Your Thoughts
Here is a selection of your questions, comments, and insights from Challenge 1: Social Entrepreneurship.
As there were similar themes in the comments, this page does not include everyone's comments on each question, but there is at least one comment from each person here.
As there were similar themes in the comments, this page does not include everyone's comments on each question, but there is at least one comment from each person here.
What was the most interesting thing you learned about social entrepreneurship?
It is not so easy to change the world but someone has to do that and I want to be that kind of person through learning many things in this program.
I would say that the most interesting thing about social entrepreneurship is that we should always seek for the Better and not for More. And by that, we could develop to a further point which is More of the Better. If more people could learn to know how to change the system, the process and the goal to a certain social subject, there would be even more entrepreneurs then there are now and a common interest in making the world a better place will increase. Therefore, there would be even More people seeking for the Better. And so, there would be More benefit to everybody which will be Better for the whole.
Social entrepreneurs aims at not only just changing a part of society which is stuck, improving the status quo, what’s more, they pursue the sweeping and long-term effects of changes. Bill Drayton uses an exact metaphor, "Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry."
Social entrepreneurship brings innovation in industries and systems, more importantly, these innovative solutions create fundamental and long-term changes for the most pressing social problems. For most of the problems we are facing are not technically impossible. Most of them are a human or resource problem. If we can link up different stakeholders to work together, many issues are easily handled.
The most impressive stuff was the difference between social entrepreneurs and business entrepreneurs. When you hear the word "entrepreneur", it is easily imagined with business surroundings, but I realized that the contributions and influences by social entrepreneurs are as immense as business entrepreneurs and more profoundly interesting than business one. Among a lot of aphorism, "social entrepreneurs as people who identify resources where others only see problems and unleash resources in the communities they are serving" was the most enduringly memorable description of social entrepreneurship.
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Social entrepreneurship first need to establish authority, trust, and leadership power among society. So that people focus on what they say and do. Their attitude behind those are also influential. Next, social entrepreneurs may convey ideas about transforming the society positively, creating a more sustainable environment, and gradually shape people's thoughts.
The most effective social entrepreneurship efforts are achieved when the stakeholders can work and cooperate together - the community, the businesses, and the government working together to ensure the effort is sustainable and democratic. For me, this also stresses the importance of understanding and ensuring all the stakeholders' interests are well-considered & balanced, as a social entrepreneur, and that the effort needs to have a sustainable model and can have a long-last impact.
I found the metaphor of the world as a game very interesting. I do have a similar thought actually. I like to think of the world as a car factory. A car consists of numerous components. Everyone has a component they are responsible for. Putting all pieces together makes the world. Even though some parts might be malfunctioning, our goal is to make the best car as possible overall. Therefore, we as individuals have to find and pursue something contributing to making a better world. I suppose social entrepreneurship is aiming to achieve this. We do not even need to wait to start engaging in it until graduation.
Before I start these activities, I was thinking honestly that it could be very difficult and hard to be an entrepreneur and think a better way for the society. But after learning many things from these topics and articles, I understand that I should not think like that and I can be an entrepreneur if I feel some problems in this society and have a desire to change this world into better world. I think that many systems in this world have problem but it is still remaining because no one is trying to take an effective and efficient measures to solve them, like national government, etc.
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What is one question you still have about social entrepreneurship?
In the for-profit world, you keep score with sales revenue. How do you keep score in the not-for-profit world?
What are the things changemakers have in common? What are the things expected to have to be become a changemaker?
How do we take the balance of the social value and the profits? In my opinion, the profit is an important part to the social entrepreneurship
(of course it's not the most important part). What if I cannot see the opportunity from the problem? How can we find it out?
Whatever people do, they need money to enforce they plan, however, it is very hard to convince people to support them, I want to know how did most of them persuade others to join even they have been turned down so many times?
How to better sustain the competitiveness of social entrepreneurship in current society?
I think these activities give great explanations about the conceptual formats, and I want to know more about how the founders adjust their formats after the launch. I think not all things went exactly the same as they had expected and designed. I want to find the answer from not only the successful cases, but also some semi-successful or even failed ones.
The question that driving my thoughts are that people in today's world only want profit and "I am my priority" is the motivation people use. How can we convince others to try and help children, education or health? People have unaccountable income but will not use a penny to help anyone else. So how can we change the thinking of people to look at the other side of the world? On an honest note, I am one of those as I am always busy in my work and always occupied with my life. I think, reflect but the next morning, I am back into my busy scheduled life. How can I help myself focus more?
