I heard someone say that business entrepreneurs are people who solve other people’s problems for profit. I believe that’s accurate. Now let’s take it to another level. A social entrepreneur solves societal problems on a large scale to create profit and social capital. Thus, the main aim of social entrepreneurship is to further social and environmental goals.
Just a few years ago, social entrepreneurship was seen as a kind of fringe movement of talented business people who just wanted to do the right thing in the world. Now, social entrepreneurship is a booming growth movement, employing over 50 million people in the world with an estimated 300 million volunteers to extend their reach. Is there a problem with a water system in a village? A social entrepreneur will find the solution when local governments are short on resources and typical businesses don’t see enough profit in it. Is there a food shortage in a region? social entrepreneurs will look to develop a better mouse trap where food can get directly to the people by creating a new infrastructure with the help of the very people they seek to serve. These are the people sustainable society leaders must create intimate relationships with to help implement their agenda.
Sustainable Society Leaders are the new leaders who now emphasize sustainability over expedience when making decisions in society’s leadership positions. An alliance between sustainable society leaders and social entrepreneurs could be one of the most important of our time. However, social entrepreneurship is not without its challenges. While there are many inspired individuals who seek to leverage their business understanding to help make a better world, they typically don’t succeed doing this kind of work unless they have a team and resources. This is where the sustainable society leader comes into play. The sustainable society leader can help identify the problems that exist in a society or community, send out a call to social entrepreneurs, then bring the stakeholders together to solve the problem. Not to take away the power of the individual, but large scale challenges need large scale teams. The success rate is better when teams of talent come together to tackle the issue.
The sustainable society leader can also help the social entrepreneur by doing necessary due diligence. The success rate for the social entrepreneur can increase dramatically when someone clearly outlines the problem, the politics and the people involved. The Shift will make this process a lot easier, but there will need to be someone spearheading this effort before the social entrepreneur puts boots on the ground. Even more, the sustainable society leader must run interference with the possible entrenched bureaucracies and professionals that may still hold out on old ideas. In order for the social entrepreneur to be effective, they will need a sort of peace negotiated by the Sustainable Society Leader that will support the social entrepreneur’s efforts.