Be a "First Follower"

One of the highlights of the Harvard Social Enterprise Conference was the keynote address by Premal Shah, President of Kiva, who played this hilarious and insightful YouTube video by Derek Sivers about the importance of being the “first follower.”

Did you watch it? I love that video, and the idea that the “first follower” transforms the “lone nut” into a leader. I know many social entrepreneurs would identify with the idea of the “lone nut:” as one successful but unconventional entrepreneur told me, “In the beginning, everyone told me I was crazy.” Michael Brown, Co-founder and CEO of City Year has also said, “Quitting [my prestigious job as a clerk to a federal judge] to work on City Year was, to my family, the equivalent of running off and joining the circus.” But not only have these successful entrepreneurs had the courage to “look ridiculous” in the beginning, they have recruited and embraced great teams of people who are equals in their mission, and who play critical roles in driving their organizations forward.

The most effective organizations are also adept at attracting those next dancers: the “champions” of the cause who add to the momentum of the movement and push an initiative to the tipping point. As Derek Sivers, the video’s commentator says, “The best way to make a movement, if you really care, is to courageously follow, and show others how to follow.” It is inspiring advice to magnify our personal impact: not all of us have to invent the next great social innovation—we just need to find those innovations, get behind them, and become "champions" who connect others to the larger vision.

Here’s one way right now to become some of the first followers of new, innovative ideas for social good: vote with your dollars for your favorite idea in the Unreasonable Institute’s Unreasonable Marketplace, where aspiring social entrepreneurs are competing for access to great mentors, capital, and training to make their idea a reality. There are only 22 days left to decide which ideas will move on. Who will you follow, and why? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Come on, you know you want to—can’t you see how much fun those dancers are having?

My Brain Has Been Drained

Let me break the ice of my posting freeze with this: I am thrilled. The last few months after quitting my job have been rough, but it’s paid off: I have an exciting new job in a field (social entrepreneurship) that I am fascinated with and passionate about, in a new city (Boston) filled with amazing opportunities to learn and grow, and while I’ve just scratched the surface of living here, already I’ve met many interesting, committed people. Right now life feels like an endless adventure. There’s just one problem—I’m not in Detroit.

My determination to conquer an ingrained fear of a city I had grown up outside of, to become part of a human bridge between the city and its estranged suburbs, and to resist the brain drain sucking young talent out of the state of Michigan led me to Detroit. Despite vehement objections from many people I love, I followed my gut to Detroit, and I wasn’t disappointed—I fell in love with the city. It’s hard to articulate why I love it so much, but suffice it to say that beyond the post-apocalyptic metaphors of a city destroyed is a collection of hidden gems and a strong, determined, and welcoming community of people who see potential where others see despair. Now, despite the difficulty of parting (at least for a while) from a city I’ve grown deeply devoted to, I’ve followed my gut to Boston.

It makes sense that I was drawn to Boston to continue my practical education.  As a hub of social entrepreneurship and innovation (and the birthplace of City Year), Boston has been beckoning me for the better half of a year—I knew that I could learn things here that I would be hard pressed to learn anywhere else. Since I was seven or eight, visiting my sister at MIT, Boston has been a place of practical learning: it was here that I fell in love with public transportation, with green spaces in the middle of bustling cities, and the boldness of the American Revolution. It seems fitting that I’ve returned here, because it was on that trip to Boston when I had a serious “moment of obligation:" the moment I first “saw” a homeless person, and realized what being homeless meant. I don’t have many vivid memories from when I was seven or eight years old, but I remember sitting in a restaurant booth with my family, my head buried in my arms, trying to hide my face as I sobbed—my young mind trying to comprehend why she didn’t have a home while I did.

Yet while I’m here, Detroit is constantly on my mind. I can’t help but feel like a hypocrite, a brain sucked to the coast—exactly as I was determined not to become. It’s not that I have doubts about being here—no, not at all. Like I said, I’ve followed my gut—and I’d like to think that by investing in my growth and development I will eventually be much more useful to Detroit (and hopefully society as a whole) than if I’d stayed out of stubbornness.

But while I’m half a country away, I’m not content to just sit back and say, “See you later in life, Detroit—hope things have gotten better for you then.” I’m determined to stay plugged in to Detroit and its future—to be as useful to, and supportive of, all the great work that is happening there as much as is humanly possible. But how can I be useful from six hundred miles away? Can I do something from where I am right now to help heal the deep social divisions that still impede the entire Detroit metro region from making progress? I know I can send money, but is there any other way I can make a difference from afar? What is the best way to make an impact when you aren’t working in your own backyard? These are the questions I’m grappling with as I transition to an east coast life—and the questions I know I will continue to struggle with in the coming years. I have a few ideas—stay tuned for those—but in the mean time, any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated.