Turkey and would produce its new electric vehicle entirely in a plant near Paris.

Finally, Some Electricity in the Air
By LAWRENCE ULRICH (NYT) : With some storied brands dead or dying, and upper-crust manufacturers as no-shows in Detroit, the show floor had room for Chinese hybrids, Korean electrics and more.

Chinese Maker Hopes to Offer Electric Car for U.S. by Year-End
By NICK BUNKLEY (NYT) : Many Chinese companies have planned. BYD Auto is better prepared.

A Future That Doesn’t Guzzle
By BILL VLASIC and NICK BUNKLEY (NYT) : Automakers unveiled many hybrid gas-electric and battery-powered cars at the Detroit auto show, a sign of how much emphasis is being placed on the electrification of vehicles.

So of course I followed up;  read that the Nano (TATA) had created a stir at the Detroit Auto show - I follow Reva, Tesla and Nano -  and of course read that Tesla is planning IPO. The San Jose Mercury News is having a week of Green Jobs. I could have almost predicted my most recent alert (and you can too right?)
On Feb 1 my inbox has an email: My Alerts: NYT-ecars (2 articles):

An Electric Boost for Bicyclists
By J. DAVID GOODMAN (NYT) : The booming Chinese electric-bike industry is spurring impressive sales in India, Europe and the U.S.

Tesla Motors Plans Public Offering to Raise $100 Million
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER (NYT) : The filing from Tesla Motors represents a landmark in the resurgence of electric car technology that most car makers until recently had dismissed as impractical.

Yup - it sure feels good to predict a headline.

E4SI - Internship Apps Available Jan 29th

E4SI internship applications available - Jan 29th, 2010. In the last two editions, the top 5% of applicants from among India's top 15 engineering schools were accepted as Engineers for Social Impact Fellows. Our Fellows participated in challenging and highly entrepreneurial immersion experiences at leading for-profit enterprises such as iDiscoveri, D.Light, SELCO, Intellecap, Ujjivan and Vaatsalya. The assignments were diverse, across the sectors of energy, education, healthcare and financial services, and with multi-functional roles spanning research, policy, design and developing technology.

Argument Vs. Opinion: How do You Negotiate?

The thing to know before negotiating is: its not about winning; its about compromise. This is no secret. The thing about a successful negotiation is that everybody comes out of it feeling like a winner. That is the secret. If even one party feels like a loser, it is not a successful negotiation- because if you feel like a loser, you don't buy into the followup action and you don't trust the other party - ever! That's how we are.
How do you negotiate?
Do you distinguish between an argument and an opinion? Keep personality, judgement and value systems out of it? Approximating Samuel Johnson - opinion is like an arrow shot from a bow; as strong as the man who draws it. "Argument is like an arrow from a cross-bow, which has equal force though shot by a child.... You cannot help paying regard to their arguments, if they are good." Conduct negotiation with arguments, not opinions. Arguments stand on their own (like proofs in geometry) and open doors for learning for all parties and in taking the discussion forward. Opinions are shutouts implying judgement, a value, around which there can be no acceptable compromise, thus forcing the other party to get further entrenched into their starting position. To help yourself do this in real time, enter a negotiation with the idea that you will learn at least one new thing. Identify assumptions and preconceived notions (consultants call it frames of reference) if you can before getting into a negotiation.
Fortunately, on the way to acquiring a win-win mindset, there is immediate help in the form of value neutral language. Yes, watch your words. Is a value judgement inherent in the word? Get rid of it. One person's irritant is another's joy. A rose bush in a wheat-field is a weed but a wheat-stalk in a rose garden is also a weed. Pollution implies bad stuff but emission is value neutral (emission can be good or bad, e.g. breathing is a good emission).
And lastly, when a negotiation fails, it is generally a failure of process - since nobody goes into a negotiation unless desirous of a solution (the other type is called posturing :-) or just to lose. So when things do fail, let it go; don't let it stop you from going back to the table.
Relationships allow you to work things out, even becoming stronger in the process. A negotiation is the first investment in building a relationship.

Media for Social Change Initiatives - $25,000; Deadline Jan 20

Ashoka’s Changemakers is sponsoring an initiative that focuses on using media to change the world. It is a tremendous opportunity to showcase your idea and could be the seed funding needed to start 2010 off right.

The opportunity is open for anyone and everyone.

Last year, aside from the two $25,000 winners, so many of the finalists who got to make their pitch found investors and made invaluable connections.

It’s simple to participate: the WeMedia PitchIt! Challenge website has all the details an entrant would need. They can access the entry form by clicking the “enter an idea” light bulb. They’ll need a free Changemakers account and it takes less than a minute to get one. The deadline is really quickly approaching on January 20th, 2010. It’s a chance not to be missed! Only 8 days left to apply.

Social Entrepreneurship Challenge Competition

BASES Social E-Challenge: The Social Entrepreneurship Challenge is a business plan competition for entrepreneurial ventures that effect social change. Participants range from For-profit businesses with a strong sense of social responsibility to Nonprofits with sustainable revenue-generation models. These companies all have a positive impact on our society and the environment. The Social E-Challenge provides participants with $50,000 in total final round prizes, as well as the resources and training to launch their startups: mixers, workshops, mentorship, and individual feedback from renowned judges.

Past winners include Kiva.org, D.Light Design, re:motion designs, and Samasource.

Info session: Wednesday, January 13th, 7:00-9:00pm, Stanford Paul Brest Hall, Munger Residence, Snacks and Drinks Provided. RSVP http://baseschallengeskickoff.eventbrite.com/

Not Money, Not Markets, Its a Mindset: Game Changing Technology

2010- start of a new decade and amidst all the hype about the decade that was (best, worst, etc.) a newsitem that caught my eye wasTata's launch of a water filter (Swach- means clean in Hindi) for rural poor (less than Rs. 1,000 or $21.50) which needs no electricity or running water. "It took over a decade of research but it is opening up a complete new market said Tata Chemicals' boss R. Mukundan".

What's a decade? Nothing - when you think about the global problem that is healthcare and the billions spent on treating poverty associated diseases that affect 5 billion people - a decade of research seems really worthwhile. Renewable Eenergy and healthcare are supposed to be the new growth areas for business, yet how many corporations are getting into the space with innovation in mind?

Tata is getting into the lower cost housing market (I hope with innovation) and has already reset expectations for fuel efficiency and renewable energy use with the Nano car. So, I expect their filter will also generate financial as well as social benefit and be good for the environment. It took about 44 scientists at Tata Research Development and Design Centre, a subsidiary of Tata Consultancy Service and has the potential to save billions in wasted spend while helping billions of people.

So why is it that technology for the next billion customer seems to be such a stretch for the world? We cite lack of capital (where's the ROI?) or markets (how can the poor pay?) and put off climate change concerns.

But maybe the new decade starting with 2010 will be a decade when profit, people and planet - all will matter in playing the game. The fact that large corporations are getting into it is significant - they have capital as well as the marketing to reach large numbers of consumers.

After reading about the filter I also read about the cheapest refrigerator ($69) - the portable, top-opening unit weighs only 7.8kg, uses high-end insulation to stay cool for hours without power and consumes half the energy used by regular refrigerators - from the Indian conglomerate Godrej & Boyce. And then there is Vihaan Networks Ltd (VNL), the Indian telecom company whose solar powered base station can be built for one-tenth the cost of a regular one, is profitable at just $2 of revenue per user per month and will go to market in India, Africa and Southeast Asia. VNL is one among 26 global firms selected by the World Economic Forum as "Technology Pioneers 2010" -- the most innovative start-ups from around the world that will have a critical impact on the future of business and society.

So, I start the decade full of hope. If we can imagine it we can do it- Innovation is a mindset that changes the game - markets will follow - even developed markets.