Building a Presentation for NASA: Inside the Social Entrepreneur’s Mind
Update: You can view the final presentation here: http://bit.ly/NASAsocent2
The #1 Thing You Need to Learn from This Post:
This is your opportunity to influence the NASA culture.
A More Detailed Exploration:
This is an experiment to learn the challenges and advantages of formulating thoughts and ideas in a networked environment. My modus operandi is to spend great lengths of time pondering, drafting, and shaping my thoughts before publishing them with the greater world. However, I am evolving my habits and shifting how I use Rally the Cause to make it more of a networked thought experience.
To that end, I am putting one of my upcoming opportunities on the table to test the viability of this approach. If you’re going to go, why not go big? That’s the entrepreneur in me talking. Here’s your chance to inform and shape a major presentation I am making to NASA on July 28. I’ll be at the Johnson Space Center and my presentation will be beamed to NASA centers across the planet as part of the Innovation Lecture Series hosted by the Space and Life Science Directorate. [Added: They're the folks responsible for the health and productivity of humans in space -- and they are quite interested in collaborations and partnerships.]
Before you begin to think I’m getting lazy, I’ve already started developing my thoughts and ideas. But, I think I would be doing the entire Social Entrepreneur ecosystem a disservice if I didn’t reach out to the broader community to give everyone the opportunity to share their perspectives and ideas, too.
What’s in it for you?
This is YOUR chance to bring our way of thinking into the NASA culture.
Of course, I’ll attribute your ideas. You’ll get access to the final presentation on SlideShare. You’ll be involved in a pretty cool discussion with other social entrepreneurs.
So what’s the topic?
It’s pretty big. Are you ready for it? Open wide and take a bite.
How Meaning Shapes Mission: Inside the Social Entrepreneur’s Mind
Key insights:
- the social entrepreneurism trend and its driving factors
- social entrepreneurial models
- by-products of addressing complex social issues
- profiles and case studies
- strategies and tactics that can be used by anyone
Ready to get started?
Start posting your thoughts, links, ideas, counter-points, and general comments here.
And, remember, failure is not an option. Or is it?
Hi Scott,
What an exciting project and NASA could not be better positioned to play a powerful role in social entrepreneurship. As I see it there as two key elements that NASA can offer social change: insight and imagination.
Insight: Few facilities possess the experience, expertise, resources and goodwill of NASA to deep dive into a possibility. That is both a blessing and a responsibility. The expertise and technical savvy of its employee needs to be brought to bear on the first planet man stepped on – the Earth. That mission is not so different than the moon landing but, in their parlance, it’s now ‘mission critical’.
Imagination: What NASA did so well with the moon landing(s) was to marry possibility with execution. It’s time to do that again on an equally breathtaking scale directed towards the many pressing global crises facing our planet.
The world has many Think Tanks. We need NASA to be a Do Tank.
Scott,
Great job! I’m in full agreement with Simon. NASA’s biggest contribution to our home planet would be to to marry possibility with execution via insight and imagination and social entrepreneurship is a great practice into which to channel that force a great social entrepreneur once told me “To be a successful social entrepreneur one must have spent a great deal of time in the darkness [the problems and circumstances that create the social ill they aim to heal] and have sharp business acumen”
I think NASA would augment that with their keen observation and analytical thinking and with their innovative thinking, by necessity since everything is outer space is vastly unknown, coupled with their rigorous scientific discipline would be a great partner with practice of social entrepreneurship and it’s endless exploration of cultures, social and economic conditions where communities operate out of.
One specific way I can think NASA could be very helpful is in helping two powerful vehicles of change and innovation co create so profoundly systematic solutions to many of our problems.
The social entrepreneurship sector operates largely out of the following approaches:
1. Local solutions for local problems solved by the locals
2. Elevating the poor to solution creators via market inclusion
When the poor are elevated to the status of partners and co-creators an entire new realm of possibilities, perspectives, skill sets opens up.
Think about the concept of capitalism as a ‘pot luck dinner’ Traditionally it is an invite only pot luck that is not well advertised and even if you happen to stumble upon it you must know some one already inside the feast to give you an invitation. Social entrepreneurship makes this pot luck an open invitation and makes sure that the poor are welcomed as equal beneficiaries and contributors. The broader and more diverse the pot luck guest and the dishes they bring the better off we will all be and the greater the chance that game-changing innovations will come out through ‘combing the recipes’ of all the various economic and cultural classes.
The poor hold half, if not more of the answers to a great many of the world problems. If we combine our half of the answers, resources and networks with their half I am certain that the degree and depth of innovative solutions will vastly surpass any achievement that any Industry or Humanitarian efforts have been able to do for their sectors and humanity even when combined. This new economy will truly create a stronger and healthier society not by the redistribution of wealth in ‘IV drop dosages,’ but rather by expansion of opportunity, innovation and collaboration in a wide open flood gates approach.
