Uncategorized

Recommended Social Innovation Podcasts

Over the last few years, as reading has taken a backseat to video, a large number of awesome social innovation podcasts have begun to spring up.  Many of which offer excellent insights, or interviews, on topics of sustainability, social innovation, and entrepreneurship.

The below is a list that I have put together, knowing full well that there are many others.

Change Creator: Better Business. Better Life. Better World. - By Adam Force
Channel Tagline: Redefining Good Business
Channel Overview: The best way to learn how to change the world with a business that matters is from game-changing entrepreneurs that already are. Listen in as Adam Force talks with some of the most impactful people on the planet to bring you their strategies and insights for success.

Most Recent Episodes:

• Rick Miller: Unlock Your Personal and Professional Growth
• Jay Shetty: Creating Content That Drives True Impact [FULL INTERVIEW]
• Sarah & Kevin: A Creative Marketing Strategy That Helped Raise $2.6M in Funding

The Voices of Social Change Podcast - By Joshua Schukman
Channel Tagline:
Channel Overview: Want to add a social mission to your business? Have a for purpose organization that you want to grow? Maybe you’re launching or have a dream of launching just such an organization??? If any of this fits you, then this podcast is for you!

Most Recent Episodes:

• S4 | E1: Are you stuck in the SCRAMBLE?
• S3 | E14: Does our ‘Social Impact’ really matter?
• S3 | E13: Didn’t hit your goal? Keep moving anyway.

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs - By Fergal Byrne
Channel Tagline:
Channel Overview: At Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, we talk to experienced and successful social entrepreneurs and change makers, committed to building a better world. Our aim is to share the inspiring stories, to explore the highs and the lows, learn how different social entrepreneurs have kept inspired, and draw out insights to help social entrepreneurs at all stages on their journey.

Most Recent Episodes:

• Episode 94: Interview with Randy Paynter, founder of Care2
• Episode 93 Interview with Harish Hande, co-founder SELCO INDIA
• Episode 92: Interview with Odin Mühlenbein, Partner at Ashoka Germany and Lead of Advisory at Ashoka Globalizer

Ethical Business - By Fair Marketeers
Channel Tagline: Inspiring People Doing Inspiring Things
Channel Overview: Every week, we interview a leading business mind to get the latest ideas and inspiration for reducing our impact on the world. No junk, just compelling stories about how they got to where they are and how you can learn from their experience.

Most Recent Episodes:

• Episode 38 – Sustainable Construction with Paul Galvin of SG Blocks August 26, 2018
• Episode 37 – The World’s Most Ethical Bra with Stephanie Devine July 9, 2018
• Episode 36 – Tackling Climate Change in New Ways with Professor Michael Vandenbergh January 11, 2018

Positive Impact - By Alexandra Black-Paulick
Channel Tagline: Creating a Positive Impact on the World
Channel Overview: Movers and shakers across all industries looking to solve the world’s biggest problems through leveraging the power of business. Explore the countless different models and creative innovation that these changemakers deploy to help empower, motivate and inspire.

Most Recent Episodes:

• 33: Putting Micro-Entrepreneurs on Tourism Map - Jason Seagle (Vayando)
• 32.5: Girlpreneurs Creating an Impact with Alexis Kauchick (Eternal Essence Candles)
• 32: Empowering Girlpreneurs - Holly Lichtenfeld (Bright Girls Company)

Business With Purpose: By Molly

Most Recent Episodes:

• Business with Purpose Podcast EP 111: Susan Correa, Founder of Art + Eden
• Business with Purpose Podcast EP 110: How to Know if a Brand is Ethical
• Business with Purpose Podcast EP 109: Liz Funk, And We Evolve

Social Entrepreneur:- By Tony Loyd

Channel Tagline: Positive stories from underrepresented voices, focused on solutions.
Most Recent Episodes:

• Software to Improve Recovery Outcomes, with Melissa Kjolsing Lynch, Recovree
• How to Change the World, with Bethany Tran, The Root Collective
• Closing the Adult Education Gap for Employers and Employees, with Ned Zimmerman-Bence, GogyUp

More Than Money
Channel Tagline: Business talk revisited. The podcast that challenges you to listen with your conscience.
Most Recent Episodes:

• Ethical Side of Tech
• Consumers on CSR
• The Anti-Sweatshop

Global Goals Cast - By We Are All Human Foundation
Channel Tagline:
Channel Overview: Global GoalsCast is a podcast that inspires and empowers listeners to make the world a better place by sharing the stories individuals, companies, and organizations that are advancing and achieving a more sustainable world.
Most Recent Episodes:

• The Next Generations: We Can’t Save the World Without Them
• Stopping the Scourge of Modern Slavery: HRH Princess Eugenie & Julia de Boinville, Anti-Slavery Collective
• Have we made progress on the SDGs?

