Ogunte and the Global Tribal Network

The secret algorithm of women social innovators

2012-01-11T11:43:00.002Z

Article published in the Guardian on January 11th 2012

Social enterprises are the cathedrals of today. They require huge amount of faith, resources and energy to be built, as what they supposedly deal with cannot be fixed instantly. The smartest among them trigger the growth of co-related networks and micro-economies, they amplify spiritual and cultural energy and gather masses. They are a shelter for ideas, people and resources and save many souls.

At their head, you will find many women social innovators. The most ingenious among them are extremely adaptive beings, able to connect to the most resourceful people and structures, in order to develop simple yet very smart and impactful routes to growth.

if you want to show the same amount and quality of courage, competences, connections and confidence as these women, you will need to develop a great information processing ability that would help you optimize the route along which you will grow to reach necessary resources. In other words, you’ll need to be a deeply smart networker, a bright knowledge manager, and develop future centric behaviour and services.

To name just a few:

An innovator in sustainable development, such as Dr Rachel Armstrong, creates carbon negative architecture, and projects to sustainably grow an “artificial limestone reef underneath the city of Venice, to slow down its sinking into the soft delta soils on which it is built, using a new chemically programmable, DNA-less cell called a ‘protocell’ “. The social implications on Venice or other cities in developing countries subject to frequent low-level floods are immense.

Donna Morton, CEO and co-founder of First Power Canada and executive director of the Centre for Integral Economics, is driven by innovation and a commitment to future generations. Her venture puts clean energy, jobs and equity in the hands of communities, and she focuses on First Nations. Donna demonstrates how quadruple bottom line is a non-negotiable to make sustainability a reality.

Andrea Coleman, biker and co-founder of Riders for Health, ensures that health workers in Africa have access to reliable and smarter transportation so that regular healthcare services reaches the most isolated people.

Confidence is a volatile currency

One of the reasons why some women aren’t as visible and openly influential as the ones above and their male counterparts is that their confidence is a very volatile currency.

Women social innovators can become paralysed when subjected to stress, especially the stress due to a lack of confidence and self-belief.

But nature has the answer, the simplest form of life- slime mould - has the capacity to "remember" the obstacles that stressed them, and goes beyond its normal behaviour to avoid them… If we could make more use of this faculty as women, we would avoid that recurrent self-sabotage and probably be more demanded in, and more excited to join, key decision-making bodies.

The women I have met in the past 4 years have common qualities: they are brilliant thinkers AND activists. And they are also courageous. This is what amazes me when using the mould’s behaviour as a blue print for better social innovation.

These women have also cracked commercial dilemmas that a lot of Social Entrepreneurs face: they are able to attract buyers’ inner drivers and pulsion to buy services/products that have an impact on their emotions and lives, now or in a very near future, and by doing so, they can trigger and fund strategies to support long term social and environmental impacts.

We need more of these specific activists. We need to invest in a culture where they are more visible and engaged with each other collectively. If women social innovators keep on organising themselves as smart networks, they will be able to revitalise communities through an intelligent invasion of sound services and products that are future centric and impactful.

It will not happen through just a law of quota but through the connective and informative power of mavens among networks.

And mavens come in all genders…

Investing in women social innovators now, and solve their potential confidence issues, with money, connections, patience and media visibility, is likely to make our communities more intelligently woven and relevant to service users, citizens, consumers.

When a media leader cannot find anything better than to nominate a panda in the shortlist for Woman of the Year, look further to the women social innovators who could be part of your media headlines, your judging panels, your shortlists of mentors, role-models, muses, your councils, and even better: your up and coming social business partners and preferred suppliers. Demand them.

Women business angels: "It's not about having a soft touch..."

2011-12-09T12:25:00.000Z

This week, the Make a Wave Pre-Incubator for Women Social Entrepreneurs was taking residence at the NESTA premises in London, where our guest host Sally Goodsell, CEO of the FSE group, joined the 12 fellows.
Despite the high number of successful business and professional women in the UK, and with women accounting for nearly half the millionaires in Britain, currently only about 5% of Business Angels in the UK are women.

“So many women have the skills, experience and wealth to become successful and active business angels. Incito provides an ideal forum to do this. We are aiming to present a wide variety of deals to our investors, including businesses that will appeal to female investors.” says Sally Goodsell, CEO of Finance South East and Board director of the British Business Angels Association.

The big question is where are the women? What is stopping women entrepreneurs? It is lack of confidence, lack of understanding of how finances work? Sally reckons a combination of various factors stops women to do business.

First of all, the angels' attitude needs to change:

- They need to pick up hidden potential
- Never write anybody off
- They shouldn't make too quick judgments and on the contrary be very open to new things.

Then, the reality is that 8 out of 10 times, the deals don't produce any return. We need to produce more tax incentives schemes and exit options to allow more organisations and individuals to invest.
And on the other hand, we need to support women with removing their fear of funding...

"Women are good at forecasting and budgetting. The fact is that women are more realistic in their forecasts than their male counterparts. The numbers they put in their plans are what they think they are genuinely going to achieve."

Incito is leading the change: it's about women coaching other women entrepreneurs. They all have a passion for business and provide support in a genuine collaborative way. They are really supportive and do not try to score points.
"It is not about having a soft touch, that would be a disservice to the clients we support. On the contrary, it is very focused."

When we touch on the topic of social entreprise, we need to introduce the notion of patient capital. Financial returns can sometimes be slower than in other industries.

Sally introduced the Social Impact Co-investment Fund. Loans between £25k to £100k are made to qualifying businesses which are financially robust AND can deliver disruptive social impact. This is provided on a “match funding” basis alongside private sector investors who may invest via equity or loans. The Fund is currently deployed throughout various organisations in the UK.

Sally's encouraging tips to the Make a Wave fellows:

You have to be the educators in this market.
Bring the discipline and the proof that your model makes a difference
You have got a chance of a lifetime and the opportunities to make a difference in this market place. Seize it.
Angels find new businesses at pre-revenue stage very difficult so chase any small amount of money you can.
As an entrepreneur, you need to be outstanding in putting your story across.
Investors are not here to fund a lifestyle for you, it's about shared risks.
Cornerstones invest if your business has a chance to attract angel investment.
If you can go to a bank, get a cheaper loan!
Get yourself a financially savvy mentor or a non-exec finance director for instance.
You need to be able to challenge figures as the business grows. If it is not your specialty, have you envisaged attending a course in finances for non-financial managers?
You found the business, and then you have to build a team. Failure happens inevitably when you think you can do everything!
Be able to provide evidence of your social impact.
Get a due diligence pack and tidy up the loose bits.

