The Power of the Individual

Several weeks ago, Middlebury College opened the Center for Social Entrepreneurship, a new program encouraging students to take an active role in their education while accomplishing good at the same time. For its inaugural symposium, the Center brought a number of people to speak and teach.

I had the good fortune to attend two of the talks. The first was by Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka-Innovators for the Public. Bill focused on the need to develop systems that can adapt quickly and effectively, vital in our rapidly changing world. He argued that traditionally structured systems need to give way to teams and teams-of-teams as a way to unleash individual creativity and remain nimble and responsive to challenges and opportunities. He also shared a few inspiring examples of work by Ashoka Fellows.

The next night I heard Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder and CEO of the Acumen Foundation. Like Bill, Jacqueline shared stories of inspiring individual actions geared towards solving local community needs such as non-potable water, lack of electricity, and unequal access to education. Acumen’s entrepreneurs typically build scalable, self-sustaining solutions that generate revenue over time. Importantly, the solutions fit the context of the specific community, ensuring cultural appropriateness and longevity, even after the entrepreneur and foundation are gone.

Both talks were inspiring – they were full of hope and real examples about individuals creatively making a difference in their homes and in the larger world. I’ve blogged before about the power of the individual, see for example: Giraffes, Ostriches and Communities. Mr. Dayton and Ms. Novogratz further reinforced the Orton Family Foundation’s belief in the individual’s ability to make a difference.

Our $10M Heart & Soul Community Planning Initiative is firmly predicated on the faith that residents have the knowledge and ability to guide the future of their communities. We rely heavily on the spirit and pride of volunteers, and are constantly struck by residents’ dedication, creativity and openness. When given a chance to meaningfully contribute and make a difference, people have given far more than we ever could have reasonably asked for. We’ve got a few case studies on completed projects that document the results of authentic civic participation.

Some of the strains of this post and our thinking could be erroneously connected to both the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street worlds. This would be wrong. While we at the Foundation are against inequality and non-transparency, we are not anti-government. Elected officials are also residents in their communities who dedicate many hours of uncompensated time to help guide their communities. They are taking risks by becoming part of the governing structure and the challenges and pitfalls of leadership should be compensated by support and recognition.

What we have witnessed, however, is that governments often fail to provide meaningful opportunities for citizens to participate in the dialogue and decision-making. This can result in decisions that don’t reflect the changing times and populations, and deprives the communities of the best individual and collective thinking.

In Orton’s projects, we are demonstrating that people can make a difference. We are witnessing that when communities have the chance to dive in and collectively improve their place, it releases tremendous sources of energy and commitment. Ashoka and Acumen have similarly unlocked the potential of the individual and the results are incredibly positive and productive.