Outliers, the story of success (Malcolm Gladwell)

It took 10 hours flying time from Sydney to Seoul, the first leg of my European holiday. I normally read during holidays and this one has begun in fine fashion: Outliers, The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.

Ordinarily I don't read a book in one sitting. This book breaks all the rules. Especially the rules about how one thinks. That's the thrust of the book. Gladwell demonstrates from page one that we are so immersed in our cultural presuppositions that when we hear the great stories of success we hear one truth: people who are successful have individually triumphed over the obstacles other mere mortals fail to negotiate. In other words, we accept as truth without question that the difference between success and failure is up to the individual; his or her choices, drivenness, expertise and intelligence.

Gladwell, basically, rewrites history's biographical stories of success in terms which causes us to respond: ah ha! I didn't know that! He writes about Bill Joy, Bill Gates, Christopher Langan, Robert Oppenheimer, Joe Flom and (unsettling as it might seem because I was flying in one of their planes as I read this book) the horrid history of Korean Airlines (they have since recovered their safety reputation, thank goodness!). Malcolm is saying this: success is always due to the right person being in the right place at the right time. Before you jump all over Malcolm or give up your dream of conquering the world, he is not shoving environmental determinism down our throats. He is not saying that you have no control over success or failure. He is saying that we've gotten the parameters wrong and we need to recalibrate our thinking when it comes to understanding success (and failure).

So what are some of those principles? Read the book! I recommend it. But until you do, here are some of the things I have learned.

1. "Outliers are those who have been given opportunities -- and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them." Nothing surprising here. Except to remember that when we compare ourselves to the great social innovators of life, we are doing ourselves an injustice. We are not all given the same opportunities and no matter how hard you try, you cannot create a place where the playing field is level. A lot of it is by chance. He demonstrates this by showing the prevalence of birthdays to success (no, he's not talking about astrological signs here). It actually gave me a great sense of relief to know that the struggles I face in making my project and story a success is all about the opportunities I have been given. And the "greats" usually have been given opportunites by chance.

2. It's all about community. Being a social entrepreneur and a "community organiser", i took delight to see how Malcolm snatches the definition of success from the culture of the individual to the community context. Wonderful stuff! He asserts that the great and successful entrepreneurs reached their pinnacle of success on the shoulders of the community in which they operate. We think of success in terms of personal drive, individual IQ and and one's innovative powers. He debunks this myth.

3. There's no substitute for hard work. Malcolm really gets under our skin with this one. He proposes the 10,000 hour rule. Successful people have worked hard. Really hard. 10,000 hours hard. Whether they are violin players, sports stars, rock stars or social entrepeneurs, they have given hours and hours of effort to the area of expertise. 10,000 hours of practice, practice practice seems to be the minimum requirement for success. He really bothers us with the Chinese rice paddy culture and the KIPP school in the bronx examples in which we come to understand that people aren't just lazy or driven due to their character. We develop our viewpoint of hard work from our journey. Wow.

These are just three of many principle which Gladwell highlights throughout this story-filled book. But what did I take from this reading? It definitely changed me and my way of thinking. From reading Galdwell, I would want to apply the following principles to what I do in life:

1. See in everyone the potential for success and leadership. I think there are so many people around me that are untapped resources of change and good but don't even realise it. They are trapped culturally as I am trapped in my "small thinking" that if I could help them release themselves from those walls, we will make a difference in this world.

2. I want to become even more disciplined in my life. I am not even sure what that means. Sure, I want to enjoy life. But Gladwell has reminded me that we must waste a lot of our time in trivialities which are not really necessary.

3. I am going to rely even more on the community around me for the success I am after in life. I will look for the opportunities as they arise. I am not going to worry about the opportunities that don't arise (if that's even possible). I want to tell a story that is much like the stories he tells and be satisfied that they may be on a smaller scale.

And have fun doing it all.

Read this book. It will change you too.

Ronaldo

11 July 2009

Seoul, Korea

Outliers. The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell

Penguin Books, 2009

Social Entrepreneur on the Radio

I had the privilege to be asked to talk on air about social enterprise and my project, NationsHeart, this past week. There are a number of lessons I learned from this opportunity. Let's see if I can summarise them:

1. Be aware of events in your area onto which you can "hitch a ride".

Social Ventures Australia was having a launch in Canberra and we, NationsHeart Connect, were invited. We would have naturally thought that SVA would be invited to do a radio interview. No. We were. We had written a press release announcing our intention to support the launch and the radio station chose us probably because our story was much more interesting. Lesson: "Hitch a ride" on events happening around you to get your story on air!

2. Don't bend to the media's urgency.

I got a call from the radio station at 6.15am for a phone interview at 7.10am. Fortunately for us, I missed the call and didn't pick up the message until 8am. Thinking I had missed my opportunity, I called the station. The program manager questioned me and realised that the story I told was worth not missing. As a result, I was asked to come to the studio the next morning and do a live, in-studio, interview. I went much better prepared than I would have been had I answered my phone.

3. Don't expect a lot of time but you can help yourself greatly to get more time.

I was promise 5 minutes. I ended up being interviewed for 12 minutes. Why the additional 7 minutes? I tend to think it was the fact that my answers were crisp, clear and illustrated. I had prepared myself in such a way, I anticipated what might be asked me. My answers were not rambling, never-ending responses. On several occasions the brevity of my answers seem to catch the interviewer off guard. It kept him coming back for more, I believe.

4. Know your audience.

My first question to my team in preparation for my radio interview was: who is listening at 7.10am and what do they want to hear. The answer guided my preparation. Since that interview, a number of my acquaintances have told me they heard me and one said: I now understand what you do. I knew my audience.

5. Prepare the interviewer.

When I arrived at the radio station and was met my the program manager, the first thing I did is hand him materials which would give the interviewer a brief overview what I was on about. This material was read by the interviewer (I could see him through the window). When introduced to the interview, 5 minutes before I was live on the air, I gave even more pertinent information which I would want him to know. These two points were made during the interview.

6. Write down what you want to get out of the interview, in dot-points.

I went into the interview with a 5 point wish-list. I covered 3 out of the 5 points in the 12 minutes. So as the interview was doing a wrap on the interview I interrupted to bring one more point to the listeners attention: the actual website address. Without this the listeners would not have been able to go further in investigating us. It proved the most important thing I did. If not for the dot-point wish-list this would not have happened.