----
More on Sally Goodsell. Sally is the CEO of the award-winning FSE Group, a not-for-profit organization which she grew from 1 to 35 employees with £45m funds under management, offering direct investment and professional support to early-stage businesses. Sally started her career in investment banking in the City, latterly at Guinness Mahon where she was a Director. While on a career break to raise her family, she started her own business which she later sold. She is a frequent speaker and has advised national and regional governments on SME finance and female entrepreneurship for which she won the “Prowess award” for Outstanding Contribution to Women’s Enterprise Development. In 2010 Sally established Incito Ventures, the UK’s first female business angel network / VC that is focused on women-led businesses.
2011 also saw the launch of The Social Impact Co-Investment Fund, the UK’s first business angel co-investment fund for social enterprises.
Sally is a Board member of the British Business Angels Association (BBAA) and the European Business Angel Network (EBAN). She studied Spanish and Portuguese at University College London and is authorised by the Financial Services Authority.

MAKE a WAVE is the only pre-incubator for women social entrepreneurs, taking risks to expand the women-led social ventures market place.
More on www.ogunte.com

Communicate your value in a way that people can understand

2011-11-16T10:06:00.001Z

Daniela Soares. Pic Ben Langdon (c)

"I don’t think innovation is a problem… It's more about discipline and focus."

Make a Wave fellows visited Impetus Trust CEO Daniela Barone Soares. A frequent speaker at Ogunte events, Daniela is always praised for her inspiring talks but also her clear way to communicate the importance of focus and discipline in the social ventures sector.

During our Pre-incubator session, she outlined the importance of learning, personal development, mentoring, and looking for continuous opportunities to amplify your views.

She outlined the importance of networks that help you to look beyond the things you see and work with on a day-to-day basis.

"The more you talk to people, the more you clarify and define the drivers that fulfil you. You then know where you should focus your skills and competences."

Ask yourself: "What am i really good at, and how can I use this in my business?"

Daniela arrived at Impetus in 2006, growing it to what it is today, supported by an impressive team of investment executives and volunteering corporates.

The average annual growth in people helped of Impetus charities is 40% and the average annual growth in income of their portfolio charities is 31%, which is more than eight times the sector average.

Their portfolio charities are now helping over 250,000 people a year, enabling these people to access education, skills and employment so they can lead more independent lives.

A very clear social impact cycle model

Impetus provides a highly effective venture philanthropy package to ambitious, innovative charities and social enterprises to help transform their performance. The package consists of strategic funding, management support and capacity-building expertise.

Daniela explained the link between money, voluntary sector, social enterprise and private sector, and how you can invest time, resources, skills and discipline to maximise performance, operations and social impact.

"The "private equity industry" is full of knowledge on human resources, finance and negotiations, and it has a very disciplined way of improving the way organisations operate and increase their scale". It's a great way to learn.

"We have to find which organisations and charities are having the biggest social impact, with specific projects and focus, and then help them to scale up and reach even more people. The private sector can help in delivering."

Soares stresses that being a charity or a social enterprise and deliver public contracts is a tough deal. Your costs will often be higher than your commercial competitors because you are investing more in beneficiaries, people and/or the environment. Yet you have to match commercial prices when you bid for contracts. It's hard. But good systems and operations, alongside a strict discipline and focus can take you a long way.

So innovating is one thing, yet you can start many projects and not getting anywhere. She says: "I think that focusing on something you are very good at and bringing it to fruition on the market, is something far more important, and more relevant".

Repackage your offer in a way that people can understand.

Even Impetus had hard criticism from their peers, claiming that they were only grant-givers. So to put things straight, they managed to repackage their offer and communicate their value in numbers. In a way that people could understand.

They valued in £ pounds, the time and expertise given by Impetus staff and their supporters in their portfolio ventures.

And this is an input that their clients valued a lot. After an initial survey, ventures claimed that what they needed was unrestricted funding and expertise to develop.

That is what Impetus is delivering.

Read Impetus Report 2009-2010 here

http://www.impetus.org.uk/media/76309/impetusimpactreport09-10.pdf

Make a Wave: Not All Social Entrepreneurs Are Tree Huggers...

2011-10-19T17:24:00.003+01:00

Stephen Rockman
Ceo Merism Capital

Fortunately, because most investors tend not to be involved emotionally...

But this might cause a problem when entrepreneurs at seed stage need a bit more hands-on support and confidence building to grow, and understand how to grow. It takes space and time to work on a social business’ potential.

Merism Capital is there to fill the gap in that seed stage.

Our 3d host on the Make a Wave pre-incubator programme, Stephen Rockman, founded Merism Capital in 2010 to provide seed funding for early stage social businesses: supporting entrepreneurs with intellectual capital and equity investments of £50k to £150k for both financial and social returns.

In 2011, he co-founded Hub Venture Labs, with Hub Westminster

in London, the only incubator in Europe dedicated to social entrepreneurs.

Hub Venture Labs run short incubator programmes, some with investment prizes. They provide customised non-financial support on behalf of investors and foundations, encourage impact investing and new forms of hybrid finance, and champion social entrepreneurs across Europe.

Merism was set-up to also provide a viable fund infrastructure for angels to participate in seed funding for social businesses.

Merism have made 2 deals so far, with a software company in Palestine which became the biggest local IT employer, and an upcycling business in the UK.

So, what’s special about Merism?

They are fast and transparent. They use standard documentation all way through in their deals. The process is shared up front and this keeps the costs down.

Merism takes a seat on the board and gets reasonably involved with frequent communications. “As a seed investor you have to mitigate the risks so the best way is to keep a close eye on the operations, that's why we are quite hands-on.”

Building upon the models of Village Capital (for which they have the franchise in Europe) and Y Combinator, Merism are developing a new model of startup funding. They have a £3 million fund and expect to do 12 deals a year, and support around 200 individuals through the capacity building/ incubator programme. Joining forces with the Hub Westminster to create Hub Venture Labs, was key to create an education programme with various stakeholders involved in the pipeline.

They put up to £150,000 in for a 25% equity, and expect to double their investment. (For comparison, a seed fund in the tech space would expect between 8 and 20 times return)

Merism do not invest in CIC’s because of the cap on dividends. But there are ways around it.

They would rather see structures like B-Corps, the US For Profit Social Business structure, which Stephen calls a CIC with brains!

Like any other investors, they invest to make money and they make money by getting out of deals.

They have 3 potential routes to exits:

- Selling a deal to another investor, scale up your business and bring you a to a next round of investment. Bridges Ventures, for instance, is a likely following stage in the pipeline.

