The charismatic entrepreneur

Self-less leadership is needed at the helm of any social enterprise/organization. Good leaders should surround themselves with people that are smarter and more capable than the leader. This way, the enterprise can thrive and have a scallable impact. Legacy management and egocentric behavior are detrimental to any organization. The Board of Directors should be comprised of individuals with many different backgrounds and areas of expertise, so that the enterprise can innovate and change when necessary. I feel that external stakeholders should make their voice heard, and definitely provide an organization with feedback. Group think is often a problem with organziations that are directed toward a common goal and composed of individuals with common backgrounds. For a social entrepreneur to have long term impact, he or she needs to begin with the end in mind, and realize that a plethora of personalities impacting the organziational direction results in a better, more focused mission, that encompasses the experiences of many, as opposed to the vision of one.

I completely agree with Chad that selfless leadership is the key to any social enterprise. Afterall, the social enterprise should be about the mission and not the person leading it. Although ego will always come to play in any organization leaders, social enterprises are one area where this should be heavily encouraged against. I believe that the board of directors should be a cohesive, strong, and highly functional group that keeps the mission and goals of the enterprise at the forefront. Therefore, they should have the ability to remove the leader/CEO should they hinder the organization. This would be the case in any for-profit organization. The way to keep the enterprise going is to have an effective board and also talented employees who have a strong vision of the mission.

Dear Caitlin
Thanks for your comment
What you say is absolutely true
However, in my experience, Boards of social businesses or enterprises have LESS power over their CEO, unlike the for profit organisation
Selfless leadership may be the goal, but I fear it at times feels like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
rod

Dear Chad
I thank you for your contribution and completely agree
This is all good and sensible stuff indeed
the problem is that I rarely see it in practice
Social entrepreneurs are often the most guilty in failing to practice good governance
Because they believe themselves to be good, moral people, they presume they do not require such tedious practices--the results are a disaster
regards, rod

While I agree with this theory, I do find that there is a problem when the leader shares this vision of garnering synergy whereby each member of the team is considered an equal part of the team and their input is just as important as the leader's; members become consumed by their own ego and view the leader as less informed as they are. At that point the leader has to fight to gain control of the group. How can this issue be resolved?

The question being asked is extremely relevant.
1. Build a brand that's stronger than your founders personality.
    Brand=values. Without a strong brand, people will always revert back to the image of the founder. When a strong brand is created, both the entrepreneur and the organization will redirect their focus towards building the success of that brand. If the brand is based upon strong values it will take on a life of its own.
2. Celebrate organizational leadership, not just the founder's leadership-
Legacy and story are crucial aspects to the long-term success of an organization. When the focus of an organization becomes only about the successes of the founder, the public eventually becomes bored. One example I think of is Bono and his One Campaign efforts. ONE was so strongly tied to his personality that we are now seeing major fatigue and outlash towards Bono's efforts.
To make this shift, here are some ideas:
Try conducting fundraisers without the founder as the primary speaker.
Have board members direct meetings, rather than the founders.
Profile individual managers/employees/volunteers on blog/website/newsletters.
 
3. Stay away from puppet boards
Any organization that has a brother, cousin, or any other member of a family who is related to the founder is prone towards conflict. A board's purpose is to bring a wide net of resources, skills, experience, and direction to an organization. If is not allowed to think critically because of intensely strong friendship/family ties, the organization will have major issues shifting from a focus on it's founders.

4. Challenge the founder to set a date for retirement.
By challenging the founder constantly to think about what the organization would do without them, this enables the team to take initiative, and the founder to enable their peers.
  

I find this discussion extremely useful for me as I do come across the situation described all the time and I do have some responsibility to assist our partner organisations to develop systems.

I also find the four points advanced by Jon as very useful entry points for discussions.

I will watch this space!

Dear Kabura

Thanks very much for your kind words!
I also found Jon's points excellent

Some time ago we wrote about this in our Social Business Blog
These were written by my colleague, Jessica Shortall, since returned to the USA :-(
She called it, "The Succession Challenge" to be euphemistic!
If I may, here are the links to that three-part series:

Part 1: http://www.clearlyso.com/sbblog/?p=21
Part 2: http://www.clearlyso.com/sbblog/?p=22
Part 3: http://www.clearlyso.com/sbblog/?p=24

Best wishes, rod

Thanks, Rod, for the links.

Dear Kabura
you are most welcome
Let me know if you have any comments or criticisms!
regards, rod@clearlyso.com

Dear Jon
Thanks for your comment
WOW!!