The Bonfires of Social Enterprise - By Romy Kochan,
Channel Tagline: The Podcast show about social enterprise!
Channel Overview:  The Bonfires of Social Enterprise podcast began in March of 2015 with an intent to document the social enterprise development in Detroit. Host, Romy Kochan, began the journey with storytelling in mind.

Most Recent Episodes:

• Sheri Lozano of Link2Lift #99
• Kate Hayes EchoingGreen- Board Health #98
• Genusee #97

Stanford Social Innovation Review -
Channel Overview: Audio talks and lectures by leaders of social change

Most Recent Episodes:

• The Tenuous Relationship Between Technology and Social Innovation
• Embracing Emerging Technology for Social Change
• Fostering a Human-Centered Approach to Artificial Intelligence

one billion - By Civilla
Channel Overview: This podcast is an inside peek at their journey as they work to create positive impact in the lives of one billion people.   Stories are captured in real time and shared out weekly. Key themes include: civic leadership, social innovation, philanthropy, human-centered design, change work, government, and courageous leadership.

Most Recent Episodes:

• 007 - Can you do it?
• 006 - What's the Evidence?
• 005 - What's the problem? (Part 2)

Impact Boom -
Channel Overview: Impact Boom searches the globe to find the people, stories & inspiration to help you create maximum positive impact. We interview world-leading social innovators, entrepreneurs, changemakers, designers, educators, thinkers and doers who share Insights, ideas & inspiration. As long as these leaders are focusing their efforts on creating positive social and environmental change, we'll make sure you hear about it.

Most Recent Episodes:

• Yasmin Grigaliunas On Human Connection & Accelerating Your Impact As An Entrepreneur
• Caleb Rixon On The Thing That Changed Everything
• Improving Micro-Volunteering: Key Factors For Your Social Enterprise To Consider

by Rich

Advice for Aspiring Social Entrepreneurs

Prior to his departure from Hong Kong, and SOW Asia, I was fortunate enough to catch up with Scott Lawson to talk about his 7 years in the social impact investment space.

More than an investor, Scott had become a trusted advisor, mentor, and thought leader to many in the space, and during our discussion he issued this warning to aspiring entrepreneurs.  It came as part of a wider discussion on the challenges that he has seen entrepreneurs face, and while it may seem like he is being a bit harsh or somehow looking to discourage people from jumping into the pool, the reality couldn't be different.  For him, and I invite you to watch the full interview, the world needs more entrepreneurs whose mission it is to being solutions to the challenges our societies, economies, and environments face.

Too often, people jump into this space without understanding just how tough being a "good" entrepreneur can be, and too often, they end up leaving. This is in part due to the fact that for the last decade there has been a bit of celebrity around the space.  and a generally perception that because you are a "good" person trying to "save the world" things will just happen.

The reality is that entering this space a very tough road.  One that is difficult and tiring at times, but one that is ultimately very rewarding if you are able to maintain course.  TO do so, there are a few things that I have come to understand are core requirements for (aspiring) entrepreneurs in this space to possess:

See the challenges as opportunities

The world is a crazy, disorganized, and at times disheartening mess at times, and for you to succeed as social (or socially minded) entrepreneur you are going to have have to put all that craziness aside, and find the opportunity for yourself to make a difference.

This doesn't mean that you emotionally turn off, but to be able to effectively focus your efforts on solving the problems, but if you let your emotions get out in front of your actions, you will begin to feel as if there is no way that you can get anything done..

Have a Clear Mission, and a Passion for that Mission

To be able to deliver an organization whose products or services solve a real problem, you are going to have to make a very clear choice early on what your mission is, be it save the polar bears, deliver education to rural parts of India, solve the food wastage issue. It needs to be something that you can clearly articulate to others, and it has to be something that you yourself are deeply passionate about solving.

If you cannot clearly articulate your mission, or if the focus itself and what you hope to achieve in under 30 seconds then you are in for a challenge. A challenge that for many manifests into a confidence issue as traction takes time to take hold, and without the small wins to provide confidence, the initial fuel burst provided by passion burns off.