- Re-appropriating the changing CSR space, and sell a social brand to large corporates.

- Mergers and acquisitions (a common model and second nature in the tech space) which really encourage the investees to work on more collaborations (and that is not enough developed in the social business scene at the moment).

Stephen shared with us the 4M’s (what investors want to see in your startup).

Management, Market, Momentum, Money..

Some remarks Stephen shared on top of the 4M’s:

- What is your market… really?

- Don't try to do top-down market forecast. Be realistic and think bottom-up:

- What is a deal for you?

- What is the timeline and effort involved? How long does it take for you to close a deal?

- What does it take for you to close a deal?

- If I give you money, I really want to see you invest it in areas that give you more traction (Momentum), whether it is to develop a product or spend more on marketing or upskill you.

- Show me a good business model, rather than a forecast (Investors never really believe forecasts because they know you have to change your prospects all the time and they are here to help you think differently…)

- Show me a client! We do not invest in a Power Point presentation.

- It is useful to think commercially and to act more responsibly with the money.

- Commercial sharpness and discipline is quite useful whether you want to make money or not.

- If you can’t afford to pay the bills, you really have to question why you are doing this.

- The good thing with social enterprise, is that you can balance non-commercial with commercial activities, nevertheless, being viable is a duty for all entrepreneurs!

Make a Wave, drop "innovative" & "social enterprise" from the pitch, just say WHAT you deliver.

2011-10-04T13:48:00.000+01:00

The Make a Wave's second session was hosted by Sarah Ryan, an advisor for ASTIA.

Astia is a global not-for-profit organization built on a community of men and women dedicated to the success of women-led, high-growth ventures and to the eradication of the need for the organization within the decade. The Astia method is designed for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs who understand the value of extraordinary relationships and believe in giving back. Designed for high-growth companies at all stages, the Astia offering is implemented by more than 1,100 volunteer members of the Astia Advisor Network that includes more than 300 former and current CEOs and 200 investors. Astia is an extremely committed community of advisors, investors, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs.

Sarah understands social enterprise. Besides being an advisor for Astia Europe, she is a Mentor for the Prince's Trust, Women Like Us and has contributed to Pioneers of Prosperity Awards, conducting on-site financial due diligence.

The questions she is always asked social ventures leaders:

- There's one bottom line: how good is your company for your community, your employees, your customers, your shareholders, and importantly, is it viable?

From Astia's point of view, Social Enterprises will be looked at like any other enterprises (if they also are a company limited by shares).

Venture Capitalists want to see at least a prototype.

They love when you speak a language they grasp (and if they can grasp your language).

They want to understand your big story, your plan for scaling, and how you will make it sustainable.

You can (and you should) articulate how you are going to "give back' by creating value - if you create employment, if you create other businesses- and that you need to reinvest money in the business to be able to do so.

Whatever the story is, you need to be self-sustaining.

VC's are looking at investing large sums (+/- 200 000) to help you going to scale. Angels will be considering smaller amounts.

Anyhow, they won't be interested in writing you a cheque for £25,000 for an office space and a member of staff for 2 years.

So the 5 elements that you will be polishing before starting to approach VC's will be:

1) A prototype of a product and a clear explanation of what that product is!

2) A real team (knowing what gaps your team has is as important as having a fully formed board). If the venture sounds interesting, VC's are likely to ask to speak to your management team.

3) The assessment and the proof that there is a market for this product.

4) Relevant stakeholders to bring this venture to fruition...

5) Interest in learning, the ability to take feedback, to be ready to be open and make changes.

But more importantly, they want to hear about the BIG VISION!

FACTS to bring perspective to your journey:
- VC's will look at dozens and dozens of proposals a week.
- They will all do a different amount of Due Diligence.
- They will want to talk to your customers
- They will want to meet your management team
- They will want to see results of the market research.
- They will find a way to know more about your industry!
- They will send you away with more and more homework and collect more evidence (that is if you have secured a first meeting with them and they haven't yet said NO...)

If you have some government funding, they might be worried about the type of strings attached.

If you are involved with VC's, remember, they'd love to discover the next Google, they would love your business to be highly scaleable.

You might be a social enterprise and consider yourself innovative, but by saying this during your pitch, you've lost a precious opportunity (5 seconds?) to tell them directly WHAT YOU DO AND HOW YOU BRING VALUE.
They are big enough to judge if something is innovative or not.

So remember... it can be a long process but you will learn a lot. They really want to see your business succeed, especially if they are to be involved!

So, who are you going to call now?

5 reasons why coaching helps social innovators

2011-09-29T13:15:00.005+01:00

5 reasons why coaching helps social innovators

Outcomes is not the only thing to focus about, building the capacity of individuals and organisations is important to bring about change.

This is why looking at “Social Innovation Coaching” is important, as it’s a process that supports people involved in influencing people and planet for the better.

“A true social innovation is systems-changing – it permanently alters the perceptions, behaviours and structures that previously gave rise to these challenges.” www.socialinnovation.ca

Social innovation is a process, an outcome and an impact at the same time. Whoever provides support to innovators is part of the mechanism that influences this systemic change.

From our work with 2000 women social entrepreneurs, I have found that competence, connectedness, confidence, and chemistry are areas where support is most needed.

Coaching can help the social innovator understand impact from a different perspective, starting with how they are going to judge the progress of their personal development. Coaching looks at their values and how they influence the change they want to make in their life and in other people’s lives. And that is already a first step towards impact measurement.

1. Understanding the drivers
Social innovators-entrepreneurs need to understand their different roles and priorities as sellers/traders and as activists.

They need to keep the vision alive, whilst separating themselves from the organisation they have set up – let the baby grow…

Coaching can help them have better conversations with new investors, with the general public, with stakeholders, who might not directly understand the social issue. They are often so passionate that it’s hard for them to listen to, and understand, the perspective of the other.

The coaching dialogue is meant to increase understanding between a) the coach and the social innovator and b) the social innovator and its stakeholders.

2. Harnessing the power of networks

Exploring networks in which the innovators are involved, whether they are actor, leader, or just observer, gives light on the strategic mindset. Can we expand, refocus, shrink the number of networks?

Most successful social innovators see networking not only about giving and receiving but equally about passing on and working towards a common vision. So the coach will not only support the individual, but together the innovator and the coach explore the social issue they are embracing, in a specific networking environment.

It’s about seeing a social issue as a malleable virtual person that has a history, many perspectives, and a bunch of gremlins, but that is also open to change.

