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        <rss:title>Pulling for the Underdog</rss:title>
        <rss:link>http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog</rss:link>

        <rss:description>Dennis Whittle is Chairman and CEO of Global Giving.</rss:description>
        

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    <rss:image rdf:about="http://www.socialedge.org/logo.png">
        <rss:title>Pulling for the Underdog</rss:title>
        <rss:link>http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog</rss:link>
        <rss:url>http://www.socialedge.org/logo.png</rss:url>
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    <rss:item rdf:about="http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/04/09/don-t-bug-me-i-have-more-important-things-to-do">

        <rss:title>Don't Bug Me, I Have More Important Things to Do</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/04/09/don-t-bug-me-i-have-more-important-things-to-do</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>When the whole is less than the sum of its parts</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          In my last posting, I said it was time to take off the gloves and - mixing my metaphors - to proclaim out loud that the emperor has no clothes. The current aid system does not work. For anyone interested in a detailed examination of that question, I suggest &lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elusive-Quest-Growth-Economists-Misadventures/dp/026205065X"&gt;&lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;The Elusive Quest for Growth&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; by Bill Easterly. Like me, Bill spent over 14 years at the World Bank, so his book is a blend of inside experience and academic rigor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But I want to make one thing clear.  It is not the &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;people&lt;/span&gt; or the &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;resources&lt;/span&gt; of the World Bank and other agencies that are bad. To the contrary, the people are for the most part incredible, and the resources unequalled. The problem is the system, which turns the whole into much less than the sum of its parts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the 1930s, Ronald Coase developed the theory of the firm. The theory argues that firms exist because they are able to produce more value than employees could produce if they worked independently. In other words, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the months before I left the World Bank in late 2000, I systematically asked my colleagues what percentage of their potential value they felt they were delivering. The answers were uncannily clustered around 25%. My colleagues were telling me that their potential was about 3/4 wasted.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I know of no scientific way to determine whether this percentage is correct. But let me tell you a story that may help illustrate.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When we did the first Development Marketplace in February 2000, over 300 teams from around the world showed up to set up booths in the towering atrium of the World Bank to pitch their ideas and compete for $5 million in funding. There was an incredible spectrum of groups, ranging from Ugandan women who had never been outside their home province; to supreme court justices from Latin America; to scientists from NASA. For once, it did not matter who you were - all that mattered was the quality of your ideas.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As I walked through the atrium, I came across one booth manned by these young scrappy guys who looked totally out of place. It turns out they were from Mexico and had an idea related to agriculture and rural development. One of my jobs that day was to help groups prepare their pitches before the judges came by for the formal presentations. As I listened to these young guys, I realized that the technical aspects of their idea were excellent and innovative, but they were missing a whole policy-related dimension that could affect the results dramatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I immediately pulled my colleague Mike aside and said &amp;quot;Who is the Bank's best expert on Mexican agriculture?&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Jim X,&amp;quot; he replied. I said: &amp;quot;Go to Jim's office right now and tell him we need him down here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A few minutes later, Mike called me on my cell.  &amp;quot;Jim says forget it; he is too busy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Too busy?&amp;quot; I replied, &amp;quot;That's crazy - put him on.&amp;quot; I got Jim on the line and told him we needed him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Forget it,&amp;quot; Jim replied. &amp;quot;I have much more important things to do. I have to get this report to the board by next Friday and I am way behind. Oh, and by the way, that Development Marketplace you are running down there is a waste of time. It looks like a circus.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I got Mike back on the phone and told him to get Jim down here by any means, including physically bringing him down if necessary. I looked at my watch. The judges were due to come by in one hour.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A few minutes later, Mike showed up with Jim in tow.  Jim was looking very unhappy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;You are really upsetting me, Dennis,&amp;quot; he said. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I only need 30 minutes of your time,&amp;quot; I told him, explaining the situation and introducing him to the Mexican guys. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jim was in a very, very bad mood as he turned to them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I stood back and watched as Jim starting talking to them in Spanish. At first he was looking down his nose. But as the conversation progressed, Jim realized that these guys had a good idea - and it showed in his face. He got down off his high horse and huddled with the guys and starting drawing diagrams on a sheet of paper. I went away to visit some other teams, and after a while I came back, and they were still in the thick of it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;The jurors will be here in ten minutes,&amp;quot; I said. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hold them off!  Hold them off - we need more time,&amp;quot; Jim pleaded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I can't hold them back - they are coming - they have only one more intgerview before they get here,&amp;quot; I said, pointing at my watch. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jim returned to the huddle, and they were all talking excitedly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fifteen minutes later, the jury panel showed up. Jim stepped back and off to the side and pushed the guys forward toward the jurors. I could not hear what happened, but I could see it. The jurors starting asking questions, and the Mexican guys were answering, hesitantly at first, but their confidence was building steadily. The questions and answers came fast and furious, and toward the end of the twenty minute interview, the Mexican guys even seemed to be anticipating some of the questions. The judges were nodding and talking among themselves as they left.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Jim leapt out of the shadows with a big smile on his face and shook the hands of all the guys. &amp;quot;Excellent, excellent,&amp;quot; I heard him telling them. I left them all debriefing excitedly and walked away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Later that day, Jim tracked me down. &amp;quot;Dennis,&amp;quot; he said, &amp;quot;I want to thank you for dragging me down here. That was probably the most enjoyable and productive hour I have spent in my entire career at the World Bank. Those guys were awesome. I felt like the coach of an underdog college basketball team in the national championships. I am going to help them develop that idea further, regardless of whether they win an award here. We have already agreed I will go visit them next time I am in Mexico.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sure beats writing reports for the board, doesn't it?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(Earlier posts from Dennis's blog can be read at www.denniswhittle.blogspot.com)