So what if NASA could help create the platform where the top minds from every walk of life could come together and a la particle accelerator smash their different perspectives, approaches, educational and cultural backgrounds in a setting where the innovations that result from those collisions could be develop into scalable solutions to social, economic and environmental problems that have plagued the human race for thousands of years with it’s network, resources, expertise and technical savvy thus creating the first legitimate “Do Thank” or better yet holistic solutions tank!
I confess I have not thought of NASA and grass roots innovation as being in the same space. what level of control would a linear, cascade development process to produce a rocket on deadline with multiple redundancies organization that i understand nasa to be need to exercise up a creative process coming from the outside? i understand that my perception of nasa may be grossly innacurate and the conflict is purely in my own mind.
I’ll have to disagree with Martin on this one.
NASA is having budget & legitimacy issues right now – so they won’t be able to either create a new channel or conduct a search for cross-opportunities for the world. The organization needs something that they can do tomorrow, not a roadmap for the organization they could become. Any inspiring speech will hit a large dense wall.
The only way to really make an impact will be to find away they can leverage their capabilities today, without a budget increase and using the existing bureaucracy.
I don’t know the reason you got the gig (for whatever reason, congrats!) – but I would recommend focusing on the following:
- how SE’s go through the process of mapping a system in order to discover what to impact
- the current processes of design thinking (IDEO, D-REV, etc.) that help to identify usability cases
- cross-over problems between what NASA may have in terms of spinoffs and challenges in the developing world
On the last point, not just ‘water shortage’, but presenting a very specific design challenge, laying out what resources are available and the constraints. I would be so specific that someone in the audience could call you afterwards and say we solved that exact problem when we were tying to figure out how many band-aids we could send up on the shuttle. There has never been an engineering organization in the history of the world focused more on creating a minimum viable, fail proof products. Remember in designing aircraft, weight = costs and is often one of the biggest challenges.
If we follow Paul Pollack’s adage – reducing a product by 90% of its parts also reduces the cost significantly as well.
Good luck!
Simon and Martin:
Thanks for your first-to-market comments.
Kevin:
Fair question/statement – the main goal of the Innovation Lecture Series is to spur new thinking and doing inside NASA by showcasing what’s happening in other sectors and fields. This series is hosted by the Space and Life Science Directorate (http://slsd.jsc.nasa.gov/), which is responsible for the health of humans in space. We’re tackling some very big issues using very different approaches. There’s much they can learn from us. Here’s our chance to inject our DNA into the host.
Christopher:
System mapping and design thinking were definitely in my core thoughts. Your idea to focus their thinking on very specific needs is great – I’m more inclined to measure the success of any presentation on the actions taken because of it.
Scott:
What do you want them to know, feel, and do? Purpose.
As you know, NASA has a unique culture, lots of engineers (who think differently than the rest of us!) Data, data, data. Audience
NASA does a lot of education (outreach), environment (e.g., using digital imagery) , and health (research) related work. Economic development and human rights are not on their front burner.
How can NASA’s educational outreach develop human capital in the areas of social entrepreneurship, change leaders, intrapreneurs, and changemakers?
In what ways could they extend their partnerships related to imagery and mapping? How about the areas of peace, conflict, drug and human trafficking?
Best of luck on your talk; will their be a podcast coming?
Paul
Wow, Scott, sounds like a great opportunity. Since these folks are in charge of health and productivity, maybe highlighting some of the research or case studies that link doing good (participating in volunteer and service projects) to feeling better and being healthier. MSN covered this awhile ago here: http://bit.ly/d3ZsLC but there’s plenty of other literature out there.
After using it to connect to their mission, and addressing the market trends etc. , will their be time for them to ask questions?
What a great opportunity. Congratulations.
It seems to me that in an era of resource and budgetary constraints facing NASA these days, it may be that your focus should be on How to Think (and Act) like a Social Entrepreneur.
What are the key considerations that social entrepreneurs factor into their decision-making?
How do social entrepreneurs find efficient solutions to complex challenges?
What makes a social entrepreneur succeed against all odds?
How can they cultivate a culture of social entrepreneurship in their existing culture of engineering efficiency?
How can they cultivate the social entrepreneur within the individuals on their teams, across departments, and throughout the organization?
I tried to encapsulate three ideas/bullets that could be added to a presentation.
Ask, Don’t Tell.
Create channels that ask the world what it wants from NASA. Offer input devices (widgets?) to shepherd these ideas from the grassroots into the organization. NASA should be inviting wonder and inquisition, fostering paths that generate more intrigue.
Roll the Pyramid.
NASA could test new organizational/project structures based on “ideators,” “conduits” and “producers” versus managers and tasks. By rolling the pyramid there is no fixed top, allowing more of the team to see ideas from different angles. More innovative sparks can be born; ideators become conduits, and then producers, repeat.
