Social Entrepreneurship - "Training a New Generation for Failure" - Response to Blog; Analysis

I heard about an event in NYC this Wednesday 10/13 for networking around social enterprise.  That made me Google one of the hosts, City Light Capital (I think they're based in NYC).  I then saw a cool blog post one of the managing partners put up.  That inspired me to comment with some analysis of my own.  Maybe I'll meet them this week....I hope!
Just wanted to share.  Feel free to email me (kbierce (at) gmail dot com, or comment on the blog with your thoughts and constructive criticism!
Cheers,
Katharine
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[their blog post]

Social Entrepreneurship: Training a Generation for Failure

By Josh Cohen on May 3, 2010

Social Entrepreneurship: Training a Generation for Failure

Josh Cohen and Aaron Hurst

A year ago we met and shared a common insight that social entrepreneurship is the not right framing to help Generation Y meet their need to make a social impact in their careers.  We are concerned that unless a new framing is created, business schools and corporations will not effectively enable this generation to make the impact on the world that we need. We have some insights and observations to share, but have not landed on the right framework. We are hoping that we can engage you in this conversation to find it.

 The Situation-

• Today, Generation Y- the 60 million young adults born between 1979 and 1994- is entering and shaping the workforce.
• According to a 2008-2009 study conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton, Ernst & Young, Time Warner, and UBS, 86% of Generation Y say it’s important that their work make a positive impact on the world.
• Top business schools are responding to this desire by creating tracks for and teaching social entrepreneurship as the route for students hoping to make a difference in the world.
• Leading social entrepreneurship program Ashoka offers only 110 fellowships in the United States, and other social entrepreneurship opportunities are equally limited.
• With 100,000 MBA graduates annually, social entrepreneurship is not a scalable solution for engaging Generation Y in work that fulfills their desire to make a positive impact.
• There is a powerful and urgent opportunity for a new framework to be created.

 Our Insights-

• The Self-Actualized Generation- In famed psychologist Abram Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, human needs are represented by a pyramid where one must meet the needs of each tier to move to the tier above.  Today, as Generation Y enters the workforce, it is as if an entire generation of business professionals has reached the pinnacle of Maslow’s hierarchy- self-actualization. Characterized by a heightened emphasis on vitality, creativity, authenticity, playfulness, and meaningfulness – not only at home but also in the workplace- Generation Y displays a newfound self that drives its focus on social impact.
• The ME, Inc Generation- Increased emphasis on personal branding and developments in technology and social media complicate company-potential employee relationships as each individual views himself as his own personal company or “ME inc.” Members of Generation Y see themselves not only as employees, but also as volunteers, donors, investors, consumers, and individual PR agencies.
• Integrated Impact-Today’s professionals must take a more integrated approach to how they make a difference- considering their impact in all decision-making from employment to purchasing to investment.
• Personal Social Responsibility- There may be a framework that applies the concepts of CSR- corporate social responsibility- to the individual professional- a personal social responsibility or PSR.

 We hope that you will help us explore the need for a new framework.  Do you agree or disagree with the situation and insights we have described? Do you have additional insights?  Is social entrepreneurship setting Generation Y up for failure? What framework would you suggest or what elements would a new framework need to have?
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My response and analysis

Dear Josh and Aaron:

I just saw your May 2010 blog post on "Social Entrepreneurship: Training a Generation for Failure."  This posting concisely summarizes a lot of issues I’ve been facing as a recent college graduate seeking a career in business-driven social impact.  Namely, that there are thousands of people out there who want to “do well by doing good” and only a few hundred fellowship positions with organizations like Ashoka out there. 

I like your analysis – that personal branding, personalizing social responsibility, and thinking about self-actualization as part of a career is helpful.  I’ve thought a lot about these issues personally and have started a blog on social impact networking events in NYC, which is how I heard about City Light Capital – because I saw that you’re hosting the “New Mix Drinks” event this Wednesday in NYC.  Will either or both of you be attending?

My additional insights:

- Plugging into existing networks vs. reinventing the wheel - Business school students, undergraduates, and anyone who takes a social entrepreneurship class seems to be pushed in the direction of starting a social enterprise.  That’s great, but what about those socially minded businesspeople who aren’t going to come up with the next D.Light?  There needs to be a focus on plugging into existing networks rather than only starting up one’s own enterprise.  For example, I enjoy connecting people by making email introductions after I go to conferences.  However, it doesn’t make sense for me to start my own “social impact networking site” since several already exist (Jumo, xigi.net, etc.).  More people should learn about joining existing resources as an alternative to creating their own.  The problem is that there isn’t a comprehensive database of resources, and that most people want to find information in a specific location.  Towards this end, I’ve started a blog and a Google Doc of great organizations that I follow.

- Location based networks – People tend to like meeting other people nearby.  I’ve volunteered as an online community administrator for Acumen Fund’s online community, and although it’s cool to meet someone halfway across the world with a similar interest, the fact that I’ll probably never meet that random person is a mild deterrent to starting – and maintaining – a professional relationship.  This is as true of finding friends to hang out with on a Saturday as it is of applying to jobs via LinkedIn in a specific city.  I foresee more activity happening in location-based enterprises that aren’t solely about entertainment/restaurants/finding friends.  Maybe Foursquare will have a badge for “social entrepreneur mayor of Queens” in 3-5 years.

- Impact measurement / metrics – It is very difficult to quantify impact in the citizen or nonprofit sector without a common yardstick of dollars, watt-hours, or FASB rules.  Organizations like the Global Impact Investing Network (with IRIS) and the Robin Hood Foundation (which uses quality-adjusted life years and discounted NPV lifetime income) are making strides towards a common yardstick for quantifying their impact, but so far, one “best practice” in measuring impact is not widely recognized.

- Financial Returns – Part of the reason why there are so few jobs in social entrepreneurship is that the revenues to support hiring people aren’t there.  Social ventures seem to be like nonprofits in wanting talented people to volunteer their time for several months with no guarantee of a return on time invested, in terms of a job with financial benefits anywhere near comparable to the business sector.  Social ventures with both financial and social/environmental returns are also more difficult to find, since they tend to be young and small by definition.  I think that there is no “Vault guide to careers in social entrepreneurship” because there aren’t enough jobs to warrant a profitable publication of such a book.   

Lastly, I’d like to applaud City Light Ventures for finding and investing in startups with a double or triple bottom line impact – we need more people like you!

Please let me know what you think of my analysis.  I look forward to hearing from you.
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UPDATE, 1:28 pm on Tuesday, October 12 - both Josh Cohen (Managing Partner at City Light Capital!) and Aaron Hurst (Founder of the Taproot Foundation!) emailed me saying they liked my comments, and I'm looking forward to meeting Josh at the event tomorrow night.... Holy cow!