7. Feel comfortable in the studio.

I've done radio before. I always used headphones for broadcast. When I entered the studio I asked if I could us them (they sat connected and on the desk). I was told it wasn't necessary because we would not be taking phone calls. I insisted I could benefit from them and put them on. Headphones seem to help me centre my thoughts when I am on radio. I recommend trying them out but most of all do what feel comfortable.

8. Let your people know you're going to be on.

I told everyone I knew that I was going to be on air. It was a great feeling of support as I spoke and knew many were listening who were behind me. One of my supporters who is not the best technical person had to sit in her car to listen. Now that's encouraging.

9. Be ready for the opening question.

I wasnt ready for the interviewer's opening question. What was so surprising? Well he asked me the most difficult question I didn't expect: tell us about what you do? Huh? Why didn't I think I would be asked that question? I don't know but nontheless it caught me off guard. As a result I stumbled a bit at first and immediately the nervous-level went up 100%. Although I refuse to ramble on this surprising question, it took me about 60 seconds to settle back down and handle the interviewer. I guess my suggestion from this lesson is this: ask the interviewer what that first question would be. Oh yes, that would have been much better!

10. Say thank-you.

I have written, texted and twittered thank-yous to the interviewer after the radio broadcast. Afterall, I am thankful for the exposure. I have met people who have learned about us for the first time. I had someone even donate money to us as a result of the interview. Thank yous go a long way. Just do it.

Now tell me what you might have learned doing this...

Ronaldo

5 July 2005

Canberra, Australia

Ron's interview was live on-air interview at 7.10am Tuesday 30 July 2009 on Triple 6 ABC radio in Canberra; interviewer: Ross Solly breakfast show.

Social Project vs Social Enterprise

As I discussed last week, our School for Social Entrepreneurs went to the Sydney CBD, the Westpac Building in Martin Place, for this week's session. We met with representatives from Perpetual Foundation , Philanthropy Australia and Westpac Foundation to discover all there is to know about applying for social enterprise funding. Unfortunately, the Canberra fog delayed my arrival by 6 hours and I missed the first session. I was able to catch the second session, the Westpac one.

The outstanding lesson I learned in that time is this one -- these funders are not necessarily huge institutions looking to distribute funds "from up on high". Rather, these are real people who are emotionally moved by the social welfare needs of people around Australia and the world. And they are moved by stories which entrepreneurs tell about their projects. In fact, we were encouraged not just to tell our stories but to connect with these people personally, yes one-on-one, who are in this place of decision-making. I was encouraged by this new found understanding. I am now motivated even more to tell my/our story (the stories at NationsHeart are certainly moving!) in different ways and through different mediums. Perhaps, now, even to start to collect or compile such stories that will become "our story" through the journey which is NationsHeart Connect.

Let me share another lesson I learned during our Westpac time. The representative from Westpac told us they support Social Enterprises around Australia with funding. We we told that Westpac takes a broad understanding of social enterprise, I think Westpac is saying that they are ready to support most social projects which have viability. This differs from my view of social enterprise which goes further than requiring viability but requires independent sustainability from within the enterprise.

Let me see if I can explain this.

To me, social projects are programs which are designed and run to meet needs within the community. These projects require resources outside themselves for initiation and for continuation despite, perhaps, the project generating some kind of income through trade. At NationsHeart we operate a number of social projects which are meeting needs of our community people and which create some profits but certainly not enough to continue without outside support.

I take a more narrow view of social enterprise. Like social projects, social enterprises exist for the benefit of society. Social businesses, like social projects, may need to call upon outside financial assistance (grants, loans and in-kind support) to start-up the business or to invest in capital. But the goal of social enterprise is, on the basis of a business model, to become financially and organisationally self-sustaining; even profit making. This requires a cogent business plan, a supportive client base, a viable market place and a stable governance.

While I understand that there are different views and definitions of social enterprise, I continue to believe that we need to distinguish between these two methods or strategies for meeting needs within our communities. It is my opinion that the community service sector requires both of these arms, the social projects and the social enterprises, to provide a full spectrum of care to close the gaps which exist in society. And while I encourage the support of social projects from major funders, I would also like to see clear and ongoing support of those who, like us, are working to establish social enterprises in the narrow sense of the word.

Ronaldo

27/06/09

Perpetual Foundation

http://www.perpetual.com.au/philanthropy/3798.htm

Philanthropy Australia

http://www.philanthropy.org.au/

Westpac Foundation

http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/publish.nsf/Content/WIWCWF+Westpac+Foundation

Building the Wall: one brick at a time!

At the School for Social Entrepreneurs this past Wednesday we were told that next Wednesday we will spend the day at Westpac Foundation in Sydney's CBD meeting with various executives from that institution. Westpac is a great supporter of the social enterprise model giving giving away over $16m in the past 10 years to promote social enterprise in Australia. I went straight to their website and began to read all about Westpac Foundation and soon realised that, at the moment, gaining a grant from this Foundation would be next to impossible for a number of reasons (and I won't go into that right now). After shaking off a bit of discouragement, I reminded myself of something: we are in a building process, Ron. To use the Nehemiah illustration (which is what we are using these days at NationsHeart Christian Community), NationsHeart Connect's walls are just taking shape. We are probably not even half way through the building process. We need to simply keep working one brick, one stone, at a time. The Westpac Foundation stone is not for us at this moment.

These thoughts made the vision come a clearer for me. I suddenly realised: What if we set our sites on becoming a Social Enterprise model who would actually one day become viable for receiving such support? Now that's a challenge I could take on. And that excited me. I am looking forward to meeting these executive next Wednesday who are setting the bar high for us in the social enterprise sector.

On Thursday, when I returned to Canberra to my office and shared this with my PA, we could envision the steps that we need to take to build the wall and develop an organisation that not only would meet Westpac's standards but be effective in the community. The vision now had a plan and some short term goals.

And then came the thrill.

Opening the mail an hour later, we discovered that we have been awarded a $26,000 grant from the ACT government for a Health Promotions grant we applied for months ago. Now $26k is not a huge amount of money in the world of grants out there, but for us, it's a huge milestone. It's our first real programme grant, it's our opportunity to demonstrate our ability to provide social service with quality and good planning. We just entered the arena of being a viable recipient of grant moneys for social enterprise projects. This is our first step in being able to qualify for grants from the big boys, the Westpacs, out there.