3. Collaboration and open source thinking
You’d like to think that social innovators are involved in finding solutions to pressing issues by working together but many obstacles to that are: competition, branding issues, unhealthy management practices, scarce funding, intellectual property, to name just a few. Unfortunately, a lot of people are still reluctant to collaborate by fear of losing their USP.

Even if Social Innovators have multiple drivers and responsibilities, they are always hungry for systems that make them think differently.

To boost this, active brainstorming with peers and outsiders gives great solutions. It’s about creating platforms where entrepreneurs connect, co-mentor each other and get access to new challengers, in order to grow learning and trust.

Research into open source software communities, by Karim R. Lakhani, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, has shown that "broadcasting" or introducing problems to outsiders produces effective solutions.

4. Growing stimulation and leadership
Social Innovators get excited when they are close to other great social leaders and innovators and stimulating ideas. So coaching focuses on their ability to excite others and connect with a group of champions that needs a leader and a stimulator.

A coach can encourage the maverick – or outsider- in them, to find their own voice, and come up with an idea they will formulate with their own words.

5. Advocating a strength-based approach
I often find successful social innovators seem to find answers in what works, in previous and new solutions, rather than in problems! Doom and gloom just contributes to cluttering their thinking.

Coaching social innovators works well with a strength-based and a solution-focused approach. They get the satisfaction of being intellectually challenged, and the excitement of moving forward, in a positive way.

Being part of the solution also boosts their sense of belonging, and rewards their desire to be useful and wanted.

The coach’s role is to support them into getting a positive reputation based on evidence and good practice, and to make them aware of all these processes so that they can repeat them.

This article was published in the Guardian on Thursday 28 September.

Servane Mouazan is the founder and director of Ogunte, a Social Innovations Development company focused on women-led social ventures. We add value to the investment and commissioning process by clarifying and assessing social enterprises' proposals, providing relevant connections and helping entrepreneurs to articulate and track their social impact.
Servane is Nominee for the Association for Coaching Honorary Award for Social Innovation 2011

OGUNTE | A Better World. Powered by Women

w: www.ogunte.com
e: servane@ogunte.com

t: @ogunte

Make a Wave: Don't wait to turnover £1 million pound to start nurturing relationships with investors

2011-09-06T20:30:00.001+01:00

Today was a great day as we kick-started the Make a Wave programme with the brand new fellows, 12 women social entrepreneurs based mostly in London and the South East.

Make a Wave is a pre-incubator, a learning and co-mentoring programme aimed at 12 women social entrepreneurs, on a journey towards impact investment. It is made of 6 exclusive lunch-time visits and access to women angels and impact investors, from September 2011 to February 2012.

It gives a gendered lens on impact investment and required knowledge and competences to pitch to investment panels, and learn about their language and requests. The programme is topped up by a series of teleconferences with global women social innovators, and access to mentors and experts who will offer their insights and feedback on the fellows' social business proposals.

Adele Blakebrough MBE

Our first session took place today in London Bridge with Adele Blakebrough, CEO of the Social Business Trust.
Adele has a practitioner background. She has always been interested in linking up social enterprises with peers, experts, diverse sources of finance and more importantly, growing them into recognised household brands.

She will be satisfied if anyone can name at least 100 of the +/-66,000 social businesses that are said to be on the market place.

She acknowledges that some projects are meant to stay small and local, whilst others should grow regionally, even nationally, to make a substantial and incremental difference.

The Social Business Trust, is targeting established businesses that turn over £1million a year, but that can also prove their social model and the impact they are making.

Being a charity, the Social Business Trust focuses essentially on organisations that have an asset lock and have a clear model of reinvestment in their social purpose. Charities who have a product to sell and a viable proposition, can qualify, others with a model solely focused on donations and that are not replicable on a larger scale won't qualify.

Blakebrough stresses that beyond the robust business model and evidence of impact, they are also looking at the profile of the CEO. Is she passionate enough to lead the organisation to the next level?

Additionally, the Trust wants to see strong teams that demonstrate the intention to grow regionally and nationally.

A characteristic for successful investees is their willingness to welcome outside experts. Adele stresses that she sometimes notices reluctance to absorb outside expertise. Working in silos can be dangerous at that stage.

Another one is that social entrepreneurs shouldn't wait to turn over £1 million pound to start nurturing relationships with potential investors!

By connecting soon enough, investors can involve entrepreneurs to relevant events or seminars that will help them reach the £1 million threshold eventually!

She says "the more we see you, the more we are likely to remember your face and your story. I personally like to see the progress you make."

The top 3 tips Adele shared with the group:

1) Communicate clearly

Be able to communicate in one short sentence what your business is all about: your aim, what you do and how you pay for it. (Whatever your sources of finance are: grant, equity, public contracts, etc)

2) Don't give up when somebody says no!

That's the worst they can do. So show sheer determination and stick around until someone says yes.

3) Set ambitious and audacious goals but start small in a very focused way. So test your model as you go, again and again. And change what needs to be changed.

------------------

Click for more on Adele Blakebrough, CEO of the Social Business Trust.

Click for more on the Social Business Trust.
Click for more on the Make a Wave Programme.

#6 - Leadership Questions from Gingko Fellows : How to lead staff and keep their creativity?

2011-08-15T13:22:00.004+01:00

- How to lead staff and keep their creativity-

During a workshop with 9 Chinese social entrepreneurs (Gingko Fellows), hosted by I-Genius, in collaboration with the British Council, Beijing, in July 2011, I was thrilled to be invited to meet with the fellows and exchange concepts on leadership. After this tour, full of visits to great social enterprises, the fellows returned to China with fresh new ideas on leading the future of philanthropic development in the Far East.

Here's the series of transcripts of the session we had together:

#6- How to lead staff and keep their creativity?

I’d like to refer you back to questions 1 and 3 (see previous posts).

Coach people rather than micro-manage. They will develop their own skills and strengths, and feed their creative spirit with their experiences.

Ask your team questions that foster great thinking.

If these questions are challenging, be prepared to offer platforms to help them answer these questions. It might be that you need to organize training, contribution from expert in a particular field. Make sure that people enjoy learning at all time and are in position to reflect on this learning and use it every day.

Look at how others are doing it:

Ricardo Semler: Maverick

Simon Sinek: Start with Why

“A leader without a title is better than a title without the ability to lead”.

#5-Leadership Questions from Gingko Fellows : How to keep the spirit of volunteerism

2011-08-12T13:14:00.002+01:00

- spirit of volunteerism and team-working-

Here's the series of transcripts of the session we had together.

Gingko Fellows: #5 How to keep the spirit of volunteerism and team working during the start-up period?

