THINKING BIG, CHANGING THE WORLD, CREATING MEANING

Last night I attended my first NYSWE (New York Social Women Entrepreneurs) meeting, and lucky for me it was held at in good company! NYSWE is a newly re-launched chapter of the national organization YWSE (Young Women Social Entrepreneurs). The women were terrific, not all entrepreneurs, in fact there were many intrapreneurs as well!

The speakers were just phenomenal though. Lara Galinsky from Echoing Green and Ruth DeGolia from Mercado Global. Ruth is one of Echoing Green's fellow and she spoke so passionately about her company, the work she is doing, and her involvement with Echoing Green.

I was most struck by the level of integrity that was present in what both Lara and Ruth had to share. Ruth has clearly thought so much about the absolute best ways to run her organization, the best ways to meet her goals, and the best ways to employ the practices of social entrepreneurship.

Lara was able to speak so clearly about the importance of Echoing Green's role in the funding process, what they look for in fellows, and about the incredible value associated with mentoring and support network in the Echoing Green Platform.

They both highlighted some of my favorite key lessons that I hear again and again from the entrepreneurs I admire most.

* You must ask for help!

* You can't do everything yourself. instead surround yourself with great talent who are motivated to help realize the mission of the company.

* It is important not to grow too fast and to maintain the integrity of your purpose and brand in order to build an innovative and truly sustainable organization.

A new thing that I left thinking about was how to dig down to the 'root cause' of the problem that you are trying to solve. In Ruth's case she has found creative, meaningful, and sustainable ways to employ women in Guatemala, but what Mercado Global is ultimately addressing is poverty, and how do they measure success? school attendance rates in their partner communities. fascinating, and smart. if you had met Ruth, you'd expect nothing less.

Much of this thinking and behavior is reflected in a book that Lara co-authored called Be Bold! Create a Career with Impact. It emphasizes the "Gall to Think Big" in addition to 3 other key characteristics.

I feel sufficiently challenged, inspired, and motivated!