A Bigger Voice

What If Your Idea is No Good, Misinformed, or Driven By Ego?

I recently tweeted that there is a danger in turning an idea into a movement. This was in response to a friend of mine who had tweeted a famous line from the song,  Alice's Restaurant, "three people makes an organization." And if we can get 50 people, it's a movement. Photo by ninahale.

No, I haven't backtracked on the concept of A Bigger Voice, which is about developing a better way to turn an idea into a sustainable movement. But what I've been thinking about lately is that movements can be created based on faulty ideas, ego-driven leaders, and misinformed assumptions. It's useful to look for these red flags up front.

A few tips:

• Is the idea from the wisdom entrepreneur borne of experience--an insight to a problem that he/she has felt the pain of? Or is it political correctness that drives the cause?

• Is the idea a new twist to an age-old problem? Or is it rhetoric that can be identified as motherhood and apple pie?

• Is the wisdom entrepreneur humble enough to listen to other points of view, or is he/she driven by being right?
  

  

• Is the wisdom entrepreneur well-read and educated on the cause at hand to have validated the soundness of her idea? Or has emotion taken over any chance of looking at pertinent facts and figures?

I say this at a time when groups are rising up in the US in response to public policy, Congressional and presidential actions, and an upheaval of the status quo in society and business. Not all movements deserve to get the attention they do. Not all ideas are good ones. We need to be thoughtful enough to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

Photo by joguldi

Sept 8, Denver Social Entrepreneurship Event

This is short notice but for those in the Denver/Boulder area, here's a great panel on social entrepreneurship, sponsored by the Rockies Venture Club. The moderator (Larry Nelson) and facilitator (Chris Pelley) are both friends and passionate entrepreneurs and one of the panelists, Beth Ann Parish, is someone I met through a social media panel I facilitated at Regis.

Social Entrepreneurship: A Giant Step for Mankind and Profits

Opening remarks by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper!

Social Entrepreneurship is the 'final frontier' of philanthropy. How can Colorado carve its place as a world leader in this new realm? We can accomplish this mission by building an alliance with business, political, and academic leaders in Colorado. Our top schools already recognize the strength of social entrepreneurship and its potential to make a global impact.

Guests and speakers from Colorado universities and leaders will participate in the ground breaking session.

Facilitator: Larry Nelson, President of w3w3.com Talk Radio

Moderator: Christopher B. Pelley, CEO | Managing Director of Capital Investment Management Company (CIMCO)
Ashoka Support Network person for Colorado

Panelists:
Paul Bauer, Clinical Professor at Department: Information Technology and Electronic Commerce
Daniels College of Business

Paul Jerde, Executive Director at Robert H. and Beverly A. Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado

Hunt Lambert, Associate Provost, Colorado State University Continuing Education
CEO, CSU Global Campus

Beth Ann Parish, Program Manager, John J. Sullivan Endowed Chair for Free Enterprise
Regis University

General Info:
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
5 pm - 8 pm

Denver Athletic Club
1325 Glenarm, Denver, Colorado
$39 members;  $49 guests 

Click here to register.

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