Week one: Social Innovation

 This is the first time I have ever created a blog post. I found an old blog I did with my wife and my in-laws many, many years ago. 


    This week we talked introduced Social innovation and what it means. Initially, I thought it was about being more outgoing and more social. I am glad there were a lot of videos because I like to watch those short videos and they encapsulate the information so clearly. There is a book for the class called How to Change the World. As soon as I saw that it was required on Saturday before class officially begun, I searched for it online. I found a paperback copy for about $6 online. After a little more for shipping, it was less than $10. I received it in the mail today so I am ready to dive into it. 

    I am really excited for this class and it is for selfish reasons. I am generally able to adapt, and I will try just about anything no matter how silly I look. However, I am not a creative person. I am pretty reserved and shy in nature. I could never draw or paint. I am not very good at any 'make believe' games with my kids either. I feel similar to anything entrepreneurial as well. I must not have the gumption or desire, but something in me lacks the ability to try and work or create on my own. I could never own my own business or start a company all on my own. 

    Social innovation is so prevalent today because social media exists. Someone can go to an organization that is in need of anything at all, and connect with dozens, hundreds, and thousands of people in a matter of a few clicks and a few hours. Information can be shared, opinions, good and bad, can be shared so quickly, even without trying, we can create movement. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week three: Reflection

  This week has been rough for me to keep up on the work with other activities going on in my work and family.  Something that I thought to myself when I reviewed this class is that it will really test my attention to detail. I have this unlucky skill of overlooking so many details and pushing past important pieces as unimportant. This week my attention hasn't been on class much and now I have to focus on details and it is catching up to me. It required so much reading and then detailed explanation and understanding from the reading.  Root cause analysis is so important in any project or task. Sometimes I find myself getting caught up in the root cause and not determining the cause and moving on to the solution. 
Read more

Week Two: Reflection

  This week was all about reflection. I do a lot of this. Maybe too much of it and not enough putting the rubber to the road. I reflect on what has been, what is and what could be, all the time. I think about so many why's. I wonder if they are excuses or if I am defending, or justifying, my actions to myself.  This week I started reading from How to Change the World. I read a really motivating story about how someone with an idea, some education and a desire to improve lives in rural areas made a career and changed the lifestyles of many people.  The parallels between the talk and social innovation are incredible. Add in a little from the reading this week and you have just about a perfect roadmap for life. The story in the book was about recognizing a need and being capable to fill it. The talk was all about recognizing your own personal needs and being able to fulfill them without having other influences do it for you. Social innovation is applying those skills and inf...
Read more

Week four: Reflection

Why is design thinking an important skill in social innovation? Design thinking demands that we not just think "outside the box" but rethink how we use the box. I have never been good at thinking outside the box, let alone rethinking the box. This class continues to stretch and force me to consider and think about actions I need to take in my life. There have been a number of times that I want to add to a conversation but don't because I feel like it won't add value. I don't believe that what I have to say would take away value, but I question if it is helpful. Often, these thoughts happen and move so slowly that as the conversation or topics move and change, by the time I want to proceed, the theme of the conversation has changed and my thoughts evolve.  The Ted Talk was very helpful and I plan to pursue some of those activities more to increase my creativity. I may have shared this here, I share it as often as I can, I try and add the word, 'yet', to my ...
Read more