We are building: one brick at a time.

Ronaldo

20/06/09

The $26k grant we received is for a new program we call "More than a Food Bank" which will enhance our FoodHut program at NationsHeart by providing nutrition and cooking information to our Community. The grant will increase our staffing for a year and provide us with an industrial dishwasher. We believe that we will help people provide for themselves and their families nutritious and affordable meals.

Also. Westpac Foundation website

http://www.westpac.com.au/internet/publish.nsf/Content/WIWCWF+Westpac+foundation

Also. We continue to promote our Belconnen Business Breakfast for the Belconnen Town Centre on Friday 3 July 2009 at 7am. See www.nationsheartconnnect.org.au for more info.

Hope and Hard Work

Dreams are fantastic.  I don't mean those night time visions.  I am talking about our day time dreams of what we would love to see changed.  Those kind of dreams drive people to incredible accomplishments.  I have had a dream to bring together the business leaders of Belconnen Town Centre for about 3 years now.  It was one of my goals last year that never got short-listed.  I hoped that it would happen, but it didn't.  I didn't put in the hard work.

It takes hope and hard work to pull off dreams in the social entrepreneur sector.  No matter what you believe about the concept of hope -- that it is drawing upon the power and assistance of a supreme being or it is adding positive thoughts to bring about substantial change -- hope is necessary for the accomplishment of social enterprises.  We believe in the project, we believe in ourselves and we believe that the change we are bringing is vital to the future.  Hope is our mind, will and emotions accepting that belief on  a day-to-day, moment-by-moment, continuum.

Hard Work is as vital to the success of social enterprise.  Any project that has as its goal the meeting of some need or issue in society that has been untouched will require arduous labour.  Presently I am visiting all the businesses in the Town Centre and while it's not killing me it's hard work.  In fact, though people who may know me may be surprised at this, I don't enjoy it.  I don't like doing cold-turkey visits, I don't like, for the 200th time, saying my name, my project, my purpose and my invite, I don't like the feeling of vulnerability that comes everytime I step through an unknown doorway.  But I do the hard work knowing that my dream is being accomplished.  And I like that!

The opposite of hope is not despair.  In social entrepreneur circles the opposite of hope is cynicism.  Cynicism is that which says "this will never work and my dream will not come about and this hard work is useless".  Cynicism are those negative thoughts which attack our dream in all points from questioning motives to declaring futility.  Cynicism says that nothing will work to bring about our dream.  Cynicism makes the hard work even harder.

The opposite of hard work is not laziness.  The opposite of hard work is false hope.  False hope says "I don't really have the time and energy to pull off what I know I must do, I will hope that the project succeeds."  And we actually believe that statement.  We actually believe that for some reason everything we dream about will fall into our laps like a winning lottery ticket found on the street.  The opposite of hard work is believing my hopes, my thoughts and prayers and magical formulas, will bring about the fulfilment of the goals without the struggle and trouble and pain.

So what do we do?  Give up hoping?  Never be cynical or critical of our project?  No, we must find and maintain the balance.  We hope as if that's all there is and work as if hope doesn't matter.  These two, overlapping, will bring us to the place where our projects succeed and our dreams come true.

I'm off to visit more businesses soon.  This is going to work and my dream will come to fruition.  I just know it.

Ronaldo

Learning from Ruthlessness

Those of you who attend the School for Social Entrepreneurs will understand the background of this blog. Enough said. 

Ruthlessness is not a pretty quality. It means "without Ruth": without pity. It can mean to be without regret; not sorry for past decisions and actions (neutral). But it often carries the negative meaning of merciless or cruel. 

In the business or enterprise setting, ruthlessness implies "using  people and resources to attain the ultimate goal (profits for the stakeholders) without considering the negative consequences ".  Although we might think (and hope) that ruthless leaders would not be successful in the enterprise arena, this simply is not true. I won't name names but just the word "tycoon" conjures up a list of celebrity business men and women who have accrued fortunes as ruthless leaders in their sector. 

Why discuss ruthlessness in a Social Enterprise blog? Well let's remember that social enterprises are businesses which use people and resources for the attainment of their goals. Because of the social nature of these endeavours, social entrepreneurs tend to be repulsed by ruthlessness in the business sector.   But rather than end it there, to respond in repulsion, I think the social entrepreneur can learn from the ruthless nature of business leaders.  It's not about adopting a ruthless character, it's about asking the right questions, adopting the right principles.  I think we need to be asking this question in relationship to successful, driven entrepreneurs: what is it that actually drives ruthless business leaders to fulfill their entrepreneurial goals at all costs?  and, more importantly, in the journey of their ruthlessness, what are they trying to avoid? 

So here is my attempt to get us to learn something from ruthlessness.  I hope you can read it with an open mind and, perhaps, respond in some way.

Highly driven entrepreneurs set their sights on three things:

success, profit (beyond sustainability) and competence. 

So, what are these same people trying to avoid? The opposites of these are:  

failure, loss (unsustainability) and incompetence. 

Let me speak to each of these paired issues.

Success (vs failure).

Generally speaking, ruthless entrepreneurs clearly define business success in monetary terms (e.g. someone might say that success is to earn enough money to be happy!)  Social entrepreneurs tend to argue against such a definition and avoid the implications of money in their definition of success.  But I think we need to remind ourselves that this is a valid definition for businesses.  Think of it this way, few of us would argue with this statement:  a business which declares bankruptcy or enters voluntary receivership has failed.  Therefore the obverse statement must be somewhat true: a business which turns a profit is successful.  It is valid for businesses to define success in monetary terms. 

What's my point? Ruthless entrepreneurs know why they exist and go at that purpose with all their energies.  Unfortunately, people and resources may be seen more like obstacles than assets for attaining such outcome.  In fact, those who have experienced business failure and have had to recover from such pain tend to develop  a stronger desire to succeed at all costs.

 

Where am I going with this?  Social entrepreneurs will do well to clarify their definition of success.  Further, the social entrepreneur must not shy away from including a monetary aspect to such a definition and allow this definition to drive them.  Social entrepreneurs forget they are in the business world.  It is my opinion that the social entrepreneur distances him or herself from a definition of success which carries any dollar value in order not to be associated with ruthlessness.  I’m not sure this is best for the social enterprise.  Perhaps the next section of discussion will clarify why. 