Get Out [and stay] of the Office

One of the biggest mistakes I see with aspiring entrepreneurs is that while they have a clear mission, the value proposition for the platform that they have created isn’t clear and they are not gaining any traction. 9 times out of 10, this is due to the fact they have not spent enough time learning about or working with the issue they are concerned.  It is not that their ideas are necessarily that far off, but people are impatient at a time when patience and depth of understanding is needed.

To the most effective way to do this is to step out from behind your computer get out into the real world.

Execute First. Talk Later

While we may live in a world where ideas are rewarded over impact, as an aspiring social entrepreneur, your mission should be for maximum impact not not to talk about how you are going to change the world and pick up awards for the most innovative ideas.

The work that you are doing, or are considering taking on, is about impact. it is about changing the lives of the (x) that you are trying to save from (y),

Build and Empower a Team

Besides having a clear mission, and a product or service with a strong value proposition, there is nothing more important to me than a strong team who is empowered to get things done.  For many entrepreneurs it is also one of the most difficult things to do, but for the organization to grow, the entrepreneur needs to be able to effectively bring in and empower the right people to take the organization forward.

Wrapping Up:

Leverage the power of entrepreneurship to do what you love ending what you hate can be a very rewarding endeavor. An endeavor full of challenges, it's my hope that for the aspiring entrepreneurs who are reading this,you will take the lesson here that while your passion and ideas are welcomed, your understanding of the challenges, you need to find a way to put yourself and your organization in a place to be able to execute on those ideas.

by Rich

Fuck Fear

As an entrepreneur, I know that one of the greatest obstacles to be faced is one’s own fear. A step needs to be taken. There are million reasons why one should do something, and in the minds of an entrepreneur, there are often another million for why one can’t.

For some, this fear is a figment of their imagination, while for others it is a keen awareness of the challenge itself. It comes from the guts, buries itself deep into the deepest recesses of the brain, and for some it is paralyzing. To truly overcome it, there are no shortcuts.

A team needs to be built. A “minimal viable product” needs to be launched.

It is a process that I am at constant battle with, be it launching something new or working to improve one of the platforms or projects that are already out there, because as “the entrepreneur”, I often feel like every element needs to be perfect. Something that is perhaps less so with existing platforms, but when it comes to taking a new step, it really doesn’t get any easier.

For fear to be overtaken, a full step has to be taken.

With that in mind, I am happy to announce that with the launch of this post (and the video above it) a new project is ready.

It is a project that isn’t exactly new, as it is something I have been playing with and trying to get it "just right", but I realized that what I was doing was stalling.

It wasn't that the clips weren't ready. I wasn't. Something my good friend Brian Tam of Let's Make Great! called me out on during our interview, about the power of fear to paralyze.

So here it is, #Entrepreneurs4Good, a series of videos about entrepreneurs whose mission it is to solve the challenges faced and are gracious enough to share their stories about their work.

It is a project that for me has been really inspiring, and I honestly hope that you will be as inspired by these individuals as I have been. Inspired by their vision, their action, or just their raw courage to overcome their fears to take their first steps towards building organizations whose mission is to solve the challenges we face.
They are great people who are doing their best to do great things, and I hope that these clips do them justice!

A couple of requests.

• If you are inspired by a particular story, or feel that others could be, please share with those who feel will be affected or interested by the clip!
• If you know someone whose story you think could inspire others, please introduce me to them. My initial plan is to cover the APAC region, but as my travels take me to other parts of the world, I will be taking time out to meet people and you introductions would be extremely valuable.

With that, I hope that you will enjoy (or already have enjoyed) the clip .. and if you'd like to see more, please visit my Youtube Channel.

Hope all is well and have a great weekend!

Rich

by Rich

Why Doesn't Your Team Care?

Have you ever been half way through the rollout of a new program, or been in the planning phases of something you were excited about, but your local team wasn't responding ... at all.

If so, I invite you to head over to Corporate Citizenship, to read my latest article Why top-down sustainability strategies are often doomed to fail where I speak about a key challenge that many firms face in executing on their sustainability goals:

For many global firms, engaging local stakeholders, particularly employees, has been a challenge. This has stymied the rollout of sustainable visions and programs, and left many a sustainability director asking whether or not their people “care”. This disconnect highlights not only the difficulties of communication between global headquarters and regional business units, but more importantly, the different realities that are faced by individuals at each level.

It is a topic that my team and I have been studying for a while now, and in addition to identifying key areas of divergence, we have also been developing strategies and training modules to help create bridges of tangibility that tie global and local teams together.

Some of the key lessons I have shared in the article.  Which you can click here to read.

by Rich