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What is the step to change the society into better one while the social problems are connected with many many many organizations and groups and government?
Which factors make social value join with commercial business?
The video explained the importance of setting the goal of better, but often times, it decreases our efficiency and productivity. For example, renewable energy sources may be better to the environment than normal ones, but they cost much and are not efficient in terms of power conversion. It seems to me that setting the goal of better is too idealistic and people just won’t follow the rules. How can we solve this dilemma?
How to determine which are the right social questions to focus on? When we cannot come up with any solutions, how to know when it is a social question that is too difficult (or even impossible) to solve at this stage, or we have used the wrong way of thinking and approaching it?
How do the social entrepreneurs maintain the financial sustainability of their social enterprises?
Is there any conflict between social enterprises and traditional enterprises, and how social entrepreneurs deal with the conflict?
Is it always easy to find the change making solution in any case? I mean, does every social entrepreneur had this right idea at the right time or did they sometimes fail to be inspired?
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What was the most interesting thing you learned through self-reflection?
I think I realize more about how much my parents and other families have done for me and help to make me who I am.
The biggest thing I learned from these activities is that the existence of my family is really important for me to live as myself. I have met many people through my life, like my friends, teachers, etc. But I could realize that my main characteristics are mostly influenced by my family. My family communicates a lot with each other, so I often share my ideas and I could know what my families are thinking. I think that is why I really influenced by my family. So, when I get my children in the future, I would like to have great influence on them as a father and hope that they learn something important from me.
The most interesting thing I learnt is I realize that I rely too much on my parents and friends that every time when I have problems and worries that I thought I am not able to finish it, I just phoned them and asked for their help. I should be stronger and braver to try slove the problems by myself.
I was greatly influenced by my teachers, which I did not realize before.
It is not easy to verbalise how these persons have shaped me, but their impacts on my life is indisputable. Perhaps what's important is not what they did or said, but rather how they made us feel, and how they made me feel inspired me to treat others the same way. Even if they were just the subtleties, they had a huge impact on my behaviour and perspective on life.
I think that through those personal steps we can learn more about ourself, which is not that obvious for everybody. I even believe that discovering and knowing about ourselves is one of the most difficult things in life. Those self reflection activities ask personal experience that can reveal our true self and help us understand and realize what made our person today, which may be things that we did not even realize before doing this task.
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The interesting point I found in the activity was simply, it recalled what I have been had in the core part of myself and by whom, how it was formed unconsciously. I sometimes think of the people who influenced me when I have opportunities, but it was probably the first time for me to pick those from my family.
Although I could come up with many family members, I discovered that I was predominantly influenced by my parents. Through interacting with them, I learned many important lessons of life and I appreciate every memory I had with them.
I remembered many of the things my family members did for me - but not necessarily the impacts they have left on me. I learned that bit by bit, their actions contribute to my thinking and belief today.
I used to think my father was very distant, geographically and emotionally. He travelled on business trips a lot and was always very strict with me as I remembered. But when I reflected, I surprisingly found that we did have great many wonderful time, both for fun and for life talks. And although I hated him when I was much more junior, I now really admire him for his characters and achievements.
The most interesting thing I learned was that I must not just dream and think but conduct actions to make my dream to build a school real.
Follow my heart and follow my feelings. If it feels right, move forward. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. These activities remind me to check my ego again. Just be with the real self rather than making every endeavor to fulfill those expectations which are burdened me with by other people. I need to trust my heart and honor my calling.
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What is one question you still have about self-reflection?
Sometimes, people may impact you in a negative way, and inspired you to not to do the same and change for the better. Should they be included in my list of people who inspired me?
I am always busy in my work and always occupied with my life. I think, reflect but the next morning, I am back into my busy scheduled life. How can I help myself focus more?
What is the relationship of success and happiness?
How do I know whether I am suitable to work for a life changing project for others? How can I be prepared well for that and learn while I am carrying the project?
I’m wondering where our true selves emerge from. It’s natural that we are influenced or even changed by our family and friends. Then, when our opinions or sense of value are changed by other people, does it mean we are no longer who we really are? Or does it mean we find our true selves and are able to become who we really are?
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Just wanted to know how exactly this sort of self reflection affects to the procedure to become social entrepreneur. Difference between doing self reflection and without it is how big in terms of psychological effect.
What may happen to keep social entrepreneurs from succeeding to fulfilling their potential?
I would like to determine and overcome any possible biases I might have during this self-reflection, which I believe can help me understand myself better.
Can any little things that happened very long time ago change a person’s current life?
Can anyone be a change maker with this self reflection?
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