Profit (vs loss).

Ruthless entrepreneurial leaders are driven by the need to succeed.  Success defined in monetary terms requires their endeavour to become more than financially sustainable but to turn a profit.   Large businesses, to reach beyond sustainability, gain large sums of money. Think of the implications of this.  A $50 million dollar a year business is bringing in about one million dollars a week, $200,000 a day! In my experience I cannot imagine myself getting out of bed this morning and going to bed tonight and saying: my business just earned $200k! When I think of that kind of pressure which these entrepreneurs must face, I think I can forgive a bit of ruthlessness in their behaviour. The entrepreneur in the $50m a year business is held accountable each moment of each day for the income, the profit and loss, he or she is operating. The financial burden must be tremendous.

 

In the social enterprise sector, we tend to define our achievements in the non-accountable realm. I helped people (while losing $500,000!) but I helped people! We seldom hold ourselves in the social enterprise model accountable for anything truly measureable.  If we do, we don't tend to worry about missed goals. After all, the bank doesn't show up and take away our building if we don't reach them.

I am suggesting that the social entrepreneur needs to get a bit more honest about his or her goal setting and a bit more ruthlessness in the pursuit of the fulfilment of those goals.  Social enterprises need to become a bit more driven in the area of profit and more concerned about avoiding loss.  I think we can learn this lesson well from driven, even ruthless, business leaders.

Competence (vs incompetence).

Ruthless business entrepreneurs have a drive to be the best among their peers; to be declared competent. Incompetence in a business which claims the corner on expertise is not tolerated. Reputations depend on consistently displaying a high level of competence. Good reputation means profit, profit means success. Ruthless business leaders demand competence from themselves and from others. Incompetence is not tolerated and employees are fired who harm the company's reputation. 

In the social sector which focuses on the person and his or her contribution no matter how small, competence is measured, many times, in being and not so much doing. As a result, outcomes are not measured in quality or (as we see in the previous section) quantity. Outcomes are measured in a fair-go (to attempt something, no matter what the quality of the attempt, is what counts).  But many businesses have failed in just giving it a go. Quality and quantity, efficiency and durability, are important factors in delivery and service in the social sector.

Again, I am suggesting social entrepreneurs must learn how to raise the bar of quality and quantity of product and expectations on production. My impression is that social enterprises need that kind of ruthless behaviour, “drivenness”, as they lead those serving the community.

Conclusion

Can we learn from ruthless entrepreneurs without becoming ruthless ourselves?  I think we can and must!  Social Entrepreneurs need to work on a definition of success that includes in some significant way the concept of money.  The social entrepreneur must become more driven in the profit-making arena.  The social entrepreneur must work hard at raising the bar of quality and competence in the area of his or her business.  Rather than becoming repulsed by ruthlessness, let’s embrace those principles which will be powerful examples back into the business world. .

Exult the Entrepreneur! ! !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6MhAwQ64c0

Conscious Connecting

In the social enterprise world (not unlike the "real" world) the social entrepreneur hopes for that one big opportunity through which all hopes and dreams will be fullfilled.  At the School for Social Entrepreneurs in Sydney this past week we had an example of that.  One student received a call from the Prime Minister's office to be a part of a "town meeting" in which this student was able to make her 1 minute project pitch to the PM directly.  Immediately doors swung off their hinges and her project leaped lightyears forward.  We, students, listened to this story mouths-a-gaped, applauding success and drooling with envy at such a win as this.

But let's talk reality.  Most of us in the social world will not get that kind of opportunity.  And it's ok.  What we will get is this: the opportunity to make the small connections which over time will add up to a powerful force for change in our communities.

Social Entrepreneurs can be loners.  I speak from experience.  It's not just a male thing, but there's got to be some connection, that we think we can do this thing alone.  No one can really do it as well as I can!  And we try to develop projects which are not well-connected to anybody else's.  It's almost as if we think taking time to connect will slow us down in our projects moving forward.

I am learning what it means to connect; yes, even to schmooze.  Schmoozing is that ability to put yourself and your project forward, to develop presence, to let people know who you are and what you are about.  And to do so confidently and assertively without missing many opportunities. And this has been a learning curve for me.  But what's amazing, I see it paying off a little at a time.

Let me give two recent examples.

Neville is the head of Mission Australia's Work for the Dole programme in Canberra region.  We met a couple times and he shared his dreams with me.  We hoped these dreams would materialise through M.A. but the government had something else in mind when they didn't award them the contract and Neville was to soon be out of a job.

When the Jobs Funds were made available through the government, we at NationsHeart called for a round-table discussion on how we could approach this opportunity.  Despite Neville's future uncertainty, I decided to ring him and invite him to this discussion.  He came.  We had some great talks about dreams and methods and enterprises.  Two weeks later we learned that Neville has been appoint head of the Belconnen region of Campbell Page which won the government grant for Work Opportunities.  We look forward to having this connection in such a opportune place and time as this. 

One more illustration of my point.

Last month I decided to attend a seminar hosted by Social Ventures Australia offered in Sydney in order to connect (with anybody!).  I had heard that SVA was starting enterprise hubs and were tragetting Canberra.  I wanted to have some connection to this endeavour but was finding emails not returned, dead-ends to connections and uncertainty about this project.  This Syndey trip cost me  project time and money as I had to stay overnight in Sydney (out of my own pocket) to make the  seminar.  

At the meeting I had the privilege of meeting the speaker and the host leader.  (Doing this is neither naturally or easy for me).  Then I was told someone was there who was leading a conference the next day on the Jobs Fund.  I was doing the same in Canberra and wanted to connect with her to get her notes for the next day.  My only opportunity was to try to talk with Mandy at the break.  But the moment the break was called for I saw someone (whom I realised was not going to stop chatting with Mandy for the entire break) cornering her.  I felt my opportunity was lost.

Unlike the Ron of old, after waiting 5 minutes, I approached the pair and interrupted them.  I explained my dilemma, excused my rudeness and made a quick overview of my needs to Mandy.  The connection I made was not more than 3 minutes, I got what I needed and she could put a face and a project to my name.  These two went back into their discussion.

Yesterday, I received an email from this Mandy.  Mandy is moving to Canberra to work on the hubs that I had been pursuing with frustration and that we would be catching up soon.  This connection should and could be valuable toward the future of our projects.