&lt;!-- 
&lt;a href="http://technorati.com/claim/rydwa2jsn" rel="me"&gt;Technorati Profile&lt;/a&gt;
 --&gt;
          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2007-04-09T13:56:19-07:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2007-06-07T13:44:55-07:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>DennisWhittle</dc:creator>

        
    </rss:item>

    
    <rss:item rdf:about="http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/04/09/doesn-t-that-mean">

        <rss:title>Doesn't that Mean...?</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/04/09/doesn-t-that-mean</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>Taking off the gloves</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &amp;quot;But doesn't that mean...?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Yes, it does.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I was talking to a new donor recently about GlobalGiving, and after a casual back and forth about some of the features on the site, he asked me: &amp;quot;But doesn't that mean that marketplace mechanisms like GlobalGiving should replace the current top-down systems?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Over the past few years, during the infancy and early adolescence of GlobalGiving, I have often hedged my answer to this question. This was partly because I did not want to pick a fight with big aid agencies and partly because I felt that until we proved the concept I would not have much credibility.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But recently, more and more people have urged me to be more explicit about our mission, and to stop beating around the bush. And now that we have proven the concept by facilitating $5 million in funding to over 800 projects aound the world, I guess it is time to take the gloves off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So here is my unequivocal answer:  Yes it does. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Over the coming weeks in this space, I will be spelling out as clearly and explicitly as possible what we are up to here at GlobalGiving, and what we hope to achieve.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The bottom line is this: Our goal is to revolutionize the international aid and philanthropy field. The current system has spent about $2 trillion over the past fifty years with little to show for it. That is because the current system resembles central planning in the former Soviet Union. Most decisions are made and most resources allocated by a relatively few people we call &amp;quot;experts.&amp;quot; Programs are designed in capital cities, with little information about what people actually need and want. During and after program implementation, there is little feedback from the field about whether things are working or not. There is no competitive pressure among agencies to deliver the most effective solutions. As a result, massive amounts of funds have been wasted (and sometimes even used to harmful effect). &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The current system is terrible.  Criminally bad. It is an abomination if you think about what it is supposed to achieve.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Our mission is to overturn the current system by creating a real marketplace - an open marketplace of ideas, of funding, and of talent. We will spearhead a new paradigm where programs are designed by the people themselves, where anyone can contribute an idea and help fund promising initiatives, and where performance matters.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Does that mean the world will be better off?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Yes it does.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
(See earlier entries of Dennis's blog at www.denniswhittle.blogspot.com)
          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2007-04-09T13:36:13-07:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2007-04-09T13:36:13-07:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>DennisWhittle</dc:creator>

