I Am a Social Intrapreneur

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Here I am, literally pushing a rock! When you’re looking for CSR work, there’s a very clear mantra that everyone repeats, day in and day out. It goes something like this:

“Real CSR jobs are few and far between. If you want to do CSR, go get a functional job within a big company and innovate from the inside out.”

In social change circles, this mantra could also be called social intrapreneurship. Unlike social entrepreneurship, where you're starting something completely new and distinct, social intrapreneurship is all about finding ways to innovate within the constraints of your current organization.

For instance, if you’re an operations social intrapreneur, you might be on the lookout for ways to streamline your supply chain so as to reduce environmental inefficiencies, but that doesn't mean that your job title has the word 'sustainability' in it. Similarly, if you’re a marketing social intrapreneur, you might find an opportunity to promote the green benefits of your product, even if it’s not an explicitly eco-friendly item. This, at its core, is what social intrapreneurship is all about.

I learned this “innovate from the inside out” mantra early in grad school, which means that while I was a student, social intrapreneurship was often on my mind and in my blog (check out some stories I wrote about Best Buy and eBay as well as a short video interview I gave about it!).

And because I modeled my opinion of social intrapreneurship on the stories I'd learned and written about, I also came to associate the topic with a few specific images and messages in my head: corporate boardrooms in big, boxy skyscrapers; bureaucrats in suits who prioritize profits over everything else; and yes, even pushing rocks up mountains with my bare hands! It might not sound like your idea of fun, but hey – let's just say that if you want to do CSR work, you quickly get used to the idea that your job one day might involve persuading some boulders to start rolling.

Because of these definitive ideas that I had about when and where social intrapreneurship could happen, when I started my job with OpenIDEO I essentially cast off my social intrapreneurship intentions. I mean, folks at IDEO don’t exactly wear suits, and they certainly don’t sit around in corporate boardrooms!

As I’ve settled in to my work and my team, though, what I’ve learned is that social intrapreneurship is actually an integral part of my day job. Without even realizing it, I’ve become a social intrapreneur.

Let's see if I can explain.

OpenIDEO is a social innovation startup within IDEO; that is, we're a new business incubating within the confines of an established organization (no matter how un-corporate it might be). Because of that, we face many of the same challenges our social intrapreneurship colleagues in more corporate settings deal with every day:

  1. Cutting back the number of cooks in the kitchen: As a new initiative, we look for guidance from all corners of the organization, not to mention outside of IDEO too. The good news is that everyone has an opinion, and the bad news is that everyone has an opinion! How do we sift through these differing intentions and use them to make smart choices?
  2. Being bold and realistic: This especially comes into play when we try to balance our potential to grow with our limited capacity and bandwidth as a small team. How do we pursue leads, push ourselves to develop, and be brave and bold – without burning out?
  3. Solidifying “the OpenIDEO Way": Part of what makes OpenIDEO so fun and unique is that mostly everything we're doing is new and uncharted (after all, we’ve been live for less than year!). Eventually, though, you start realizing you’re reinventing the wheel every time you get asked to do something slightly different. Is there a way to stay flexible and open to new opportunities while also developing some standard processes that will help us scale and replicate?
  4. Doing well and doing good: It’s the oldest cliché in the book, but it certainly applies to what we’re working on too. While we are out for social impact, we’re no good to anyone if we don’t make money. How might we find ways to prove our business model and impact our world at the same time?

Ultimately, as a new offering within an established company, we operate very similarly to all the other social intrapreneurs out there trying to create change within their own organizations.  Whether you’re a small CSR team, or a single person with a passion for sustainability or philanthropy, the work of a social intrepreneur isn’t easy. With that said, I can also state with 100% confidence that it’s a lot more fun than pushing rocks uphill!

How are you applying social intrapreneurship within your own organization? What tips, tricks or guidance would you want to share with me and others? I'd love to hear from you.

Ready... Set... Fail?

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These days, when people talk about innovation, it’s almost inevitable that the word “failure” isn’t far behind.RubberBands From what I’ve seen, failure and its role as a necessary ingredient for innovation is getting quite a bit of buzz these days, with everyone from design thinkers to social change agents to Warren Buffet saying that failure should be an expected – and even welcomed – outcome when you’re out to create change.

And sure, this isn’t super surprising. Anytime you think and act outside of the proverbial box, you’re bound to make some mistakes, right? Naturally.

But should we really be using the term "failure" to describe this behavior? I’m not so sure. Before I get to that, though, I’ve got a couple of admissions to share:

Admission #1: I am a perfectionist.

I don’t mean perfectionist in a purely competitive way, but more like I really want to get things right. Dotting every I and crossing every T is definitely part of it. But have you ever stopped to think first about which pen might draw the best I or T? I definitely do.

Admission #2: I’m also a planner.

I like knowing what’s coming down the pipeline, what’s on my to-do list, and what I can expect. More than anything, I LOVE when good planning leads to good results (guess it’s a vicious cycle of planning and perfection!).

But here's the problem:

First of all, perfection is often exhausting. Setting the bar beyond what’s doable can sometimes lead to greatness, but it can just as easily lead to burnout. And planning? As they say, expect the unexpected. I may always want to plan, but life gets chaotic, things get in the way, and new opportunities (and roadblocks) pop up.

