The #1 Key to Systems Change

This was an important week for the Passion Struck podcast. Not only did we release episode 100, but we were also fortunate to have Jeffrey C. Walker as a guest on the podcast to discuss the importance of systems change. A topic I also covered in my solo episode today on why I founded Passion Struck.

For those who are unfamiliar with Jeff, he is currently the Chairman of New Profit. This venture philanthropy organization backs breakthrough social entrepreneurs advancing equity and opportunity in America. He is also a partner at Bridge Builders Collaborative, the former Vice Chairman of JPMorganChase, and former Vice Chairman of the United Nations Secretary General's Envoy for Health Finance and Malaria. Jeff has been on more nonprofit boards than I can possibly list and has taught at the Kennedy School at Harvard, but systems change has been at the core of all his work and finding ways to end human suffering throughout the world.

The Difference Between a Social Entrepreneur and a Systems Entrepreneur

During the interview, I asked Jeff what the difference was between a social entrepreneur and a systems entrepreneur and what he sees as the most important thing to bringing about systems change.

He explains, "Juliet Battilana, a professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, wrote a nice piece in?Stanford Social Innovation Review. She believes that you need three different types of groups or parties for systematic change. We need innovators, and we have a lot of those. Those are great NGOs and nonprofits that are creating these new ideas. You need disruptors who can bring together people who want to change the system and thoughts. So throw a little sand in the system so that the system says I gotta change. And then you need these orchestrators, the system entrepreneurs that actually can look at things and say, "How do I do a market map to show who cares about the same problem? What influences are out there? What how do I measure change?"

We in schools and philanthropies have been funding many social entrepreneurs and creating Teach for America and KIPP schools. And those are awesome. But there are fewer of these catalysts. Orchestrators are trained to have a managed ego to understand how to bring together people. And so,?Ellen Agler, the CEO at the END fund, has pulled together all the different stakeholders in five neglected diseases across Africa for the last fifteen years. And she's been hugely influential in setting up country-focused activities. She's unified the Gates Foundation, the Global Fund, local foundations, and others, But also found local philanthropists and local government leaders that can do the work.

We don't need everyone to be a systems entrepreneur. But, if I were a philanthropist, and focused on a particular problem, one of the first things I would do is try to find some individuals like Ellen Agler, who can be that catalyst. Who can help us understand all the different opportunities that we have to leverage our resources in our network, rather than me trying to figure out by myself?"

The Systems Change Behind Passion Struck

In my solo episode this week, I used the 100th episode to do a deep dive into?why I founded Passion Struck?and the master plan for the company.

I believe there is a groundswell of people worldwide seeking higher wisdom and purpose in their lives. They are rich and poor, progressive and conservative, young and old. They share a deep concern about the direction in which society is headed, the assaults on our attention caused by the digital age, the rise of materialism, and the erosion of our human values.?

The solution is to curate and facilitate a new breed of company that addresses these alarming trends by teaching people HOW to be their authentic selves and live their lives intentionally. We want to help people restore faith in humanity, humanism, and attain self-realization. We desperately need fundamental systems change in our value systems, human connections, and ourselves if we are going to transform and save our planet.?

Given my background in scaling large organizations, I saw the need to build a company whose focus is to create?systems change?at scale. It is an aspirational brand that makes people see the world the way it could be, not how it is.

You can read the entire master plan here, or listen to it on iTunes.

Next Week's Guest: Claude Silver, the Chief Heart Officer of VaynerX

Next week, we are fortunate to have another fantastic guest,?Claude Silver. Her role as the Chief Heart Officer (CHO) was created to scale?Gary Vaynerchuk?and to make sure that VaynerX and VaynerMedia's 1200+ employees have a place they can find a home. We talk about this role, what it is like to work for Gary Vee, what it means to have heartfelt leadership. Claude unpacks emotional optimism and why it has become her passion in life.

In the weeks following Claude, we have incredible guests, including:

• Jen Bricker-Bauer
• Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet (USN, Ret.)
• Astronaut Nicole Scott
• Oluneye (Osinowo) Oluwole
• Kate Schutt

Thank you for all your support of Passion Struck and for helping the Passion Struck podcast become one of the top 0.1% most popular podcasts globally. A special thank you to our sponsors: Athletic Greens, BetterHelp, ISSUU, ShipStation, Ten Thousand, Talkspace, and Nutrafol for supporting the show and making it zero cost for our listeners.