Servane Mouazan: Richard Branson from the Virgin Group advises leaders to keep listening to people.

So, Listen, listen, listen to people around you, your staff, your customers, your stakeholders. Let them finish their sentences, don’t assume you know their thoughts… (Nancy Kline wrote a great book to train you to listen, “Time to Think”.)

In terms of volunteerism, and team working, co-design the terms of collaboration with your team, be clear about boundaries, skills and talents at hand, and what people want to get out of the experience.

The team need to be working towards a common vision.

Everybody must be clear as well about the way they are going to fulfill their basic needs. Being unpaid has limits when you need to pay a mortgage, or day to day bills or just food for the household.

Be aware that learning is not enough in the long run.

Ao ask yourself: How can you reward the contribution of your volunteers?

To be continued.

#4 - Leadership Questions from Gingko Fellows : how to avoid bureaucracy

2011-08-10T13:03:00.000+01:00

- how to avoid bureaucracy?-;

Here's the series of transcripts of the session we had together:

#4 How to avoid to be bureaucrat in the scale-up stage?

It will depends on your country’s context and the minimum paperwork that is required.

You need to have a solid system that is implemented and that brings you results. You need to manage knowledge and the flow of information in a way that creates value to your internal operations and to your external stakeholders.

There is no need to write reports or handouts if nobody is reading them or are never going to use them.

The thing is when you scale up you have less and less time at hand.

So, you will have to be flexible and ingenious!

John bird, the founder of the Big Issue, said once: “An entrepreneur is someone who is going to work very hard to find ways to be lazy… and he works 24/7 at it!”

Innovate to find processes that are actually giving you the knowledge required without exhausting and burdening your operations.

To manage knowledge and information, a great network to look at is KM4Dev

Knowledge Management for Development

KM4DEV is a community of international development practitioners who are interested in knowledge management and knowledge sharing issues and approaches

To be continued.

#3 Develop and Train Leaders -Leadership Questions from Gingko Fellows

2011-08-08T12:39:00.000+01:00

- How to develop and train leaders?-

During a workshop with 9 Chinese social entrepreneurs (Gingko Fellows), hosted by I-Genius, in collaboration with the British Council, Beijing, in July 2011, I was thrilled to be invited to meet with the fellows and exchange concepts on leadership. After this tour, full of visits to great social enterprises, the fellows returned to China with fresh new ideas on leading the future of philanthropic development in the Far East.

Here's the series of transcripts of the session we had together.

#3- How to develop and train leaders?

Whoever will train leaders needs to have the spirit of a leader in them.

Your methodology, your style, your experience, will be copied and ought to inspire others.

First of all people must choose you or adopt you as a leader/role-model…

You can’t just put this badge on your jacket without being chosen… You can’t learn the ins and outs of leadership in a textbook either.

It’s something you need to grow with, feel, challenge, bring your soul in it, and you have to develop your own style.

Some useful tips to keep close to you along the way:

- Always keep your vision in sight.

- Engage your audience to develop and test what leads you to your vision

- Create environments where people come up with their own solutions and test them in pilot projects.

- Nurture your flexibility and your eagerness to learn.

When you are in position to develop other leaders, I am very much for coaching instead of training. I am in favour of exposing them to organisations, individuals and situations that will encourage them to think and develop solutions.

Great leaders will be in touch with the long term vision, and know how to surround themselves with the right people who possess technical and executive skills to take care of short and middle term objectives.

In addition, it’s important to measure relevant progress against what you state in our vision and mission. Use simple systems that everybody else adhere to and understand!

Check our Beesmap methodology to support your leadership journey.

To be Continued.

#2 - Leadership Questions from Gingko Fellows : Create Public Credibility

2011-08-05T12:21:00.000+01:00

During a workshop with 9 Chinese social entrepreneurs (Gingko Fellows), hosted by I-Genius, in collaboration with the British Council, Beijing, in July 2011, I was thrilled to be invited to meet with the fellows and exchange concepts on leadership. After this tour, full of visits to great social enterprises, the fellows returned to China with fresh new ideas on leading the future of philanthropic development in the Far East.
Here's the series of transcripts of the session we had together.
#2- Gingko Fellows: What are the experience and methods to create public credibility, vs the brand's core competition?

Servane Mouazan: You will build credibility if you are consistent, transparent, if you show that you have planned ahead, that you have done your best to create a product that will stand to scrutiny.

There is no perfect product but laziness is not good for credibility.

I will compare my experience with martial arts.

You know you are delivering something interesting when your customers are loyal and do the marketing for you (word of mouth, referrals, champions, sponsors)

Like in a martial arts club, you can be judged not just by the numbers of people buying or supporting your cause, but also, and that is very important, by the numbers of followers who have been with you for the long run.

See how they talk about you (they may have a different perception of what you do!) and learn from it.

Like in martial arts, you need to understand what your competition offers. It’s not as black and white, there is always a way to complete each other, to learn from each other.

You position yourself in the supply chain from your strengths first, but you seek to offer what your competition can’t offer, you offer a different methodology. If you really can’t find anything to complete them, it’s probably that you have lost touch with your vision, your objectives, your niche, your usp. You have to go back to the drawing board or close the business and do something else.

It's fine. You'll be stronger next time.

The thing is in the space where we are evolving, which is about sustainable change, it's not just about competition, it's about bringing maximum value to people and environments that need it the most.

To be continued.

Leadership Questions from Gingko Fellows Social Entrepreneurship study tour in the UK

2011-08-03T12:18:00.001+01:00

- Strategies for Brand Promotion-

During a workshop with 9 Chinese social entrepreneurs (Gingko Fellows), hosted by I-Genius, in collaboration with the British Council, Beijing, in July 2011, I was thrilled to be invited to meet with the fellows and exchange concepts on leadership. After this tour, full of visits to great social enterprises, the fellows returned to China with fresh new ideas on leading the future of philanthropic development in the Far East.

Here's the series of transcripts of the session we had together.

1) What are the strategies in different stage for brand promotion?

Start with yourself- what you stand for your personal values

Be clear about what you want to achieve and the impact it will have in your community or the world.

What are your non-negotiables?

· Grow with your customers.

· Monitor if the market is suitable for your values or your values suitable with the changing market

· If there is too much to sacrifice (for yourself or if it harms something someone in the process) ask yourself difficult questions.

· Be associated with networks that live up to these values

· Keep your independence

· Stand out from the crowds.

Try out this strategy: Observe, Digest, Learn, Question/challenge, Promote, Learn again, Stand out (and do it all over again...)