I appreciate your clarity and direct approach
There is much you say which has really good sense to it
Readers would do well to pratice every single one of these four ponts

The less said about Bono the better, in my view
I think the "fatigue" you refer to is multi-faceted but you are right, he has positioned himself as the brand--a disaster from a sustainaibilty standpoint

As for Board meetings that is all good stuff you suggest
A Founder should NEVER lead a meeting, because that would imply she/he were Chair--and that in NEVER a good idea
all non-executive board members should be independent--otherwise there is no point in having them
I have been amazed at how "social" entrepreneurs ignore this
for example, I know of one large one where the head of a key division is their spouse!

thanks again
rod

Interesting discussion! One comment on the celebrity organisational leadership. I don't think sustainability needs to be a criteria in every social enterprise. Weigh the short-term high impact value of a celebrity initiative against the eventual damage when things do fall apart (all stars eventually burn out), and I think you will find that the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Analogy. A candle is great while it lasts and it's worth the price of the candle ... but, if it falls over and burns the house down then the benefit wasn't worth the cost. So by this assessment the jury must still be out on Bono and celebrities like him but I think that history will be kind to those celebrities who have the courage to act when others don't.

And a final point, you can't have a star's light without the heat!

Dear Shaun

Thanks for your thoughtful comment
...hmmmmm, interesting point on sustainability
I guess like many, I start with a belief that sustainability is vital
You are absolutely right, however, it need not be
Things can end and lots of good can be done
This is espcecially true when celebrities get involved
I feel many celebs are like candles that "burn the house down" as you out it
But some are not, you are right

And a great quote about light and heat--loved it so much I just tweeted it @rodneyschwartz

best, rod

Hi Rod, when Max Weber coined the term charismatic leader he saw charisma as "a primal transformational force in social life...the most revolutionary agent in history." A component of charisma is that it creates enthusiasm as an origin of support, (for succession and sustainability) it can be transmitted by an expression of value, or through character traits passed between people (individuals, boards, communities.) So perhaps Rod your experiences, of ego flaws over the last decade, have just been teething problems for the movement. After all, Alfred Adler once said "it is easier to fight for principles than live up to them."

Dear Jo
Thanks for your comment and Weber quote
Good of you to mention one of the positive aspects of the charismatic entrepreneur!
I would not say social entrepreneurs were more more guilty of "ego" than the mainstream ones, howvere, with social enterprises we have two particular problems:
1) the lack sometimes of a profit motive means there is one corrective feature of givernance which can be absent. What I mean is that in a purely financially motivated firm an ego who is destroying the enterprise gets booted out more quickly by financially-oriented investors whose returns are jeorpardised
2) the fundamental "goodness" of the venture often cloaks bad behaviour. and I have found that "social" CEOs ascribe to themselves behaviour that is, almost by definition, beyond reproach. Very dangerous
..and a great quote by Adler--two points for you!
rod

I don't think one can so easily assign sabotage as a characteristic and proclivity of social entrepreneurs in mature organizations.The social entrepreneur who, you write, "stifles innovation, debate, staff development, and the enterprise's future" is no social entrepreneur at all.
I'd be more inclined to say that the individuals you mention would be difficult to work with under any circumstances ie. that their
bullying, insecure, controlling nature could find expression anywhere, not merely in mature social enterprises. In defense of
real, not pseudo-social entrepreneurs , long before a board member has heard of them or their embryonic organization, they're synthesizing questions about need and solution and attempting to deliver an elegant, viable solution that seems possible only to him or her ... at great personal cost. There's no one more capable of looking at the organization globally and envisioning its potential and natural life cycle than its founder. But entrepreneurs are also hardwired to be restless after the unachievable has been accomplished. Once their organization's primary goals have been realized, the founder's skills can be best utilized in new "product" development within the organization. If there's no room for that within the organization, the founder should leave to start another enterprise. The good entrepreneur is never short of ideas for new endeavors; the more common complaint among them is that there isn't enough time to begin every venture they've dreamed of.

Dear Gail

Another marvellous and perceptive comment
People like you and the others above and below make this a joy to moderate!

What you say is certainly true
The insecure bullies I describe are not really "social entrepreneurs" in the full sense of the term--but they do run social businesses and enterprises in great number and thus, inaccurately, get described as such
And not only do they destroy eventually what they have helped to build, but they dash the dreams of many staff members and clients in the process
A real social entrepeneur moves on to the next challenge--to conceive, galvanise, create, build and then move on again
I suspect you are one of these

I also think you are not typical
My guess would be one out of five, at best, are like that

thanks--rod

First of all the problem isn't unique to social entrepreneurship, most new businesses experience this problem. Organizations that win start with a good mix of partners or bring in the right expertise, the rest either never rise to their full potential or die a sad and miserable death.

