News on The Edge
Welcome to the Social Edge update! Friend and Social Edge frequent contributor Rod Schwartz recently wondered why mergers were so rare among social enterprises. He surmised it was because of egos (too many) or profit motive (not enough), but implicit in this was the presumption that bigger was always better. But is “getting to scale” really the right strategy? There is a strong moral case to expand rapidly if you work in alleviating hunger or reducing CO2 emissions, but “as your social enterprise grows, its mission may be diluted. Not to mention that greed and delusions of grandeur may kick in,” writes Rod Schwartz. Will our fascination with size and scale ever cease? Are there alternatives? Join him in the conversation. Then join Jonathan Lewis who also tries to shy away from models that may be disconnected from reality: “For the poor who cannot wait, no useful debate exists about whether government, the nonprofit sector or private sector is the morally superior purveyor of social change.” While Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith think that the link between happiness and money is tenuous, Dr. O recommends that you try Causes, the growing Facebook charity app, to raise more of it. Kiva Fellow Nick Whalley, based in the Philippines, shares his experience with a Manila entrepreneur, and development coach Julie Engel Manga writes about the right mood to effectively catalyze change. Untangled, always the futurist, is convinced there are better social models available to us: it’s all about “finding the will to move forward, finding the resolve to be comfortable doing something different than what you are used to – and sometimes that takes time.”
Join this Week's Live Discussions  Is size the enemy of the social enterprise?
As social enterprises grow, their missions may be diluted, and greed and delusions of grandeur may even kick in. Will our fascination with size ever cease? Join Rod Schwartz, CEO of ClearlySo, in the conversation.
Social Entrepreneurship and Religion
When he realized that his constituents were accepting poverty as an act of God, Saul Garlick started wondering whether religion was helping them or on the contrary slowing –or even halting– social change. The Language of Social Entrepreneurship
Consultant Gary Hamel says that humanizing the language and practice of management is both a business imperative and a moral duty. What about our own language – do we already offer a language expressive of care and concern? Join Charles (Hipbone) Cameron in the conversation. Microfranchising
How can we help microfranchising reach the level of success that microcredit now has? And does it need to have a social aspect, or is job creation enough? Join David Lehr and Lisa Jones Christensen in the conversation. Nonprofit Analysis: Beyond Metrics
To quantify whether your social venture is high performing, you should discard simplistic measures and embrace a more holistic analysis. Sean Stannard-Stockton, CEO of Tactical Philanthropy Advisors, helps you understand the new SROI. Mergers in Social Entrepreneurship
Why are mergers so rare –is it because of our ego and our reluctance to give up independence? Or is it the lack of profit motive? Join Rod Schwartz, CEO of ClearlySo, in the conversation.
Do you have suggestions for Social Edge or for this newsletter? Send us feedback. You can remove yourself from this list at any time. Hope to see you on The Edge and on Twitter @socialedge! Victor d’Allant
Executive Director, Social Edge
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