From Boy Scout To Microcredit Pioneer - Five Skills For Changemakers - Virgin

10/16/2014
From Boy Scout to microcredit pioneer: five skills for changemakers - Virgin.com
From Boy Scout to microcredit

pioneer: five skills for
changemakers
By Ashoka
@ashoka
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Leadership and Advocacy
It is unlikely that the 15-year-old Mohammad Yunus, who visited North America on
a Boy Scout trip a half century ago, ever imagined returning 57 years later
to receive the United States Congressional Gold Medal.
He was awarded such an accolade earlier this year because hes had a profound
influence on the way the world does business. So what can we learn from him?
Here are five things that social entrepreneurs and changemakers can take from his
life and work
The importance of empathy:
Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings and perspectives of others, and to
use that understanding to guide ones actions. This skill is even more important in
our modern world where were exposed to so much new information, people and
places every day.
Yet, despite this, as Yunus found through his life we humans are the same more
than we are different. Empathy is key to making these human connections and
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finding powerful solutions to social challenges.
Embrace failure, stick to your guns:
Another universal quality among successful social entrepreneurs is to dare to

dream differently.
In a recent New York Times interview, Yunus states that despite having being
unsure if his work would make him successful or not, he was never afraid of failure.
I jumped at what I felt was right, he said. And the whole world was telling me that
it wont work. Its a utopian idea; it wont survive long. But I didnt listen to them. I
listened to myself. That I think is very important. And I stayed on my course.
Connect with where you are:
A deep understanding of a particular place or culture gives a social entrepreneur

an almost spiritual association to their work.
Yunus spent his early childhood in the village of one of the poorest nations in the
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world, but always remained loyal and rooted in his concern for the Bangladeshi
people.
For example, during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1972, he founded a citizens
committee, ran the Bangladesh Information Center, and published the Bangladesh
Newsletter alongside his role as assistant professor of economics at the Middle
Tennessee State University.
Think big:
Bill Drayton (Founder and CEO of Ashoka) famously said, Social Entrepreneurs are
not content to teach a man to fish.
They will not rest until they have revolutionised the fishing industry. Yunus desire
to alleviate poverty was and is on a structural level, through the development of
microcredit and microfinance. Poverty is not created by poor people; it is created
by failure of institutions. He convinced local banks to make loans to underserved
populations a systemic shake-up which could have a transformative impact on a
poor persons life. The Grameen Bank [LINK] he founded has now gone on to work
in areas from agriculture to communications.
Step up to leadership:
Perhaps this is an obvious point, but what makes Yunus a truly exceptional social
entrepreneur is that he is a true leadera master craftsman whose work shifts
mindsets about the global fight against poverty. Not only has he carved out a path
for social business, but he offers guidance to those hoping to follow in his
footsteps. He is able to help us vision a positive future and help us find a path to
get there.
- Muhammad Yunus is an Ashoka Global Academy member.

- Thumnail image from One Young World facebook page.
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What other skills or beliefs do you think are important for social
entrepreneurs?
Tags
entrepreneur, ashoka, business tips & advice, business videos.
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Muntasir Rashid Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 247 followers

When we 160 million Bangladeshi people are grateful to Dr Yunus and proud of him, current
illegal govt. of Bangladesh is trying to destroy Grameen Bank by forcing it into adopting a new
shareholder rule. They have forcefully removed Dr Yunus from the management post and
disgracing him frequently. You might want to cover that part in your next article and put some
light on this issue. It will help grow awareness and save Grameen Bank as well as millions of
poor people whose only option is micro credit.
Reply Like
4 18 November 2013 at 12:47
Surjasikha Ganguli Works at Dean

I don't have anything more to add to the skill set of the social entrepreneur just want to share this
information, that is minimal I can do. To me the must skill is learn from your failures and never
give up as there will be obstructions from all sides.
Reply Like 18 November 2013 at 09:35
Beth J Boeing Licensed Realtor Broker at Beth Boeing Realtor Broker
Excellent...Yunus' award and the importance of empathy in social entrepreneurship!!
Beth J Boeing Licensed Realtor Broker at Beth Boeing Realtor Broker
Outstanding interview clip embedded in this! ;-)
Moitree Rahman
Correction: The Liberation War was held in 1971 in Bangladesh, not in 1972.
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10/16/2014

From Boy Scout to microcredit

Leadership and Advocacy

The importance of empathy:

finding powerful solutions to social challenges.

Embrace failure, stick to your guns:

Another universal quality among successful social entrepreneurs is to dare to

Connect with where you are:

A deep understanding of a particular place or culture gives a social entrepreneur

- Muhammad Yunus is an Ashoka Global Academy member.

Muntasir Rashid Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) 247 followers

4 18 November 2013 at 12:47

Surjasikha Ganguli Works at Dean

Get personalised content

Back to School: 5 new ways to

Do values and ethics limit the

How to escape the corporate world

The future of social

Tips from a serial social

The worlds first empathy museum

Mandela's birthday: what will you

LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY

Sustainable Listening: Food is life

The Virgin Pledge on sea

LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY

Ebola: delivering hope to West

Film: Keeping the whole world

LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY

How to stop the worlds poachers

some of these little packets of information on your browser

you can manage them in your browser settings.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT COOKIES

2014 virgin.com. All Rights Reserved.

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