In 30 years I've started many businesses(and then ruined quite a few), most of which had a major social benefit angle, but things only began to change for me when I understood what I was good at (creating the thing) and terrible at (running the thing). So here are two thoughts on this front;

1. Understand your "flow". That is, understand what work lights your fire and, equally important, understand what work erodes your energy. The first is LIFE to you and your organisation, the second is DWARFISM or (eventual) DEATH ... most probably the organization's and possibly your own. A simple tool that turned my approach on its head is Wealth Dynamics (http://wdprofiletest.com/). It's an incredibly powerful concept and very simple ... we love different things yet there are eight distinct games. Understand your flow and you will find the right game.

2. Have a vision bigger than yourself. Take ownership of the LEGACY you create rather than the operation itself; there are few better feelings than looking back at something you created ... without having to keep doing all the work! If you want excitement hand the operation over to people who are better than you at managing and go start something new again ... and again ... and again.

Where am I in this process? I understand that I am a CREATOR PROFILE, really good at understanding problems and at creating businesses to solve them but I am terrible at finishing and absolutely terrible at dealing with adminstrative detail. With this new (18 months) understanding, I am now handing the baton to people who are more competent than I am at managing (I am amazed that they love the detail!). The process is slow and we've made mistakes along the way but the goal is clear.

And since the vision is bigger than any one individual, those taking over don't have a legacy to protect but the challenge of stewardship of an inspiring vision, a vision that lights their fire.

For me, it can't happen quick enough! I am champing at the bit to get my teeth into the next project ... but this time around succession is an integral part of the business plan right from day 1.

Dear Shaun

Thanks for your comments and the link

Boy do I know whereof you speak!
You and I are of a similar type, it would seem, and I too appreciate the relief which has come from accepting the wide range of skill sets I lack!
Its a breath of fresh air when you realise that you need not and cannot be good at everything and it is harmful to pretend

Hopefully we can find one or two things we are good at
It sounds like you have

regards, rod

IMHO, inspiring people are not the problem. That is painting with a broad brush. Rather, it is the inspiring, non-visionary, leader that can not 'see the forest through the trees.' Not all leaders are able to take their hands off the wheel enough to allow other people to contribute successful ideas. This conversation implies the importance of education and experience to me.

Dear Andy
Thanks for your contribution
You are right, some entrepreneurs feel too busy to let others contribute
I would argue they should take a break and let others do some of the driving!
regards, rod

IMHO, inspiring people are not the problem. That is painting with a broad brush. Rather, it is the inspiring, non-visionary, leader that can not 'see the forest through the trees.' Not all leaders are able to take their hands off the wheel enough to allow other people to contribute successful ideas. This conversation implies the importance of education and experience to me.

I agree with you. I do not believe it is the inspiration the person has that makes them a difficult person. I think that it takes a leader with a vision with an inspiring sense of passion and charisma to really start something innovative… something new…something cool. The problem is that these people who have this vision and this sense of charisma often times get carried away. They start these neat organizations and they pump the organizations with life, and then they cannot let go. This life that they have fueled the organization with then takes on a life of its own and becomes a direct threat to the leader with the vision. The organization becomes a living breathing entity that forces that leader to think about change and a new way of doing things. These leaders who have put so much of themselves in the organization to start it up, feel threatened. They feel like any changes that the organization wants to make is a direct personal attack on that themselves. I have seen this happen time and time again. These leaders who start these organizations and put so much of themselves into them, need to be able to be flexible and need to be able to understand that they need to change with the times. They need to listen to other voices. They need to be able to work with others to shape the organization into a true masterpiece.

Dear Noor
Thanks for your comment
Yes, those with the most energy, drive and passion will often get carried away--they become the organisation, and the organisation is them
At times this sort of drive can be useful--in the long run, never
Boards and mentors are the key--it will normally take an outsider to call the leader's attention to the issue
best regards, rod

All of this comes down to the CEO and the people around him / her. Being open-minded is very important. There is a Chinese saying that “good advice always sounds critical”. A leader has to have this basic understanding that advice may not sound smooth and sweet. Good judgments are also key especially when in high-level power. Thorough communication is one of the rational ways to have points crossed.

Sometimes, it happens that no matter what you do or say, the CEO just won’t change his or her mind. In a situation like this, a public company’s board should step in and use its power to intervene. External stakeholders should be given opportunities to express their concerns even though I doubt that in real life it’d go there. Internal conflicts are probably too much to deal with already.

Either way, internal or external, it would required extraordinary courage to make productive involvement.