Being from a church culture and trained as a preacher we were told we must be ready to preach, pray and die at a moment's notice.  None of which I really took seriously.  As a social entrepreneur we need to be ready to make connections at every turn.  That, we must take seriously.  You really never know when and which ones will pay off.  Yes, you may get that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  But it's really going to be the never-miss-a-little-opportunity ones that will win us the day.

Ronaldo

16 May 2009 

The Barriers to Building

Social entrepreneurs are builders.  Sure, they don't tend to carry around hammer, nails and jack hammers, but they build.  They build people, they build communities and most of all they build hope.  The act of building comes with a cost.  It's not easy work.  Builders work hard.  Social entrepreneurs work even harder.  So what is it that stands in the way of building?  Let me share 3 great barriers to building:  entropy, gravity and bureaucracy. Let's look at these 3 obstacles to all building.

entropy

entropy is the natural process of moving from organisation to disorganisation. Think about your house.  It doesn't clean or organise itself;  in fact, it seems to go feral without your input (insert here: blame spouse and children!!)  But it's more than that.  Entropy is a natural process of decay and disintegration (2nd law of thermodynamics).   Leave something alone, let it stand untouched, and it will naturally become useless.  Park your car out in the desert for a few months, without touching it, it will become a useless piece of metal mass.  

When a builder builds he or she fights entropy.  For this reason, we don't build houses that stand the test of time out of paper mache.  Nonetheless, even the highest quality ediface has a lifespan.

Communities face the entropy problem as well.  Left alone, communities will naturally move from a state of organisation to disorganisation.  They must be maintained, actively sustained, even reogorganised in order to survive the insidious decay.  This sustaining comes through developing social services and enterprises which are pertinent to that community at that moment in time.  

What does that mean?  It means Social entrepreneurs need to know when to terminate certain projects (yes, even when they may have been running for a very long, historic time), when to start new innovative programmes and when to make key changes to existing ones.  This is not an easy task.  The community is in a state of constant change and flux.  That's why building is so difficult. 

gravity

We fight gravity every day of our lives. We walk up stairs. We lie on the sofa.  We lift heavy objects.  Each of these activities involves fighting gravity. Our bodies are fighting gravity until the day we die (look in the mirror, second thought, don't!) 

Builders fight gravity every day of their lives.  Hammers and equipment are heavy.  It's much easier to build a six-room one floor house than a six-room, six-floor house.  Roofing has got to be a harder job than working on a foundation.  Just getting the materials to site would be difficult if you are working on multistory building.

It takes great effort and perseverance to fight gravity.  For this reason, many builders leave the industry before middle age.  And for this reason, many social entrepreneurs give up before their hoped-for task is completed.  Perseverance is the antidote to gravity, to giving up.  Perseverance is the resolve found within a person to continue on when it's not easy to do so.

Social entrepreneurs need to be strong people.  Physically? yes, it helps.  Emotionally? even more so.  Mentally? like steel!  Because without inner strength gravity will pull down the best laid plans and dreams.

bureaucracy

When I first visited Switzerland I saw something strange.  I often noticed strange arrays of posts sticking out of the ground on hillsides.  These weird constructs certainly didn't seem permanent and made no sense to me.  What were they?  I discovered they were the outline of someone's future home.  According to local Swiss law the builder had to erect, months before approval, an outline of the proposed building.  Anyone who had a complaint, who felt the building would block a view or pose an eyesore, could protest.  It sounded like good bureaucracy.  But it certainly slowed the building process.

Not all bureaucracy is good, though.  Local councils can go crazy with rules and regulations.  Doors, windows, walls and floors all have a myriad of laws to be obeyed.  Yes, it's in the name of health and safety but building it full of bureaucratic red tape.

Every social entrepreneur knows the bureaucratic nightmare of red-tape and government compliance.  But there is something even more difficult and project-stopping than governmental bureaucracy.  Relational bureaucracy.

Doing the "right thing" relationally is sometimes so time-consuming that we feel we ought to short-circuit this bureaucratic route.  Later, we usually regret taking the short course.  Taking time to build relationships, care for people and connect with key gate-keepers is a slow, humble, sometimes painful, process that is necessary to building.  Social entrepreneurs want to get the project moving forward, sometimes quickly.  But taking the time, delaying the project, in order to build relationships is so necessary.  In fact, it is not just necessary, it's part of the project itself and needs to be written into the blueprints.

So there you have it.  Building is an exciting process.  But building is not easy.  Have fun but be aware that the barriers to building quickly and efficiently awaits you!

Ronaldo

9 May 2009 

 

2 Minute Pitch

At the School for Social Entrepreneurs we were required,this Wednesday, to develop our pitch. A pitch is a sales speech to potential supporters which is designed to evoke a response: namely, finance support to the project.  After a few practice runs, we were asked to give a 2 minute pitch which was video taped.  

During our practice time I noted some practical principles that ought to be considered when making a pitch.  These included the following:

1.  Personally connected...  when we think of making a pitch, we think of selling our product.  The product is our project.  We keep ourselves at a comfortable distance from our project during the pitch so that if our project is rejected, we are safe.  May I suggest we take the risk and sell ourselves with the project.  In fact, begin by selling yourself.  Sounds vain.  It's not vanity, it begins by believing in ourselves, believing in what we are passionate about (inside us) is worthy enough for others to believe in (and invest in) and believing that we will succeed whether or not this present pitch is successful or not.

2.  Picturesque...  Most people think in pictures.  We tend to talk in concepts.  This is why when we talk, people seldom listen.  We must learn to talk in pictures.  Draw pictures (quick ones) which people can relate to emotionally.  For example, saying: if your car broke down on a deserted road in the middle of the night, what one think would you want at that moment?  is much more effective that saying: my project meets peoples needs.  Along with this, we all must learn to tell stories.  Once we have that ability going well, learn to tell short stories.  See how short you can tell the story without it losing its impact.

3.  Land the plane...  I never flew a plane but what I imagine is that it probably is not too hard to take off or fly the plane, but very difficult to land the dang thing.  In pitching, landing the plane is most difficult.  Finishing your speech without a dangling participle or thought is valuable.  The worst first question asked at a pitch by potential supporters is: are you done?

