Transitions. Reflections from (what I hope is) a Social Impact Thoughtful Mentor. Part XI

My purpose is to support people and organizations through transitions, especially as they seek to do good, better. Please reach out if you need support in these areas.

Photo explanation. Many years ago I attended an event with a group of people who were seeking to establish a Solutions Lab at MaRS. It was innovative, hard, but fulfilling work. At dinner one night, one of my colleagues shared the comments she had collected from the members of our team on each other by answering the question: what I love about X is ...

She put it in a small red envelope (see cover photo) and encouraged us to carry it with us for "those days". Well I just found mine after many years and it had the intended impact. It made me feel better about myself - I especially love this comment: "every conversation I have had with Allyson has left me feeling better". #PurposeFulfilled

Have you ever done something like that? Do you collect testimonials, especially unsolicited ones? Don't take them for granted. Set up a file and put them in it as I can guarantee you will need them one day, and they will undoubtedly make you feel better. Even if you don't necessarily see yourself that way, it's a big pick me to feel that others see you they take the time to communicate your impact on them.

Thanks Claire Buré Jerry Koh and everyone else MaRS Discovery District Social Innovation Generation (SiG) and Solutions Lab for your tireless dedication "to help innovators create a better world". What a joy to work with all of you.

#1. Social Impact Job. Chief Executive Officer & President. Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario . LDAO is seeking a leader who will be responsible for all administrative and operational functions of LDAO and providing support to its 12 Ontario chapters. The work is based in the GTA, is hybrid and offers a salary of between $110k and $125K.

#2. Nudge Science: removing obstacles and making it easier for a desired change to emerge . Ben Weinlick is someone I have travelled in the same circles with for some time but we don't really know each other, however, I've always been a fan. Ben's latest article, which you can find in the link in the title, offers wonderful insights into his thinking. He even offers his own TLDNR summary, outlined below, but do yourself a favour, grab a few minutes to read it all. It is is worth it!

• Humans have not innovated much around change making throughout history. For most of our time we have only used Threats, Incentives and Arguments to try to make change.
• Nudge Science is an innovation in change making and is about removing behavioural obstacles and making it easier for a desired change to come about.
• We need to deal with our biases that in some complex social change spaces we don’t like the idea of making change easier for some people and systems because it doesn’t feel fair. Be careful if inherent in the change you want to bring about, you have a self-righteousness bias that does not want to make a change easier for some. Why is that?
• There is a dark side to Nudge science when bad actors take advantage of blind spots in our brains. This is happening more through digital platforms now and lots of policy and tech regulation is likely needed
• Nudge science for good requires transparency, consent, and should be about making it easier for a collective good to emerge.
• MyCompass Planning is a case study in creatively applying nudge science to social service redesign.
• Seek creative collisions in unexpected places and domains if you want innovative ideas to emerge.

Ben Weinlick Chris Jarvis

#3. Innovation Economy Event - Elevate Festival. "Founded in 2017 as a Canadian non-profit organization, Elevate is known for producing Canada’s most influential tech and innovation event. From its inception, Elevate Festival has been the conduit for bringing together iconic tech leaders, emerging startups, global investors, policymakers, and international media to shine a spotlight on Canadian innovation. Hosted in Toronto, Elevate Festival is where important dialogue and connections take place to help shape the future of the Canadian innovation economy". Order your Early Bird tickets here prior to July 31, 2024. And congratulations to Lisa Zarzeczny for her leadership in making Elevate Festival such a home-grown success!