Dear Amy

Thanks for your helpful comment

A couple of reactions:
-It is true that the key is the people around the CEO. Very often, this is a self-reinforcing factor. Great, secure CEOs surround themselves with smart, independent people to make sure they can get the benefit of their input. Insecure, domineering CEOs make sure everyone around them is not the sort of person to challenge them or institute processes to make challenge impossible. In either case, the effect is amplified
-In a publicly listed company these same problems also exist, except public accountability and legal risk help to ensure that external voices are hard and horrendous behaviour can be corrected. But in the US/UK cases of Enron, AIG, RBS and others, it seems seemingly independent Boards can have a hard time staying so, especially when the CEO is someone like Hank Greenberg of AIG.
-Social enterprises, which are dominated by the "bully" lack some of the possibilities for stakeholder intervention that goes with a listed company.

SHOULD WE HAVE MORE SOCIAL ENTERPRISES STRUCTURED LIKE PUBLICLY LISTED COMPANIES? WHAT DOES EVERYONE THINK?

Thanks again for your excellent comment

rod

John Plender in today's Financial Times

Great article on the value destruction caused by domineering CEOs
They undertake acquisitions which are too big and sometimes "sink the ship" as a result

Have a look at http://tinyurl.com/m4zpko

rod

The problem with impassioned, charismatic leader is that to the outside world, including the board, he/she is just that: impassioned and charismatic. It's only the employees who know he/she stifles "innovation, debate, staff development and, inevitably, the enterprise’s future" and turns a staff of equally passionate employees into unenthusiastic automotons -- or drives them out, disillusioned. How can employees who are purposefully kept from the board and who are quashed by senior managers hired to "protect" the CEO get any changes made?

Hi guys..thanks for all your interesting comments. Very appreciated and very usefull.Taking the last comment further. i am currently in the situation discribed in comment by Cdashnaw. Great employees getting demotivated by the founders syndrome. We are not going forward and organisation is facing a huge identity crisis. Instead of addresing the issues our founders identify it as management performance or lack of performance which justify for them taking even more control over management. Never ending cycle. it is just difficult for them to let changes come into their creative vision. How do you change this? your views are more than welcome. Cheers

Scott
Thanks for your candour
These must be very trying circumstances for you and your colleagues
My reply to Cindy may help a bit
If you do not mind "surfacing" please contact me on rod@clearlyso.com and I can offer some more customised comments
Kind regards, rod

Cindy

I really appreciate your insightful and realistic comment

Very few people see what an ogre he/she is; so much is done to protect their brand and image--so many careers ride on it!

I can think of a few rather well-known ogres who are stars within the social enterprise firmament, who are destroying their organisations and having a cruelly negative impact on the people that work for them.
You might rightly ask, why don't I say something? Fair question.
First, libel laws protect these folks--and people like me need to be careful. My experience is that getting into a tussle with such folks is always a losing proposition. They are often very unable to separate themselves form their organisations--sometimes traits which evidence severe psychological and emotional problems. My experience is that there is no level below which they will not sink to protect themselves and their roles. This is rarely be a winning engagement for anyone on the outside.

Staff may wish to mount a challenge, feeling they have little to lose as they will have to leave anyway--but they rarely win. Having said that, I have had many friends in such situations and my advice is this--"mount a challenge quickly, if you think you can win and the harm to the organisation and its beneficiaries is so great that you have a moral obligation to try--or leave quickly!!" In time the enterprise will fail and the talented people will help other socially oriented firms--or regroup to form their own more sustainable one.

Remember, in any enterprise or endeavour, but especially in a "social" one, it is never right to sell one's soul to protect those who do harm. It is especially galling when they do so in the name of social good!

Forgive my rather emotional remarks
But they are heartfelt and experience-based!

rod

Taken that Ogres are an offshoot of the human race causing fear as large brutes with clubs, one way to get them to look at themselves without their defenses up, is to hold a mirror up to them, as Ogres tend to be scared of their own reflection, or to record them (audio or visual) for the purposes of holding the mirror up, with playback. Because, as we all know from fairy tales, Ogres can also turn into heroes.

Jo
Thanks for your positive and warm-hearted respone
I wish all ogres were potentially cuddly
rod

Ogres are also not good at seeing the woods for the trees. I don't think anything's going to change, social or otherwise Rod, until there's a cultural shift away from seeing the pinnacle of success as the "big man syndrome" - regardless of whether social enterprises are structures more like public listed companies or not.

First thanks for moderating an extremely interesting discussion.

The point you raise about leadership is not just one experienced by social enterprises (or businesses as Shaun Lindbergh notes). Having worked for many years with non-profit organizations I can say this is also an issue for any non-profit – the single charismatic leader whose leadership style can become a detriment to the organization over the long term.