I also recommend the Biomimicry Design Spiral - a tool for innovation - from Janine Benyus. It works also for brand development.

To be Continued.

Networking with impact investors in crucial for women social entrepreneurs.

2011-07-25T10:32:00.001+01:00

Servane Mouazan is the CEO and Founder of Ogunte, a London based company that develops and connects passionate women leading social ventures and helps them align campaigning and commercial objectives. They also lobby and advise in private and public sectors to further social & gender responsibility. Servane has closely helped over 2000 women so far, in Europe and South America, directly impacting over 200000 individuals and organisations, providing social leadership, business modelling, and pre-incubators development programmes. Members of the network say that through these programmes, they have gained confidence, focus and leadership, increased their social impact and their capacity to connect to relevant stakeholders.

She is a Board Director at Social Enterprise London, a UK Ambassador for Women in Business, and an RSA fellow. She was highly commended Social Enterprise Mentor of the year in 2007 by the Newstatesman and awarded by the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network in 2009 for her contribution to the sector. A nominee for the Association for Coaching Honorary Award for Social Innovation 2011, she is also a mum and a capoeira player! You can find Servane on Twitter @ogunte

Pemo: I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about your business & how you support women entrepreneurs?

Servane: Sure, Ogunte is an organization that connects & develops women who are there to make an impact in their communities, local communities or global communities on the social level or environmental level.

We develop them by providing them with business support & business coaching but also all sorts of business modeling, training, one-to-one or group packages. That's an important part of the business but there's also a connective element that is absolutely crucial & I personally love! We organize networking platforms where these women get together & work together towards creating great marketplaces.

Pemo: Wonderful! My interest is very much on the investment side, as you may have noticed from the interviews I've done. So I wondered do you support these social entrepreneurs in being funded? What is the availability for those entrepreneurs in London?

Servane: Well the great thing is we are just launching something that's called 'Make a Wave'. That is a pre-incubator program for 12 women social entrepreneurs. The women are going to go for 6 months on lunch visits to women angels, impact investors & people who've got money & are interested in making a social, environmental impact through investment. We're going to take these women on their visits & between sessions they will also have teleconferences with professionals from the impact investment world.

The outcome of all this is that these women will be able to sharpen their proposals & have much more focus what they are trying to sell & the impact that they are trying to make. They're going to learn to communicate with specific investors & learn their languages as well.

Overall it's basically to have more connections to women from the entrepreneurial side with women from the impact investment side. So we're working with people at the end of the pipeline who also have real incubators, real investments, people who are really angels & will probably be more interested in listening to these women after they've been through this program.

Pemo: Would these entrepreneurs be specifically for profit or not for profit?

Servane: They're what we call social entrepreneurs so they have to align commercial & social objectives. In the world & the US we've got different terminologies. In the end I'm not too bothered by their legal status. What's very important is that the commercial side is as important as the social impact & the value that they bring about from a qualitative point of view in society.

Pemo: Great, fantastic it sounds like you're doing fabulous work. Have you got many women that have signed up for this sort of thing? Are there a lot of women social entrepreneurs in London?

Servane: There are quite a few because at our networking events they're always packed. They're at different stages. We find that there are a lot of micro entrepreneurs or people that come from the voluntary sector. So they would have a background in charity or in organizations that originally were grant funded or public funded.

Because there is a change in funding climate at the moment, sometimes they have to review the way that they are viable as organizations. Some have a commercial product & some have no commercial product at all, so it's a whole different mind set.

A lot of these women coming from these areas, a lot of micro entrepreneurs. Luckily we have people as well who have prototypes, services & products who can actually reach them second level where they're looking for, a more substantial investment & money.

Pemo: Brilliant. Thank you so much for your time today Servane. It's been really fascinating to hear about what you're doing & really great to know that you're there supporting women entrepreneurs in London. Thank you.

Servane: Thank you.

Connections, Competence, Confidence

2011-06-01T13:45:00.000+01:00

Through conversations and inspiring meetings i had this month with awards finalists and peers in the social innovation field, i am definitely convinced that there is a a simple organic tool you can use to test where you are at and to make change happen: Connections, Competence, Confidence.

Without this package, there will always be something missing.
If someone invests in you, do they also take time to help you grow your confidence? If you make new connections, how does this help you grow or share your competences...

This is what makes things change:

Rubbing off with inspiring creatures and learning from them, then changing the systems that slow us down, and later deploying new market places and sharing inspiration and knowledge to others.

This is how we do it at Ogunte and with the Global Tribal Network:

Women's Social Leadership Awards 2011 | June 14th 2011

2011-05-03T13:09:00.005+01:00

The Women’s Social Leadership Awards were set up in 2007 to recognise the achievements of women using innovative and bold solutions to solve social and environmental issues.

Now in their fifth year these prestigious International Awards run by Ogunte, the social business that helps female social entrepreneurs to develop, have been presented to campaigners and social entrepreneurs in the UK and abroad.

This year’s winners will be announced during an event sponsored by Ernst and Young on June 14th 2011, at 6pm.

Location: Ernst and Young - 1 More London Place - London SE1 2AF – UK
To book your free space, go to http://wsla11.eventbrite.com

At the event three winners will be announced from the nine finalists (listed below). The award categories are: Social Business Leader of the Year, Leader in Charities, Networks and Campaigns for Social Change, Leader in the Workplace

The winners will each receive business coaching and mentoring support from experts to help them further develop their work.

Confirmed speakers:

Lucy Siegle - The Observer - BBC1 The One Show

Sam Roddick - Coco de Mer - Bondage for Freedom

Servane Mouazan - Ogunte - Global Tribal Network

Special Appearance from Mestra Rilene - Capoeira Amazonas

Commenting on the finalists Servane Mouazan, CEO of Oguntê Ltd said; “These finalists have all made an incredible impact on society through their innovative ideas, courage and sheer hard work. They have stepped out of the tramlines of convention and been brave enough to try something different.

“There has been a lot of debate about creating a Big Society and how to do it. These women are showing how it is done and demonstrating that with generosity, focus, confidence and robust networks, you can achieve great and measurable social change.”

The nine finalists:

Category: Social Business Leader of the Year, 2011.

Catherine Conway www.beunpackaged.com

In 2006, Catherine set up a market stall and a year later opened a shop in London, selling unpackaged organic products. By asking customers to provide their own packaging Unpackaged estimates that each household shopping there saves on average £470 per annum and this also reduces the amount of packaging waste that goes to landfill.

Becky John whomadeyourpants.co.uk

In 2008, Becky John set up an ethical, fashion workers co-operative specialising in female underwear. She empowers marginalised women by providing employment, education, social and community space. Becky believes "Nobody has the right to wear a cheap pair of knickers that means a child has had to work 14-hour days.”