4.  Make cents...   Tell 'em what you want.  It's not easy to ask for money.  It's nice when people respond to your project without being prompted.  But saying: I need $10,000 is being clear about what you need.  It makes it clear to supporters that if you got the money you probably have a good idea what you would spend it on.  Go ahead, ask!

5.  Smile!  Alway always always have fun with what you do.  If pitching is a misery for you, it will be so for your potential supporters.  Anytime people enjoy themselves they are more willing to let go (of themselves and their money!).  What's really hard is to smile when you are nervous.  It feels fake.  well, my only response to that is, learn to fake it.  You fake other things, do this too!

Here's my pitch, written, maybe someday they'll release the video (on Australia's funniest...)

I am Ron Blanchard and represent NationsHeart Connect.

How do you feel when you put your money in the drink machine and... nothing... nothing comes out...

I know how I feel... frustrated, angry and, most of all...   powerless.

At your disposal is that which would relieve your deepest needs of thirst but you cannot access it...

NationsHeart Connect builds projects in the Belconnen community which helps people access what they feel they have been denied.

Canberra has wonderful resources for developing people and their lives.  I love the variety of evening classes which are offered around the region during the school year.  CIT is fantastic in offering a broad range of training.  2 major Uni's with a mountain of majors.  All of this is offered within 20 minute bus ride from anywhere in the city.  The Canberra coke machine is full of wonderful opportunities.  But many people, many from Belconnen,  feel they are not able to access these resources.  The experience disadvantage; single mums, young unemployed men, the disabled.  In fact, Belconnen has the highest number of Centrelink clients in all categories except age care, indicating social disadvantage.

At NationsHeart Connect we believe that by empowering people with value and belonging people can overcome just about anything life throws at them.  I and my team build a community in which we do meet evident needs: Grocery needs through FoodHut; Children and family needs through Hit the Highway and PlayWorks; Disability needs through Rough Diamonds; Poverty and loneliness through BelcoKitchen.  But we do more than meet needs.  We run these services by encouraging cooperation and volunteers from those accessing the programs thus building value and belonging through developing life skills which open doors and allows disadvantaged people to gain access toward a wonderful future.

We invest over $150,000 per annum in doing this important work and today I invite you to join us as partners to support a greater work.  Thank you.

Ronaldo

6 May 2008

Jobs Fund Discussion in NationsHeart Connect

A group of 11 interested people met at NationsHeart Friday 1 May for discussion regarding the $650m Jobs Fund initiative offered by the Rudd government to nonprofits, community and government organisations to stimulate the economy.  The following is a summary of this rather exciting meeting.

I introduced the participants and the reason for the meeting.  I shared the goals of NationsHeart Christian Community to form a new nonprofit (tax-deductible) Company Limited by Guarantee (named NationsHeart Connect) which will oversee the Community Connections projects currently functioning through NationsHeart.  I emphasised that our purpose to create a community which values individuals and provides a place of belonging.  Through our Social Services and Social Enterprises we are fulfilling this goal.

Janet McKinney shared the groundrules for the Job Fund.  We qualify to apply for the $200m offered for Getting Communities Working which will provide seed funding for social enterprises with a view to sustain and increase employment in the community.  The first round of the Jobs Fund ends 22 May 2009.  Our goal is to get some proposal on the table to the government by that date.

I then talked about the concept of Social Enterprise providing a definition and criteria for these businesses.

Social enterprises are businesses whose bottom line is to benefit society or the community and profits from the business are channeled back to the business or to the community for benefit.

Social enterprises are characterised by having hte following 7 components: an explicit social aim; a commercial orientation; a business activity; an enterpreneurial drive; it uses profits for community benefit; its social owned; finally, its socially accountable.  We spent some time discussing these criteria.

We then talked about ideas out there for social enterprise.  Of course it's impossible to replicate the discussion and even the spirit of said discussion here, I would like to say that everyone shared openly and a sense of passion was felt as people discussed their points of view, their vision for reaching the community and their desire to be a part of something which would bring change to the community.

I would like to summarise what was discussed by looking at the layers of the onion which seemed to be developing as the discussion ensued.

The outside of the onion is the overall thrust of what we would see we could do in Belconnen.  The group expressed its desire to help those people experiencing disadvantage or disability which kept them from entering some of the most basic of training for employments (e.g. CIT or apprentiseships).  There was a feeling that there is a great number of people growing up in our communities who cannot and will not accesss these kinds of training structures without previous intervention.  We called this kind of connection and help "bridging".  Discussion seemed to focus on how we could "bridge" this gap of lack in the community and do so in a business setting.

The next layer of the onion involved the groups of people who would fit the category of needed the "bridge" into the workplace training environment.  These included: youth, currently unemployed, people with social disadvantage and people with skill disadvantage.  

The next layer of discussion involved talking about the skills which a person experiencing disadvantage may need to practice in order to move forward toward being able to enter a training or skills education centre.  These were areas such as creative arts, manual arts, food services, computer literacy, garden skills.  The consensus seemed to be if we could provide a place in which people could learn these kinds of skills they would gain the self-confidence and awareness to move forward to train in already existing institutions.

So what does this look like?  The next lay of discussion surrounded the actual business model.  These included the following:  An arts centre in which ceramics, screen printing and furniture making were developed; a cafe in which people were trained to be baristas in cafes around Canberra, a computer centre in which people were trained to use open source software and a garden centre where people were trained to grow their own food.

The next layer of discussion surrounded how to make these models into business ones; that is, to create the enterprise sector.  Sales of art and t-shirts, a fully functioning cafe, a computer training centre, a garden market for selling produce to the public were discussed.

Another layer of discussion was around what is marketable in todays world.  This brought us to discuss the desire for organic items, homemade quality, green and recycling and the need for focus on an ethnic mix.

Finally, we dreamed about how to pull this off.  One of the participants referred to the open lot down the road which would allow for this to happen.  The desire of the group was to pursue the availability of said parcel of land (previously used to train children to ride their bikes in traffic).

The feeling of the group at the end of the meeting was very positive and would love to re-convene next week, same time.

I assured the group that the entire discussion a dreaming that took place in those 90 minutes were along the lines of the dreams for which NationsHeart Connect was being formed.  Further, that alothough we met on the basis of a government offer -- Jobs Fund -- that, our success in pulling off these dreams was not predicated on the Jobs Fund.  The dream could and will go on whether or not we can apply or attain such funding at this moment.