I think the reasons here are less about the people being “bullies” or other self-centered reasons and more about the development of the organization moving faster than the leader (and often other staff) can manage. Typically the organizations “work” – whether a social enterprise or non-profit activities related to its mission – develops faster than its organizational systems, including a board of directors. I have worked with leaders of an organization who know they need to develop these systems, but many lack the resources – mostly time, expertise and to some extent financial - needed to take the time away from the enterprise or mission-related activities to develop a board and other systems. Many have no idea how a board should function. If the organization is supported by donors or investors, these groups can use their role to direct attention to the importance of good governance and provide mentoring, financial support and/or training.

A few postings back you asked “Should we have more social enterprises structured like publicly listed companies?” If you mean the spirit of accountability, then yes. But in general I would say no. What is needed is ways to support social enterprises to develop appropriate governance structures through mentorship, venture philanthropy programs and the like.

How many social entrepreneurs does it take to change a light bulb? One. And another a committee of 20 to give him a prize for his paradigm shifting approach to tackling darkness.

Rod always you are asking the right questions.

Five years ago I wrote: "Money, political patronage, awards and media coverage are flowing towards the social entrepreneur. It is now possible to travel the world practically full time, speaking at conferences and seminars, picking up prizes and fees as part of the celebrity social entrepreneur circuit". This from a chapter called "Surviving the social entrepreneur". The social entrepreneur spin industry has a lot to answer for in helping to create and foster the myth of the hero wonder worker. And I write as someone who has benfitted greatly from it and deliberately 'exploited it' to promote my social businesses and, if I'm honest, promote myself and build up my personal profile/brand. 'Narcissism and social entrepreneurship is a paper waiting to be written by some shiny young MBA at Stanford or Oxford! And this is now a white anglo-saxon phenomenon. Over weaning ego is an equal opportunities affliction!

I dont know the likes of Skoll and Schwab well enough to comment in detail(although I have my suspicions!) but the British scene I know very well. As the support/spin industry has grown it has a constant need for content and stories to fuel the machine to get the cash to pay the overheads. I dont for a second doubt the passion and commitment of many of the people who work in these agancies (well, not all of them anyway). But there are many dangerous unintended consequences. There has been a woeful lack of rigour in sussing out/verifying the real impact, motivations, behaviours of social entrepreneurs. The 'industry' should be ashamed of itself for not demanding independent verification of the claims people make. I have been at award ceremonies and watched in disbelief as the winner is called to the stage to join the big love in to be lauded as an exemplar of this whizzy new business model and I know that this guy is a chancer, disliked by his staff and who robs Peter to pay Paul in order keep his fundamentally unprofitable business on the road.

I agree with most of the remedies suggested by others but there are too many vested interests for there to be a quick change of culture.

Peace, love and profit!

Liamx

Dear Liam

First of all, let me apologise to you for this inexcusable and inexplicably long delay in replying--I have no excuse, just missed it--sorry!

Second, thanks for your kind remarks
While I may have some of the right questions, you have some incredibly interesting and candid answers to offer--it makes the easy task of asking questions a highly pleasurable one!

Your candour in how you have exploited this need for heroes in the social enterprise world is truly remarkable. We in the sector do need our heroes, but we do ourselves a great disservice if we applaud that which we should not, for all the reasons you mention. We also inevitably do the sector great harm if we eject our critical functions when we purport to assess our great social entrepreneurs. Eventually, a failure to critically evaluate the models we seek to celebrate will lead to their and our undoing as the cases we highlight, stripped of any honest evaluation, collapse of their own contradictions.

I agree with you--too many vested interests for a quick change. Also, I must confess to practising some of what I criticise above, as I often focus excessively on the positives, but some of this is perhaps justified in light of our long term objectives? Maybe not? Anyway, chastened by your comments I will strive to be a bit more consistent.

Anyway, thanks, as ever, for your insights

rod

Dear Barbara
Thanks for your response and kind words
You hit on a very key point
To what extent should we endeavour to introduce the systems of "the real world" or lets say, the mainstream, into the social enterprise arena
I am not sure the disciplines are well utilised in the mainstream anyway, but be that as it may, this is a key issue
It is my sens that social entrepreneurs are reluctant to adopt some of these disciplines because they are concerned about "mission drift"
I would say, this is not the issue
Drift will take place or not, but a relcutance to develop good governance techniques and the institutions of a listed business will have no consequence for drift, but will help the organisation perform at a higher level
Also agree that mentoring and VP can have a positive influence--again by bringing in some of the time-tested techniques from the maintsream
regards, rod

Here is my response http://bit.ly/javEJ

Mike
THanks for your fantastic, lengthy and thoughtful reply
Have tweeted it @rodneyschwartz
best, rod

I'm just finishing editing a 60 minute documentary film focused on this very topic - Spinning Yarns: Saga of a Social Venture in Mora, New Mexico. I had the privilege to follow all the characters, charismatic entrep and those innocents sent in to throttle her. The film follows the chaos that follows.
How can I plug in here?