Jess Cordingly: www.futurefirst.org.uk

Jess Cordingly founded Future First which is a social business working to revolutionise careers advice and build communities in schools across the UK. They do this by bringing former students back to their old schools and colleges to inspire, advise and guide current pupils.

Category: Leader in Charities, and Campaigns for Social Change 2011

Rioch Edwards-Brown | UK | The Five Percenters For 14 years, without pay or funding, Rioch has run The Five Percenters – a 24 hour free advisory service for families who have been wrongly accused (1 in 20 cases) of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). Rioch is campaigning for 24:14 - a nationwide protocol in all UK hospitals to allow doctors to tell the difference between abuse and non-abuse.

Jo Manuel | UK | Website The Special Yoga Centre

Jo founded The Special Yoga Centre in 2004 to give yoga therapy for children with special needs a nurturing and inclusive home and to make yoga accessible to all. Her aim is to develop and implement yoga therapy programmes that allow all children to receive the significant benefits of yoga and help them in reaching their fullest potential. Thanks to the Special Yoga Centre, these children are calmer, sleep better, and are more able to focus and integrate socially. Samantha Cameron is an Honorary Patron of The Special Yoga Centre.

Kathryn Loughnan | UK | DigiSteps/Internet Rangers

DigiSteps bring about digital inclusion for those most alienated from modern day technologies by providing one to one training sessions for would be silver surfers." Under Kathryn' s supervision, as their teacher, the self-styled ‘Internet Rangers’, four teenagers from a school, developed a course specifically targeted at training older people. Their venture is now supported by Martha Lane Fox.

Category: Leader in the Workplace 2011

Lina Maria Useche Jaramillo | Brazil | www.impulso.org.br | Blog Impulso MicroCredit

Lina created Impulso, providing small loans to people who lack credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit. Impulso brings financial and technical support to low-income micro-entrepreneurs while linking them to “Social Angel Investors” all over the world.

Allison Hoffman | Cambodia | Pari Project | Blog Pari Project

At 21, Allie left Chicago for Cambodia, where she started the Pari Project. The organisation works with over 30 NGOs to help them raise funds, become more transparent and improve their services. Most of their work is based in Cambodia and they are now expanding to help projects in Africa. Pari is directed and staffed by a team of socially minded development professionals, who have dedicated their lives and their work to the fight against poverty.

Liz Douglas | UK | CIC "The Roots Project"

Since 2009 Liz has been breaking cycles of generations of poverty, abuse, neglect and exploitation within over 600 vulnerable families in estates in Bolton, next to Manchester. She supports their transition back into mainstream society, enabling some of them to start their own enterprises. Within these estates groups have been created including Parent & Toddler groups, Women’s groups, elite groups (over 50’s), Kidz clubs, all of which are resident-led and mentored by the Roots Project.

Click here to discover the international judging panel.

The Road to Being a Kickass Public Speaker

2011-04-26T13:08:00.000+01:00

I just love these slides and wanted to share them with you!

The road to being a kick-ass public speaker

View more presentations from Christian Heilmann

Interview with Kate Welch | CEO Acumen Trust | on Transition to Social Enterprise

2011-04-13T14:03:00.001+01:00

Kate Welch OBE-
CEO Acumen Trust

Hi Kate, what would be the top 3 areas Local Authority staff need to think about when they envisage to take over a public service as a social enterprise?

The questions to ask are firstly around attitude of mind.

Are you ready to move into a world of risk where you have to manage your finances in a way you have never done before ie cash flow and profitability not managing against a budget?

Making sure you have enough money in the bank at the end of the month to pay the salaries really concentrates the mind.

Are you ready for the competition?

The service may be your for the taking this year or even next but will probably be put out to tender. Can you prove you can deliver the very best service at a reasonable cost with added value?

Have you got the right people? You probably manage around sickness absence and poor performance in the public sector but there is no real room for either in the social enterprise world.

What first thought comes to your mind when we know that a large group of women will be going away as part of the public sector staff cuts?

This is a great time of opportunity but also challenge. Running a social enterprise takes vision, passion and a great deal of your time and energy. Women are really good at all of those but also have many other caring commitments. Keep a good balance.

What sustained/supported you when you took the Acumen CEO job on a full time basis?

I was very fortunate to be backed by a great team of my family and friends. My children were growing up and becoming adults which made some things easier. I also had the support of the Northern Rock Foundation as a funder who placed great faith in me. Being appreciated by the people in our community who we helped also made a huge difference. We held awards ceremonies each year and the stories people told me about the staff who had helped them and the difference it made to their lives made me feel it was all worthwhile.

“Kate Welch OBE is founder and Chief Executive of Acumen Development Trust which works to achieve social and economic regeneration through learning, employment and enterprise. Acumen works across the North East and Cumbria engaging people in disadvantaged communities and supporting them to achieve their potential. Kate founded Acumen in 2003 having previously worked for JobCentre Plus and County Durham Training and Enterprise Council."

More about Acumen Trust here.

5 reasons why some freelancers never get a job (Part 2)

2011-04-13T13:06:00.004+01:00

The current economic pressure is another reminder for all self-employed (which I am too!) to have a closer look at business relationships, how they start, how they grow, how they vanish.
Some start fast (whilst buying a coffee), some take time to flourish and mature.

In either case, when it’s well done, you have a genuine interest coming from both parties, an exchange. I need to see a click in you, you most probably need to see that too.

As a supplier or a buyer, I work with criteria and values, and building relationships allows me to make choices as well.

I am no longer working with people who pay only 90 days later. Because I want to spend time creating and delivering services rather than chasing bad payers.

It has been a painful process but I have learnt to say no to prospective clients who want everything for free too. Simply because I can’t afford to! And as a single mum, it’s a decision I have to make fast.

My mentor would say to me, if it’s not working, have another look at your business model, and play with it. This is where you’ll find the answer.

In return, I choose to offer services on a pro-bono basis to specific organisations and individuals. And a lot of them too!

But there you go, this is the way I learn, this is the way I get to meet people, and this is the way sometimes, I end up doing business with some of them. As a buyer or a provider.

Some of them are actually younger people starting in business and have understood the value of relationship building. They are keen to get contracts and pieces of work (isn’t it what it is all about when you are doing business??) but they would never partner up with or sell their services to someone they haven’t “checked” before! It goes both ways. If I don't fit, they won’t talk to me.

So it’s not a matter of age.