        
    </rss:item>

    
    <rss:item rdf:about="http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/03/28/boy-we-have-been-through-the-wringer">

        <rss:title>"Boy, We Have Been Through the Wringer..."</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/03/28/boy-we-have-been-through-the-wringer</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>Coming to Skoll 2007 is like going to your 25th reunion.</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          A couple of years back, I went to my 25th high school reunion, and a curious thing happened.&amp;nbsp; I became good friends with people who I&amp;nbsp; had nothing to do with (or could not stand!) during high school itself.&amp;nbsp; The past 25 years had changed people a lot.&amp;nbsp; Nearly everyone had been through many ups and downs in life, including deaths, divorces, job losses, and other personal setbacks - all of which made everyone much more humble, even in the face or often remarkable professional achievements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Oh, man, I have been through the wringer,&amp;quot; one guy told me, with a smile.&amp;nbsp; He was a big man on campus way back, brimming with both achievement and confidence.&amp;nbsp; In the years since, he had married, had children, and gone through a terrible divorce.&amp;nbsp; He was fired from his first job, and the company he went on to co-found went under.&amp;nbsp; He was now doing well, but he chuckled to himself as he thought back to his high school persona.&amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Oh, yeah.&amp;nbsp; I thought I could do no wrong and that the world would always have its hand out to greet me,&amp;quot; he said.&amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Well, it did have its hand out, but it socked me in the face a few times along the way.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What does this have to do with the Skoll Forum?&amp;nbsp; A lot, actually.&amp;nbsp; Over the past five or six years, many of us in the field of social entrepreneurship have been through the same experience.&amp;nbsp; Around 2001 there was a Cambrian explosion of ideas, and conferences were all about who had the best idea - and too often about why other people's ideas were dumb or inferior.&amp;nbsp; Over the next couple of years, several of the people with ideas actually launched real initiatives, with great hopes and fanfare and excitement and hoopla, and often hyperbole.&amp;nbsp; The conferences during those years were dominating by the swaggering of those people launching these start-ups.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This year has been like my 25th reunion.&amp;nbsp; Many of us have been through the wringer.&amp;nbsp; We are making great progress now, but the last few years have been full of setbacks and reversals and S-turns.&amp;nbsp; All of which have served to make us a lot more humble - and a lot more interested in reaching out to others to tell our stories and hear theirs in return.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I think we all realize now that there is no silver bullet in this field - no &amp;quot;best idea.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; Instead, we need - and are forming - a community of good ideas, and good people.&amp;nbsp; The way forward is through this community.&amp;nbsp; It is not ME, it is WE.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So Skoll 2007 is about WE.&amp;nbsp; And it is really nice.
          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2007-03-28T23:59:30-08:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2007-03-28T23:59:30-08:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>DennisWhittle</dc:creator>

        
    </rss:item>

    
    <rss:item rdf:about="http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/03/27/i-am-glad-i-came">

        <rss:title>I am Glad I Came</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/03/27/i-am-glad-i-came</rss:link>       

