Tag Archives: Social Entrepreneur

Assume the Permission

Be the Change, Say Yes, , ,

I once worked in an agency helping kids in foster care. One day, I mentioned to my main constituent that we should have the youth in foster care from Nevada travel to Colorado to camp. He replied ‘that’s a great idea!’ I thanked him and left his office. I knew what would follow would be a conversation about the challenges of taking these youth across state lines. The next exchange I had with him was from the airport in Denver just after the campers arrived. ‘The kids are here,’ I said. He replied, ‘Where?’ I excitedly shared, ‘in Colorado!  You said it was a great idea!’

the-biggest-risk-is-not-taking-any-risk-in-a-world-that-is-changing-really-quickly-the-onlHave courage and confidence to take a risk.  In your mind, your vision is common sense. You begin to share your vision with others who agree, pause, then provide a string of reasons to come to your senses.  You can sit in silence while they ponder, then listen to the doubts  – or you can excuse yourself after your audience says, “That’s a great idea!” and before the ‘but’ comes in. Then say “Yes!” to the idea that lives within you.

There is good reason in any business to have rules, safeguards and limits in place. However, what must happen within our organizations to move the proverbial needle to bend, stretch, and test what is possible? We often offer up justifications like, ‘If it could have been done, it would have been done already.’  Or, ‘Didn’t think to think about that.’ Or, ‘I know nothing, but go try it, and tell me about it later.’  Instead, what could happen if we jump in with, ‘Let’s do it!’?

While, of course more safeguards, processes and limits had to be put in place after the risky but successful ‘trial run’ of campers in Colorado, the leap of faith provided enlightenment into what should and could be done to bring a sense of normalcy into the lives of these children.  At one time, with Colorado as the training ground for Camp To Belong Member Camps, the organization had 80 brothers and sisters fly into Colorado from 8 states and Canada – to join 29 other youth from Colorado.    Now, CampToBelong has camps across the US and Australia, serving siblings placed in separate foster homes and allowing travel far and wide and across borders to be with one another.

Silence is indeed golden – especially when you hang up the phone or walk out of the room!  Then, confidently say yes.

Think Small

Say Yes, Social Strategies, , ,

dreamstimemedium_55190762Making a difference and embracing social entrepreneurship does not have to be a grand gesture. Instead, think small and one program at a time. For example, an artist friend shared that he wanted to bring photography to the homeless population on a big scale.  We discussed some of the steps needed to do this big scale project including sourcing cameras, raising funding, gifting cameras, giving lessons, seeking opportunities to display in galleries for them to potentially make money and more.  Then he followed with the reality check, and the disclaimer expressed by many, saying, “I don’t have time…I’ll do it later.”

I pondered the very thoughtful vision of my friend and all of the responsibilities to create and execute the steps toward his big scale goal.  And then I suggested, “Why don’t you start small?  Take one step towards the goal and gift one camera to one person. Pay for it yourself.  Choose one person who is homeless and give them a camera.  Hang out with him or her occasionally and teach them how to use the camera.  Build a trusting connection with them and learn what he or she would want to photograph.  Then put one of his/her photographs on the gallery wall next to your own collection.”

My friend lit up and said, “I could make time for that.” So what shifted? Perhaps it was a relief to him.  Perhaps he recognized he could redefine big impacts by starting small. I challenge you to do the same. Implement a big scale vision with one recipient.  Then, see what happens next.

Keep dreaming big, however consider starting small.  The impact and difference you make in just one life IS a really big thing.   And it may lead to that big scale goal in ways you cannot even imagine!

It’s all about the YES!

Be the Change, , , ,

What are the personal dreams you put on hold, defend the tardiness, excuse the incompletion, perpetually move down on your list, figure ‘no’ would be the best course of action because the time is just not right?

yes-593833_1280How about saying YES, now?

You are a person on a mission – an entrepreneur with a method to the madness – a force to be reckoned with. You just have a heart and a gut intuition that ‘something’s got to change’ or maybe just shift. You realize it is not about everything, it is about preserving the best and enhancing the rest. It’s not about big, it is about one small step…..

What is the change, the shift, you want to see and experience in your world, our world?

Say YES now. Consider the following:

  • Keep your circles small. Avoid the tendency to ask an army for their opinions. Most have grand advice for what won’t work. Whether ‘it’s been done before,’ or ‘you can’t do that,’ negative opinions tend to stall your momentum. Initially, I asked five friends and colleagues not only about the vision, but to join it. My sister said, ‘never heard of it, but if you say it is going to happen, it will.’ All jumped in the trenches including a friend as treasurer who didn’t even know how to balance her own check book?!
  • Delay the business plan. Strategic business calls for a business plan. And, that plan takes analysis and long range insight. What if you just do it, and then plan based on the outcomes? From the time I had the vision, to our first program, was three months!
  • Think small and one program at a time! Dreamers tend to think big. What if you just make a difference in one person’s life? Or in my case minimally two? The vision was to reunite a minimum of two siblings from a family. Our first Camp hosted 32 siblings from many families. When the last camper departed, the volunteers looked to me for what was next? ‘I don’t know, I replied, but I just fell in love with 32 kids, let’s do it again!’ Annual Camps and year-round programs flourished.
  • Assume the permission. Know when to hang up the phone or walk out the door. Sales people know that sometimes closing a deal is based on silence. However, with that pause comes body language, and, a skirmish opportunity for the person listening to say no. What if you hang up or walk out the door with confidence and go forward assuming a yes? When my main constituent said, ‘that’s a great idea,’ to have youth in foster care from Nevada travel to Colorado to Camp, I said thank you and left his office. I knew what would follow would be a conversation about the challenges of taking these youth across state lines. The next exchange I had with him was from the airport in Denver when the campers arrived. “The kids are here, I said.” He replied, ‘Where?’ I excitedly shared, ‘in Colorado, you said it was a great idea!’
  • Replicate without ego. It takes one person to have a vision, skipping the stone across the water. Once you prove the model, it takes a village to bring it to fruition, the ripple. Invite people to collaborate, not only by telling them about your vision taking place, but inviting them to experience it and then replicate it. Your volunteers will be chomping at the bit to share the vision where it hits home for them. That ‘do it again’, and ‘power of the ripple’ has resulted in reuniting over 10,000 siblings in 10 states and Australia – with partners and volunteers who live the journey in many meaningful ways.

So, as we head into the end of…today…say YES to your dream. I welcome presenting a keynote or passioning with you one-on-one to take your vision from do it now, to do it again!

It’s all about … your … YES to change or shift … NOW! One small step!
Lynn Price
Social Entrepreneur – ChangeMaker – Ripple Creator
Ashoka Fellow; Founder and President Emeritus, Camp To Belong