When I first started my new job, I often used the word “stretched” to describe how I felt. Not in an overwhelmed kind of way, but instead like a rubber band being pulled in two directions at once. In essence, my new job and my new team stretch me everyday to think, act and approach my work in wholly different ways. While I like to plan my next move before getting started, for instance, my team likes to seize a good idea and run with it. And while I like to make sure we have things right (ok, let’s be honest – perfect) before diving into anything, my team is more than comfortable making a few mistakes along the way.

And so here comes Admission #3: mistakes make me very, very uncomfortable.

What's funny is that when we talk about innovation, especially in the social sector, I'll be the first to raise my hand and recognize how important failure is as a part of the learning process. Objectively I can understand that innovation is messy and chaotic, and because of that, it can and should entail making mistakes along the way.

The hardest part, of course, is taking a leap of faith in my own innovation process, knowing full well that I might not get it right the first time.

For a perfectionist who likes to plan, making a mistake is one of the toughest things you could ask me to do! But like a rubber band being stretched, I’m learning to accept the fact that a few mistakes along the way are helpful, and maybe even healthy.

It can be tough to find a balance between waiting to do something until it’s perfect and jumping in with both feet, regardless of the warning bells. I've learned that the need for perfection shouldn’t paralyze you, but your willingness to make mistakes also shouldn’t cloud your better judgment.

How do you move forward thoughtfully and also proactively? How do you try to get it right the first time, but also give yourself permission to make a few missteps along the way?

To be honest, I don’t yet know. But I’m working on it, and I'll let you know how it goes.

Which brings me back to my original question: is failure the same thing as making mistakes? I may be a recovering perfectionist, but I'd argue there's a definite difference!

Day in the Life of a Community Manager

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It’s been a few weeks since my last post – and coincidentally it’s also been a few weeks since I started my new job as community manager for OpenIDEO. While I’ve had many “bloggable” moments recently, I’ll admit I just haven’t quite gotten around to it. Too much new stuff to learn, too many new people to meet, too much new work to do, I guess.

But today, when someone forwarded me this awesome infographic, it was like the stars aligned and I just HAD to post this. For anyone who’s curious about how I’d describe my first few weeks on the job, it doesn’t get better than this:

Community-Manager-Infographic-Revised

All kidding about piñatas aside, I do think this image very accurately depicts my experience so far.

So far my new job has been 150% about tending to the garden, cheerleading for members, patrolling the spammers, and playing concierge. It’s also been about taking a pulse on the community’s mood and priorities, and translating them into actionable insights for my team. And, in all my spare time, of course I’m also trying to gobble up as much information as my Tweetdeck can handle on social innovation, technology and design.

(Oh, and maybe sleep occasionally too...)

In short, I’m learning that as community manager I wear a lot of hats.

Some of these hats aren’t so fun – imagine writing an email to someone asking them not to spam our site anymore! But some of them are just plain awesome. Seriously – my job is to figure out ways to nurture and grow a community of people who care about doing good things in our world. How amazing is that?

As I get more embedded into the world of community management, I’ll do my best to record what I learn here.

For now, I’m curious to hear from you, as a user of online communities, what do you think the role of a community manager is? And for all you community managers out there, what hats do you wear that might not be captured in the image above? I’d love to hear your thoughts (and tips too, since I’m definitely still learning!).

The Adventure Begins

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Back in December, when my family was handing out holiday gifts, my mom gave me and my husband Dan an incredible present. About ten years ago, my mom bought this etching of a couple, rowing their boat in fast waters.

The Adventure Begins, Etching by Daniel Krakauer

At the time, she wasn’t quite sure why the painting spoke to her, but she saw it and just knew she had to have it.

The painting’s purpose, she was certain, would become known to her at some point.

This Christmas, to my thrill and surprise, my mom gave me and Dan this painting. As she presented it to us, she said the painting’s purpose had recently become clear to her.

The couple? “They,” she said, “are the two of you.” And the title? “Clearly, it’s time for your adventure to begin.”

I’ve always believed that putting out good energy into the universe means you’ll get good things in return.

So, for the next few weeks I concentrated on the exciting thought that our adventure was just beginning. And you know what? As cliché as it sounds, it worked!

Literally within days of receiving this painting, Dan and I saw clues pointing us towards our new adventure – a new and improved apartment to live in, a better work schedule for Dan, even my own growing excitement for a big birthday just weeks away.

But perhaps nothing kicked off our new adventure quite like the news I received in mid-January: a job offer from IDEO.

Back in August 2010, IDEO launched OpenIDEO, a new online social innovation community whose goal is to bring diverse people together to design solutions to some of our world’s toughest challenges. I first checked out the site last fall and was immediately hooked. Amazingly, in November a position opened up to join OpenIDEO as a community manager, and of course I jumped at the chance to apply.

As I write this I’ve just finished my first week as part of the OpenIDEO team, and all I can say is I’m thrilled. Thrilled to be part of such a dynamic and innovative company, for sure. But more than that, I’m thrilled to be part of a project that so deeply speaks to some of my biggest passions: doing good in our world, connecting people online and offline, and creating community.

Of course, there’s a long road ahead for me as I learn my new job, figure out how things work, and actually roll up my sleeves and get started.

But for now I’m also trying to enjoy the start of this brand new adventure.

As I get more and more involved in building and growing OpenIDEO, I’d love to see some familiar faces on the site. I truly believe in the potential role that this global community – already 156 countries strong – can play in changing our world for the better.

I thought I’d share a great video that talks about OpenIDEO’s purpose and vision so that you can learn a little more about what I’m working on. I hope you’ll each consider signing up and joining in – the more the merrier.

Here’s to a new adventure in 2011!