Scale for Impact
In his talk, Michael reiterates the point that progress on solving social problems is happening slowly, and that the way to make a dent is through scale. We can’t turn on the news, check our email, or scan social media without seeing this reality. He points out that using the current model we can’t scale because we don’t have the resources we need. He notes that the business sector is creating resources by providing solutions that helps them scale. As a business strategist that has started 4 nonprofits, he won me by noting the trend that social solutions can be solved through business, giving the example of how organizations are in the business of finding innovative ways to reduce pollution.
To Solve Problems We Need Everyone
Overall my biggest takeaway from Michael Porter’s talk is in his last two minutes where he gets at the crux of how successful nonprofits have been able to make progress on solving social problems, not only through scale, but also through partnering with the business and government sectors. Alone, nonprofits can only make incremental progress in solving problems but that when they partnered with other sectors they can make the scalable impact that we all here to make.This is a trend that I have become increasingly aware of; that resources are limited and to make an impact towards social solutions we need partners. To read more about this, check out our Greenlights’ research on nonprofit mergers.What do you think about Michael Porter’s Ted talk and what are some of your takeaways?