Cristina
You are in!
The chatter has died down now, but perhaps your film will enliven it?
If there is anything I can do to help you with your film please contact me offline at rod@clearlyso.com.
Above we also mention some postings to the ClearlySo site, specifically to the social business blog, which de=iscuss this problem in detail and highlight a few possible solutions
Good luck!
rod

Dear Rod,

I logged on to social edge after a few weeks only to read this wonderful discussion.

The fact that social entreprenuers are whizzing about the world to attend conferences, collecting awards and trophies, networking with the same group that they see elswhere has indeed become more of a social status than basis the spirit of an entreprenuer.

Having been associated with one such social enterprise for some time, have realised that the board does need more teeth. Unfortunately, these social enterprises create a board which would be more of an ornament than one with actual powers to take decisions.

The other point made during the discussion is to validate the claims made by the social entrepreneurs. The donor/funding/organisations such as skoll/schwab should be more active in understanding the impacts, rather than accepting the claims made by the organisation. Again, having seen the gross misuse of resources, misbehaviour with women staff, forging of data in the said organisation, I can only re-iternate that the funding/donor agencies need to be more "hands on" while rewarding/giving funds to the "one man lead & dependent" social enterprise.

The fact that such a discussion is taking place goes on to show that the development community is infact aware of the entreprenuers who do not allow their organisations to grow. And it is heartening to know that maybe, there are ways of rectifying the situation before it takes an even uglier turn.

Thank you so much for holding this conversation

Dear Anuragini (forgive me if that is not your first name)

It seems we as a movement have not yet developed the confidence to hold ourselves subject to the same scrutiny as we hold everyone else--this will come in time, I hope. In the meantime you are absolutely right--we are creating and seem to be seeking to create heroes.

The Boards have not frequently been well-organised. Social entrepreneurs have preferred the status of their trustees, rather than their skill as Board Members and generally independenece does not seem so highly valued. Also, some excellent people feel restrained when they govern a social entrepreneur, as if that personneeds to be treated with kid gloves. a shame!

As the sector grows and the funders become more numerous I have no doubt scrutiny will increase