Ronaldo

2 May 2009

My Social Entrepreneur Mentor, on hearing how busy I am, asked me: How are you able to keep so many balls in the air?

I responded: Sometimes I fail.

Where's my Stimulation Payment?

Most of us haven't received our $900 from the government and we can probably bet that it won't be found in accounts until the very last moment, May 15 11.59pm!  When we receive our payment we will note that $900 is $50 short of the originally proposed amount of $950.  Shall we complain?  Let's not.

I have received the information regarding the $650 million plan for this $50 we seem to have "stolen" from us.  It has created a lot of excitement as we read the potential of this fund.  You can read about this initiative here: 

http://www.deewr.gov.au/Employment/Pages/JobsFund.aspx

Now let me explain my excitement.

Jobs Fund Government Initiative, $650 million.

Basically the government is looking to local, government and community organisations (yes, including churches) all across the country to come up with innovative ways to create, sustain and encourage job creation during this current economic crisis.

Brilliant.  As a social entrepreneur I began to dream.  If we are successful we will be able to create our Social Entrepreneurs Hub which will support individuals in fulfulling their dream to meet some of society's biggest challenges.  Further to this, we have three great ideas: an arts centre which focusses upon young people to keep them off the road to self-destruction, a cafe which trains young people to be the best baristas in Australia and an open source consultative group which will help low income and small business best utilise free software available to them.  

But most of all we will be in the process of helping people find value and experience belonging which is the purpose for which NationsHeart Connect exists.  

The fun bit? Well, inside of 30 days we have to have a business plan and strategy for success on the desk of some government public servant.  This may seem impossible but we will have fun trying to get it all done and imagine the dreams we will create in the process.  All hands on deck!!

If you are interested in joining us for an hour or two of brainstorming,, 1pm Friday 1 May 2009, give us a ring.  If you have a skill like writing or business plan formation, we would love to hear from you.  Come on, let's not just complain about losing $50, let's have fun spending it!

Ronaldo

24 April 2009

Voices in my head

"What in the world have I done?" I put my head in my hands and said it again, "At some point I must have thought this was a good idea, but... what... have... I... done???"

In CATS:The Nine Lives of Innovation, Stephen C. Lundin writes about social entrepreneurs and how that which they do is both caught and taught. Despite doing innovation well because of their nature, social entrepreneurs get better at it (nurture) by applying the 9 CAT principles. Principle number one, he says, is this: Overcome the clutter of life. Social Entrepreneurs, he tells us, must learn to quiet the voices, the clutter, we hear in our heads. These voices, sometimes loud and audible, are "full of doubts and fears. Often, just as a CAT is beginning a creative effort, a voice says, 'You're not good enough,' 'It will never work.' 'Remember what a fool you made of yourself the last time you tried something like this?'

As I sat, head in hands, the voices were very loud. I was, at that moment, stopped in the pouring rain at the end of a dead-end street, lost somewhere in the town of Taree NSW which I had flown into 45 minutes earlier. I came to Taree to pick up an unseen and untested 1985 Econovan with camping equipment I had bought outright on ebay. Like Jacob who expected to find his beautiful Rachel under the bridal veil only to find her not-so-attractive sister Leah (Laban their father did the swap), I discovered that the van was not all that it was advertised to be.  In fact, I struggled to get it into gear and over 60kph!  I doubted it would ever survive the 600k trip back to Canberra.

On the top of all this, the moment I drove it out onto the road I lost my way.  My only map was in my phone which now failed to connect to any server.  Around and around in the pouring rain, grinding gears, holding up the little traffic there was.  It wasn't long before my luck ran out and the twists and turns led me down an unmarked road.

Exhausted, lost and having lost all hope of ever returning to my home, the voices started to win. 'That was a silly thing to do -- buy a van like this one sight unseen.' 'Won't everyone laugh at you when they find out what a rip off you got taken for.' 'How can you even face telling the world that you just threw away $5000 for nothing!'

If it had not been for the pouring rain I think I would have easily left that vehicle parked at that dead-end and have gone off into the bush which beckoned to me. But then it happened. The words which I had read earlier from Stephen's book came back to me: quiet the voices in your head. I sat bolt upright and said to myself, 'Don't listen to those voices and get on with it, this is a good idea.' And that is what I did.

I learned at that moment that when you are facing the end of a dead-end street, there's really only one way to go. It's not really a tough decision just turn around. And that way led me to more streets which led me to an area where my phone maps connected to the server and soon I was walking through the door of my motel room. 12 hours later I was laying on my sofa in my house. And, I'm sure, within a few weeks I will look at my van and say, 'That was a really good deal, Ron, you've done well.'

So I say to you, "Quiet those voices and get on with your good idea, you can do it, I believe in you!"

Innovation vs The confines of routine

At my spin class at the gym last week, the instructor was making some point to the class about the validity of horoscopes when she turned to me and said: People like us need routine, don't we, Ron? (she remembered, I did not, that our birthdays were only days apart).

My first thought was: it is that obvious? I mean, that a semi-stranger was aware of my love for routine? Then, thinking about it, I realised I am a routine-person. I get up most mornings at 6:15am and at work by 8.30am and the two hours in between, well, I think you could set a clock by what I do.

My week is structured as well. Mondays are my days off. But I have routine: bike ride, grocery shopping, afternoon rest, preparing dinner (which is served at 6pm sharp most nights). Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays are all filled with the same routine. Even as I write this I am amazed how much routine is built into my life.

So why does it bother me when I realise I build this kind of routine in my life?

Innovation.

In the book "The Power of Unreasonable People" the authors give us a 10 part definition of Social Entrepreneurs. The first four are these:

Social Entrepreneurs...

• Try to shrug off the constraints of ideology or discipline

• Identify and apply practical solutions to social problems, combining innovation, resourcefulness, and opportunity

• Innovate by finding a new product, a new service, or a new approach to a social problem

• Focus—first and foremost—on social value creation and, in that spirit, are willing to share their innovations and insights for others to replicate

The common theme is obvious: innovation. Innovation is a major characteristic of social entrepreneur. Innovation is defined as creating and implementing a new idea. Social Entrepreneurs innovate; they come up with and put to practice new ideas for solving social problems.

But here's the point I'm trying to make: Innovation's nemesis is this: the box. Routine. Old ways of doing the same thing. We've always done it that way mentality.