As a buyer or a provider, I want to know how I fit in your business, I want to know how you fit in mine. Make it simple, make it specific.

If I can’t see it, teach me.

Around a cup of coffee. ;-)

Where is your money going? (quick survey)

2011-04-08T12:48:00.002+01:00

Hello,

Here is a quick survey for you,

If you look at your accounts,what are the top 4 expenses posts this year and how did this change from last year?

For us, this year, so far, it's Staff/Subcontractors/Freelancers | Travel Costs | Printing | Advertising/marketing

And last year: Staff/Subcontractors/Freelancers | Communications | Advertising, Marketing | Rent

What about you?

Redefining Employment Phase 3

2011-03-25T12:22:00.000Z

Together, let's harness the power of networks and impact thinking.

The Redefining Employment Project is a collaborative brainstorming platform and a market place where (social) entrepreneurs/job seekers become simultaneously facilitators, researchers, PR and Media agents, service and products providers, buyers, and campaigners.

a) Job seekers need to transform themselves as Multiple Service or Product Providers.

b) Employers need to be and act as Talents and Multiple Competences Buyers.

Employers are organisations, businesses or private individuals.

c) These 2 parties meet up on a collaborative market place/platform that simultaneously tracks learning needs and training offers, profits, impact, and growth of networks, in time. And more importantly allows group buying.

In phase 1, we looked at your skillset and past achievements, then we ask you to merge this set of skills, competence and knowledge into a unique service/product offer.

In phase 2, we asked you to price your offer.

In this 3d phase, we encourage you to think of the following:

a) an exciting name for this offer. (max 3 words, can be in any language)

b) source up to great 3 pictures (including one of yourself) that illustrate this offer the best. Check www.sxc.hu, a great free stock photo website, or Jody Kingzett to commission your best mugshot!

c) 3 locations where you can provide/sell this product or service. (Name them,
they need to be real!)

d) 3 people you would love to speak to about your unique offer (if only to have feedback about it. But if they buy it, that's a bonus.). Who are they and where can you find them...

Let us know how well you are doing.

In the next phase, we'll do it for real!

The secret of a good #socent...

2011-03-15T09:42:00.001Z

... is exactly the same as what you need to raise a child, but no one will ever admit it, especially not in the mum and baby industry, the publishing industry, the retailers, the mum and dad networks, the health and safety experts industry, the fashion industry, the green industry, the food industry, the powder milk industry, the advising industry, breakfast TV, afternoon tv, and many others....

and the secret is just good love, good common sense and good logistics.

end of. #justsaying

do you need a workshop about this too?

Meeting the ONE, let's make it happen...

2011-03-14T10:17:00.001Z

We want YOUR OPINION!
If all you needed, to have a real breakthrough in your social venture or personal project, was to meet up with someone in particular...

Who would this person be and how could she/he help you move forward?

Let's make it happen...!

(ok, you can propose 2 names... because it's you!)
Send a reply here or send a video response link to info @ ogunte.com

Redefining Employment Phase 2

2011-02-22T14:12:00.001Z

This is a follow up of this post Redefining Employment Phase 1

The Redefining Employment Project is a collaborative brainstorming and market place where entrepreneurs/job seekers become facilitators, researchers, PR and Media agents, service and products providers, buyers, and campaigners.

In phase 1, we encourage you to identify your top skillset, the 5 things you are the best at in a 24 hours span, not just from 9 to 5.
You might want to have a series of discussions with friends, peers, strangers, colleagues, use your social networks (make them work!) and get a bit of a 360 degrees feedback on what they think you excel at.

In phase 2, we would like you to look again at the merged offer you have created in phase 1 (putting all your skills together) and PRICE IT.
(A bit of help on pricing here, you are free to pick up which ever strategy you want, the most important is you need to come up with one price.)

- Now add 20% to this price and think of what you could do with that bonus.

- Think of how much you could discount this offer, what would be the lowest fee possible for this offer. (Just for yourself.)
- Giving it away for free is not allowed at this stage...

Please post your offer with your price here, or send it to info@ogunte.com

In phase 3, we will see how to make an exciting collective market place with your products in store...

Keep tuned in and go write your offer now!

Taste the Energy of the Open-Source Mindset

2011-02-21T14:28:00.000Z

See the transcript of my guest blog on We Make Them Click

Taste the Energy of the Open-Source Mindset

Open source has informally agreed norms of transparency, permeable access, and collaboration.
It is not per se offering everything free of charge but it’s about how products and services can be designed and produced in collaboration.With the open source mindset, you can solve systemic problems/challenges, develop your product or services halo, and build up great networks.

At its core, the open source mindset makes you:

1) Understand Your Product Halo

What do you really sell? What services or products are affiliated with your core offer? Can you create relevant and unique merchandise? Does it encourage partnerships? Can you develop specialist services that complement your core offer?

Our vision at Ogunte is to make “A better world. Powered by women.” We run an intermediary organisation focused on great Women Social Innovators, their social ventures and their networks. We want to see them at the forefront of the economy. To do so, we work with them at being more effective at what they do and being more visible too.

Networking is at the core of what we do.

Our product halo is: access to impact investment, capacity building, marketing development, business model development, matching relevant stakeholders to create strong supply-chains and robust marketing collectives

2) Have a focused social marketing/ social media strategy

From the product halo you have designed, find the relevant on-line communities, the associated experts, the key blogs, and twitter tribes that will be source and conductor of knowledge, revenue, skills and collaboration.

3) Retain people who are keen to be involved.

Good relationships take time. To be kept alive, they need nurturing, attention, challenges, healing, new blood, reassuring and even counselling! Connecting is not enough, keep your relationships alive or revive them when the time is ripe. It’s also important to value and “reward” loyal customers, champions. You will recognise the latest because they do not act as consumers, they contribute to your service/product creation.

4) Set up a co-mentoring platform (on an on going basis)

Get into to habit of sharing and supporting people and organisations. Some businesses call this “customer service”! Create an environment when your customers benefit from a deal of your wisdom and expertise. And the expertise of your other customers. You can decide at which stage you start charging for your time/competence.

Allow consumers, clients, sponsors and stewards to feedback openly on your deliverables. Allow them to ask questions. They probably represent others who prefer to stay silent but who still have a valuable opinion.

5) Do something with the feedback

It seems obvious. However, from my experience, change doesn’t happen overnight and the idea of change triggers a lot of resistance! Still, you need to understand that you won’t achieve new and bold outcomes if you use an outdated system.

The best way is to work from your strengths, your best connections, your most brilliants ideas, and be open to accept external influences.

Drop the drones, let go of the services you are not excellent at.