Walking up the dusty cement stairs under construction to get to the shared conference table where I work is no longer unusual. Ironically, the deafening sound of the diesel generator signifies the start of the work day at the clean energy company. Unlike at Acumen, there are no required Friday reflections or fellows around to discuss and capture what I have learnt this week. Yet, today I felt compelled to pause.
As glamorous, sexy and exciting as social entrepreneurship sounds in a business school classroom – the reality is far from it. The entrepreneur must have the patience to repeat himself and drive the very basics from the top down. He must have the flexibility and willingness to explain how to hide a row in excel, how to integrate the MIS system into every department all while being cognizant of paying for diesel for the generator downstairs, to buy an additional hour of electricity for the ongoing meeting. It's not glamorous, definitely not sexy and going through mundane yet critical operational details is far from exciting.
Yet, it is that flexibility and that willingness that actually changes the status quo. Change ...despite the odds, the naysayers and the never ending challenges.
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