Do you get my frustration? I am trying to live in the social entrepreneur world with a life that seems to be stuck in the box of routine. Am I a fraud? Am I really innovative or am I really stuck in the box and don't realise it? Am I just fooling myself?

Thank you, Stephen Lundin. For in Stephen's book entitled oddly enough CATS the nine lives of innovation he shares this truth :

Why does a car have reverse gear? This may seem like an odd question but let's approach it scientifically for a minute. Suppose you were doing a simple cost-benefit analysis and found your car is in reverse gear for 0.001 per cent of the time, but to have reverse gear costs about $500. It would be a lot of money for such a small amount of use. But reverse gear is to the car as creativity is to normal. When you need it, you need it badly. Being normal is just fine for much of your life. But when you need a new idea it requires escaping from the bonds of normal.

Innovation requires that on occasion we escape the routine or 'get outside the box'.

Woo hoo. I can feel secure with my routine, schedule and in-the-boxness and still be innovative. I just got to learn when to throw the whole thing in reverse. And that's the fun of it all. Hang on everybody, this rides going to be interesting.

Oh my, I got to get going if I am going to have dinner on by 6pm. Later...

Ronaldo

12/04/09

I want to help the world, too!

I arrived in Sydney for my School of Social Entrepreneurs class Tuesday night before the Wednesday class. I was scheduled to take the bus to my hotel but it appeared I arrived 45 minutes earlier than expected. Instead of waiting, I decided I might go by taxi. I rarely go by taxi. Meter-phobia. That's probably it. I really can't relax during a taxi ride watching that meter in its relentless pursuit of making me poor. I think I've had nightmares of arriving at my destination in taxi to discover the meter demanded $50,000!

But I decided, this night, to take the chance. I got in and to my surprise I couldn't even see that black box (more like a black hole, to me!). To my further surprise the taxi driver was friendly. The usually niceties: "Where you from?", "How was your flight?", "What are you doing in Sydney?". I told him: I'm part of a team of people who in the first year of the School for Social Entrepreneurs. This he wanted to talk about. So I told him, in the 7 minutes we had, of what I am doing and how we are making a difference and what I get up to back in Canberra (having just 2 hours before this served pizzas to the community). He kept saying: "We need more people like you in this world, there's enough of the bad stuff, we need to balance out the bad with the good!"

On that note, we arrived at my hotel. I came back to reality and realised this also was the moment of reckoning. How much would this bill be? Just then the meter, this one built into the dashboard, read $15.20. My taxi driver said: "Give me $10." "What?" I responded, "are you sure?"

His smiling face reflected what he then said with his broken Indian accent: "Yes, I want to help the world, too!"

Ronaldo

09/03/09

Bromley-by-Bow

I am in the middle of reading Andrew Mawson's The Social Entrepreneur. Making Communities Work. I tried to read this story about a month ago and failed to get into it. Now that I am doing this stuff, I can't put the book down. It's Andrew's story of developing the fantastic entrepreneurial work at Bromley-by-Bow. It could easily have been entitled: The Struggle-by-Bow.For,indeed, the process he describes toward Social Enterprise was anything but easy.

Andrew's entrepreneurial commitment is evident throughout this book. He keeps referring to the need to allow the entrepreneur the freedom, the wings, to fly. What better place than in the church community to foster such an environment. I feel a kinship to Andrew.

Let me get to my point, though. It's this quote which stands out from the stories Andrew tells:

In Bromley-by-Bow, my aim became to firmly nurture an entrepreneurial culture, in which people from all kinds of different backgrounds would work together to fashion their own futures. My hope was that, in working hard and creatively, and engaging with the messy details, we would build physical structure that actually worked in practice and that were run and used by the people who believed in, and had an investment in, creating a successful, large-scale future. In staying with the aspirations, passions, hopes and fears of the people who live in 'forgotten' places, and helping them to take the raw material and talent they already have and use it in a truly creative new way, we would also build a team, build a common purpose: build a strong community.

I love this dream of Andrew Mawson and make it mine. Now I got to get back to my reading to see how he does it (or should I say, how it gets done).

Ronaldo

4/4/09

Risk Management

This past Sunday I spoke about the risks which Nehemiah took in the Biblical story of the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. Risk is about exposing oneself, others or one's reputation to danger. Risks are taken because the possible outcomes provide an opportunity for change for the better. Nehemiah. we are told, left a secure and prestigious job to do something which made him vulnerable to his enemies and his own people. The outcomes he realises are a safe place and a united community (see Nehemiah 1).

At the School for Social Entrepreneurs two days after I preached this sermon, we had the opportunity to hear Steve Lawrence share his story. Steve is the entrepreneur behind the successful endeavour WorkVentures which provides a number of social services to communities all around Australia. Steve shared with us that in WorkVentures they considered a "learning experience" any project which cost and lost them at least $10,000. Steve reminded us that it was through the process of taking risks, some big risks with losses, we actually learn.

To be a fool means to take unnecessary risks with resources that should not be lost. A person who has an addiction to gambling is certainly foolish in their money management. But it doesn't take an addict's character to make foolish mistakes. I'm not talking about risks which fail due to unforseen changes in the circumstances (look at the unsuspecting "fools" who were caught out with the current economic crisis). Sometimes we make silly judgments and risk things that are too valuable to lose. We've all been there and done that!

So how does one balance risk with security? Wisdom, insight, experience and just plain gut-feelings join together in the entrepreneur and drive him or her to step out in faith and take a risk on a project, in a person or with a resource. With time that risk pays off. Sometimes it does not. Sometime the result of risk is failure.

Failure is a difficult issue to face in our culture. We don't like to fail and we don't like to lose. In fact, we reward winners and success so often and to such a degree that failure for many is something that is dreaded, feared and never acknowledged. I wish we would teach our ourselves not only to fail but how to fail. We all fail but to acknowledge it and learn from it and grow from it is a valuable thing. But we will never fail if we never take the risk, expose ourself to the danger and admit that failure is a possibility.

Perhaps in the social entrepreneurial sector, we need to encourage more risky business, develop leaders who know how to risk without playing the fool and honour even those who in the midst of a fabulously designed and envisioned project find failure to be their lot.

A friend of mine sent me this quote after reading this blog:

(Thanks, Bob)

“It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat”
---President Theodore Roosevelt “The Man in the Arena”, Paris , 1910

Ronaldo
03/04/09