        <rss:description>This conference is going to be all about social entrepreneurs, but last night was all about people.</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &amp;quot;Oh, please - send me back to Seville.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Last night I had dinner with a bunch of Skoll Social Entrepreneurs and Skoll Foundation staff and friends at the Exeter dining hall - apparently where J.R.R. Tolkien conceived his Lord of the Rings trilogy and where parts of Harry Potter were filmed.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
I have spent my fair share of time in places like this.&amp;nbsp; My high school in the US was called Exeter, and the graduate dining hall at Princeton looks very similar.&amp;nbsp; And over time I have become almost instinctively allergice to elitism, and to the idea that somehow the chosen few gather in places like this.&amp;nbsp; So my initial reaction upon arrival was negative - I wanted to return immediately to the airport and go back to that bar in Seville where I ate on Sunday night.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Dennis!&amp;quot; a voice yelled out.&amp;nbsp; It was my old friend &lt;a href="http://www.indianngos.com/people/joemadiath.htm"&gt;Joe Madiath&lt;/a&gt;, the founder of &lt;a href="http://www.gramvikas.org/"&gt;GramVikas&lt;/a&gt;, which helps marginalized people in India organize themselves to get better acccess to jobs, education, and social services.&amp;nbsp; He wanted to tell me about his latest run-in with Henry Kissinger. &amp;nbsp; Joe grew up in a wealthy family in India - part of the elite - but could not abide the way the laborers were treated on his family's own estate.&amp;nbsp; One day he organized the workers into a union, and they elected him the leader.&amp;nbsp; He therefore led marches against his own father!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Joe was only one of the many extraordinary human beings there last night.&amp;nbsp; This conference is going to be all about social entrepreneurs, but last night was all about people - for the most part wonderful people.&amp;nbsp; As we drank and ate (alas, no tapas, but the food was fair), there was much laughter, many stories, and smiles all around.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There was, hmmm, a flow.&amp;nbsp; People just enjoying each others' company.&amp;nbsp; Life was good.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Just like Seville.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I am glad I came.
          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2007-03-27T01:05:03-08:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2007-03-27T01:05:03-08:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>DennisWhittle</dc:creator>

        
    </rss:item>

    
    <rss:item rdf:about="http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/03/26/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-1">

        <rss:title>Should I Stay or Should I Go?</rss:title>

        <rss:link>http://www.socialedge.org/blogs/not-to-be-missed/pulling-for-the-underdog/archive/2007/03/26/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-1</rss:link>       

        <rss:description> Who needs Oxford?  Maybe I will stay here in Seville, and skip the flight to London tomorrow</rss:description>

        <content:encoded>
          <![CDATA[
          &lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;Sunday night, March 25&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Si, una mas manzanillo, por favor.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; I really like this white sherry, this &amp;quot;manzanilla&amp;quot; here in Seville.&amp;nbsp; On Friday, I was out with a bunch of Spaniards until three thirty in the morning, going from tapas bar to tapas bar and drinking huge amounts of this manzanilla.&amp;nbsp; In one place, we watched impromptu flamenco performances at 2 am - and there were parents watching along with their young kids!&amp;nbsp; At home, I almost always go to sleep before midnight.&amp;nbsp; Here, I felt I could have kept going til dawn. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I decided to stop over in Seville for the weekend on my way to the Skoll Forum, and I am standing in a wonderful neighborhood bar near the Triana neighborhood across the river from the old quarter of the city.&amp;nbsp; It is after 10pm on Sunday, and there is sawdust on the floor, and I am standing at the bar of the Sol y Ombre eating fabulous tapas, including oxtail ala Sevilla, and drinking the house wine, which is very cheap but better than most wines I order off the menu in restaurants elsewhere.&amp;nbsp; The bar is full of people from the neighborhood talking, drinking, eating, and just....well, just being together.&amp;nbsp; Although my Spanish is pretty poor, it is clear that they are not discussing matters of great importance - social, environmental, or economic.&amp;nbsp; They are just enjoying each others' company.&amp;nbsp; There is a flow.&amp;nbsp; Life is good.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The stupendous jamon Iberico and other tapas here in Seville, along with the flow of life, all make me question the importance of social entrepreneurship. Maybe I will stay here in Seville, and skip the flight to London tomorrow.&amp;nbsp; What kind of tapas will be available in Oxford, anyway?
          ]]>
        </content:encoded>        

        <dc:date>2007-03-26T13:58:18-08:00</dc:date>

        <dc:modified>2008-04-09T13:17:07-07:00</dc:modified>

        <dc:creator>DennisWhittle</dc:creator>

        
            <dc:subject>Skoll World Forum</dc:subject>
        

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