Thanks again for your thoughtful contribution

best, rod

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<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t29609.html">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور سيارات</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.net"><span style="text-decoration: none">دليل</span></a></font></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.org"><span style="text-decoration: none">مركز تحميل</span></a></font></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.org"><span style="text-decoration: none">مركز تحميل
صور</span></a></font></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.org"><span style="text-decoration: none">مركز تحميل
ملفات</span></a></font></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.org"><span style="text-decoration: none">رفع صور</span></a></font></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.org"><span style="text-decoration: none">رفع ملفات</span></a></font></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.org"><span style="text-decoration: none">تحميل صور</span></a></font></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.org/"><span style="text-decoration: none">تحميل ملفات</span></a></font></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t29611.html">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">ثيمات جوال نوكيا</span></font></a><font size="2"> </font>
</span><font size="2">-<span lang="ar-sa">-&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t29612.html">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور فنانات</span></font></a> </span>-<span lang="ar-sa">-&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t29613.html">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">العاب نوكيا</span></font></a>&nbsp; </span>-<span lang="ar-sa">-&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t29614.html">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور حب</span></font></a></span> -<span lang="ar-sa"> -&nbsp;</span> -<span lang="ar-sa"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f16/"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">&nbsp;</span></font></a>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f61/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">&nbsp;مسجات</span></font></a>&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>-<span lang="ar-sa">-&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t22439.html">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">توبيكات حزينه&nbsp;</span></font></a> -</span>- <span lang="ar-sa">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t24742.html"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">توبيكات
حب</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"><span lang="ar-sa">&nbsp;-</span>-<span lang="ar-sa">
&nbsp;<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f76/"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">فوتوشوب</span></font></a>&nbsp;
-</span>-<span lang="ar-sa">&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f59/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">برامج نوكيا</span></font></a>&nbsp;</span>-<span lang="ar-sa">- &nbsp;</span>-<span lang="ar-sa">-&nbsp;&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f37/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">اخبار</span></font></a>&nbsp;</span>-<span lang="ar-sa">-
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f47/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">&nbsp;</span></font></a>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t30959.html">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">&nbsp;صور غرف نوم</span></font></a>&nbsp;&nbsp; --&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t30956.html">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور طيور</span></font></a>&nbsp; &nbsp;- -&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t30668.html">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور عيون</span></font></a></span></font> </p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t30957.html">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور الماسنجر</span></font></a><font size="2"> --&nbsp; </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t30960.html">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">مسجات</span></font></a><font size="2">&nbsp; --&nbsp; </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f85/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">خلفيات</span></font></a><font size="2"> - -</font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f84/"><font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
</span>
</font></a><font size="2">&nbsp;- -</font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f78/"><font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">&nbsp;كتب
</span>
</font></a><font size="2">- -</font></span><font size="2">- <span lang="ar-sa">&nbsp;<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t30064.html"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور
زهور</span></font></a>&nbsp; - -<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t29610.html"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">&nbsp;&nbsp;RealPlayer&nbsp;
</span>
</font></a>&nbsp;--&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f79/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">قصص&nbsp; إسلامية
</span> </font></a>- -&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f89/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">برامج جديده</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p align="left">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f5/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">منتديات&nbsp; إسلامية</span></font></a><font size="2"> -
<span lang="ar-sa">-
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f29/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">اناشيد</span></font></a> --<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f73/"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">&nbsp;
قران</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f2/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">منتدى المواضيع</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f69/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صحة</span></font></a> --&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f6/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">النقاش</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f53/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">كرسي</span></font></a> --&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f53/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">اخبار</span></font></a> --<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f68/"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
تداول</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f7/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">الترحيب</span></font></a> --&nbsp;
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f4/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">عالم حواء</span></font></a> --<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f56/"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
مكياج</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f57/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">ازياء</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f58/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">أثاث</span></font></a>&nbsp; --<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f8/"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
طبخ</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f11/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">شعر</span></font></a> --<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f12/"><font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
خواطر</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f13/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">قصص</span></font></a> --
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f84/">
<font color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">قصص اطفال</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2">--&nbsp; </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f48/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">رحلات</span></font></a><font size="2"> --</font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f70/"><font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
سفر</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f91/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">اللغه الانجلزيه</span></font></a><font size="2"> --
</font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f77/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">الاحوال الجوية</span></font></a><font size="2"> --&nbsp;
</font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f15/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">نكت</span></font></a><font size="2">&nbsp; -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f16/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور</span></font></a><font size="2">&nbsp; -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f67/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">&nbsp;صور غريبه</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f17/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">العاب</span></font></a><font size="2"> --</font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f18/"><font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
كوره</span></font></a><font size="2">
-- </font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f35/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">كورة العالمية</span></font></a><font size="2">
-- </font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f88/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور انديه</span></font></a><font size="2"> --</font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f20/"><font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
تحميل برامج</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f89/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">برامج جديده&nbsp;
</span> </font></a></span></p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f89/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">2009</span></font></a><font size="2"> </font></span></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f59/">
<span style="text-decoration: none">العاب نوكيا</span></a></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f80/">
<span style="text-decoration: none">ثيمات</span></a></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f114/">
<span style="text-decoration: none">ثيمات ماسنجر</span></a></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f102/">
<span style="text-decoration: none">مقاطع الجوال</span></a></font></p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t39674.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">صور حزينه </span> </a> </p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t39676.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">مقاطع يوتيوب</span></a></p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t39675.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">يوتيوب</span></a></p>
<p>
<font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f112/">
<span style="text-decoration: none">يوتيوب</span></a></font></p>
<p>
<font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f112/">
<span style="text-decoration: none">برامج حماية</span></a></font></p>
<p>
<span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t30742.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">العاب فلاش</span></a></font></span></p>
<p>
<span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t31133.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">صور غريبه</span></a></font></span></p>
<p>
<span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t43714.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">قصص رومانسيه</span></a></font></span></p>
<p>
<span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t43716.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">قصص حزينه</span></a></font></span></p>
<p>
<span lang="ar-sa"><font size="2"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t43715.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">قصص مرعبه</span></a></font></span></p>
<p>
<span lang="ar-sa"><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/t34807.html">
<span style="text-decoration: none">مسنجر 9</span></a></span></p>
<p align="left">&nbsp;</p>
<p align="left"><span lang="ar-sa">
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f47/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور تصاميم
</span> </font></a><font size="2">-- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f30/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">تحميل العاب</span></font></a><font size="2"> --</font><a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f62/"><font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">
صور انمي</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f59/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">العاب نوكيا</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f61/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">مسجات</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f80/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">ثيمات</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f21/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">برامج نوكيا</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f81/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">صور ماسنجر</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f54/">
<font size="2" color="#000000"><span style="text-decoration: none">توبيكات</span></font></a><font size="2"> -- </font>
<a href="http://www.1tesh.com/vb/f82/">