Mine the Data, Open It Up.
NASA is sitting on a pile of stuff. What else can that stuff do? What if this stuff could be given to the public to mash-up into new things? What new open-source stuff can be built? Invite the audience into the data.
Thanks Scott! Break a leg!
“How can they cultivate a culture of social entrepreneurship in their existing culture of engineering efficiency?”
Nasa has over 300,000 employees according to their website (including contractors and government employees). Are they using recyclable cutlery and reusable dining items (like http://www.to-goware.com)? Does NASA provide a meal plan for these employees, and if they do…are they purchasing fair trade foods (like AlterEco-usa.com)?
YES, it may seem silly to bring up these indirect concerns…but IMAGINE the reduction in their carbon foot print if they made these simple changes…it would be huge–300,000 people making a change in the way they approach dining. It might not be entrepreneurship, but it sure is social INTRApreneurship.
Would love to know the answers to these Qs.
@BigRyanPark (Twitter)
Agreed with @BigRyanPark.
What a great opportunity for socially-minded companies. There are numerous socially-minded companies, many still in their entrepreneurial phases, with unique and innovative products geared at reducing our carbon foot print on this Earth.
If NASA is truly looking to incorporate eco-friendly products and lifestyles into their organization of 300,000+ employees, they should not reinvent the wheel. They should support companies like ToGo Ware and AlterEco USA, who are leaders in the this industry. Who knows, by NASA supporting socially-minded for-profit companies, they may inadvertently be advocating for a more responsible economy.
I think what NASA can take from social entrepreneurs has to do with re-thinking goals and tactics.
Social entrepreneurs have broad-scope, abstract goals. Creating social change is abstract whereas NASAs goals are probably more concrete. SEs can teach NASA how to define success parameters for abstract goals.
SEs goals drive their tactics. Typically SEs have to function without a large bureaucracy and so tactically they try to achieve results they can communicate to stakeholders quickly. Defining areas where NASA can execute quick wins could be fruitful.
Finally, my friend Chris mentioned that NASA has huge stores of interesting content, but that SEs probably have better methods for distributing content quickly. With tight budgets in mind, SEs might help NASA re-think how to leverage existing content through more effective channels. Why hasn’t NASA come up with a viral video yet?
Tried to do this quickly, I hope that helps. Let me know if I can help in any other way.
Thanks, everyone, for the great comments streaming in here. Keep the ideas coming on what makes a social entrepreneur tick and how they can weave these perspective into their culture.
Slightly different POV here, and at the risk of being too broad, I think one of NASA’s main goals is here on Earth, not space:
Why NASA matters.
A viral can be done for a fraction of what they probably pay for a calculator. It might make NASA appear fun, sure, but that’s but one tactic.
Engineers like problems and challenges, and we haven’t really challenged them the way the country did when we told them to put a man on the moon.
Now, we have too much apathy from the outside. The only time we seem to care about NASA now is when something bad happens.
That’s not what they were supposed to be about.
Maybe the new challenge is for each employee to look within themselves and tell people beyond their inner circle why NASA matters.
Thanks for pointing me to this effort Scott. Great reading all the responses above and loving the optimism to bring change to an organizations considered the epitome of scientific study and exploration.
One of the tools I’ve been trying recently, to good effect in inspiring board room types, is the golden circles approach to defining organizational culture and purpose. You may have seen it in this TED talk http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html.
Social entrepreneurs, I believe, use this approach to problem solving in collaboration with those inspired by a similar higher purpose.
This model creates room for everyone in an organization to play a meaningful role without innovation and entrepreneurial spirit being sidelined to an elite few, perhaps an issue faced by NASA.
Good luck on your session. Just a few more days to go! I’ll be eagerly waiting to hear how it goes.
Scott – How did the presentation go? Will there be a second round of questions you’ll be asking us to help you with?
I’m sorry I missed the initial push and request, but I do have a few thoughts to share that might help with another iteration.
For NASA, how do they turn a big ship around? How do they cut back on spending and become green without spending so much money on the effort that it seems cumbersome for them? Hopefully a big first step is bringing you on board.
One thread mentioned above is sharing content from NASA. I think they should focus on stories and not just their content of space. I want to know more about the people that work there, and not only the ones that go to space. How do we make their big box seem…personable?
The process of becoming green is an opportunity to tell a story, to share in the triumphs but also the hardships. If they can show they’re not perfect, but trying given all-things-constant, they’ll seem real and we like that. We like when people try but aren’t perfect.
Thank you to everyone who helped shape and inform my presentation! You can find it here:
http://rallythecause.com/2010/07/29/meaning-shapes-the-mission-what-i-shared-with-nasa-about-social-entrepreneurs/