What a wonderful discussion! Thanks to all for participating! Leadership is the same no matter what the goal is. It is true that leaders, visionaries and prophets may fall victim to egoism and selfishness. These are constant threats, and the bigger the success the more difficult it is to defend against these. A related, and very important issue that I don't think has been discussed in this forum yet, is that of a strong social network outside of work. There is nothing more humbling than coming home and taking out the garbage, cleaning the gutters or changing the diaper. The role of the social network is to build you up when you are down and to take you down a peg when you get inflated. Any entrepreneurship requires immense energy and dedication (not to mention some narcissism), often at the expense of family and friends. It's when leaders leave the "little people" behind and start to believe the hype that they get into trouble. True leadership recognizes the importance of giving people permission to give them the bad news as well as the good.

Dear Mark

Thanks for your sagacious comments
There seems very little to add

Grateful for your insights and hope to see you again soon on "the Edge"

regards, rod

I was always under the impression that whatever our SE generation creates, for it to be purely social entrepreneurship it must also include a clear understanding by the founder(s) that the goal of the social enterprise would be to eradicate the problem at hand in due time. And so sustainability in this case would simply mean the proper economic flexibility to achieve this goal. That is not to say that if our goal is to put an end to poverty we should indeed aim to "end poverty" because that would be just silly, but rather to end (or fix or improve) whatever it is that we set our sights on.

And if that's the case then by default the vision of the social entrepreneur would have to include a clear (or even muddled, because its still entrepreneurship) exit strategy. Although the exit options here would not be the ones we're usually accustomed to ,i.e. IPO or equity ROI or sale, but rather one the goal has been achieved and the entrepreneur(s) moves on to something else.

I'm not sure if anyone has read Jim Collins' "good to great" and his treatise on the flywheel effect, but that’s what I'm trying to get at here, the part where after an immense struggle to get the enterprise (flywheel) to keep rotating faster and faster by itself, the entrepreneur as a leader by nature, simply leaves.

I think the CEO who is unable to yield control, or the one who refuses to be challenged, simply needs to be reminded of this exit strategy…and if they are and still don’t change their ways then they were simply regular business-folk who fooled us all by putting on the social entrepreneur hat for a while.

Dear Arber

You are correct, the exit strategy should serve to remind the CEO of what the ultimate purpose is
Many do refuse to go
They may be regular business folk and frauds as sociel entrepreneurs, but the sector has got plenty of them

regards, rod

Rod,
Happy New Year! This is an excellent conversation that I hope continues; thanks everyone for contributing. Here are two points that I do not believe have been raised: The Cost of Being Human and Modeling the Change We Seek (cliché, I know but so true).

THE COST OF BEING HUMAN OR THE PHENOMENA OF BEING HUMAN
In essence, for me, this conversation is about the phenomena of being human and the story about what happens when power, bestowed or earned leadership, and social change work that, I thought, is about transforming society (not just tending to it) collide. As Mark Willenbring commented on 11/30/09, “Leadership is the same no matter what the goal is. It is true that leaders, visionaries and prophets may fall victim to egoism and selfishness. These are constant threats, and the bigger the success the more difficult it is to defend against these.” For me this is the human “stuff” that is part of any venture into social change. As a result, a discipline of enduring practices (Horowitz, 2002) is a necessary part of the leader’s journey. The practice mentioned by Willenbring of surrounding one’s self with a strong social network outside of work…and I would add, consistently engaging in it, is an excellent practice that helps keep leaders grounded. There are many practices that can keep leaders grounded and connected. And here, I am not talking about just this idea of life-work balance, “touchy-feely stuff, or the sorely needed retreat; I am talking about a fundamental shift in how we engage in social change work on a daily basis. A personal, professional, and organizational shift that requires us to be contemplative, mindful, grateful, and perhaps most importantly, to be honest with ourselves before we extend our honesty to others. This gets me to the second point…
MODELING THE CHANGE WE SEEK
I want to send some meta to all the people in this conversation who have outed themselves for being narcissistic, exploitative, over-bearing, etc…basically leaders who are not modeling the change, at least I think, that we are trying to create in the world. I am a big believer that the means in the end does exist, so our means/ways of being/working matters. I have been around too many social change workers who do not recognize that they are propagating the same oppressive behaviors that have created the very social issues they are working to address until it is way too late - for them and others. Unfortunately this negative way of being creeps into organizational culture, management, policies, and eventually into the public eye. The lack of alignment between beliefs, values, and action (personally, professionally, and organizationally) ends up compromising the good work being done not just by the social entrepreneur but by all people working for social change. Enough of that! Develop and observe at least one enduring practice that gets you grounded, connected, and helps you look in the mirror with clarity and compassion.