Read Dr. Yunus' recent book online!

Oh happy day!

Dr. Yunus' book is online and searchable at Google Books Beta

direct link here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=p_o1sQKssuUC

Don't just do something! Sit there!*

*quote from a Zen funny guy...

In this post: action vs. talk, value of both, intention of ASGB, Social Action Forum

The ASBG was started because I wanted to talk with smart, interesting people about Yunus' work. I also kept meeting people that I felt like should meet each other and the group idea seemed to work for both scenarios - interesting discussion and connecting people.

When you get a group of energetic, passionate people in the same room talking about really Big Ideas, there is a natural desire to "do something". We had a series of discussions around what to "do" and its possible that some feel we are not doing enough.

I understand that.

What draws me to Yunus' work is that it is so practical in its applications - while others theorized about how to bring the bottom half (in terms of income) of the population into the economy, he has been doing it for 20 years via his work with microcredit. Now he's at it again, proposing an evolutionary change for capitalism as a whole.

All talk, ? action

Yunus' ideas about social business as a new dimension of capitalism are new to us and it makes sense that they would be discussed and debated prior to action. He has actually been talking about capitalism's next steps for several years - I saw him at a talk at the LBJ school in 2003, before he won the Nobel Prize, there were maybe 20 students in attendance. Later, he wrote his book, and it has spurred conversations all over the world.

Meeting and discussing Big Ideas creates an energy that has stand-alone value, whether the result is an immediately actionable project or not. I think the people that have attended our meetings would back me up on that.

In addition, there are some people in our group that are actively involved in social business experiments. Part of the reason I started the blog was to lift up their activities to the group and beyond.

For 2009, I'd like to explore creating a Social Action Forum and how we may create one or more of them here in Austin. More on that soon in an upcoming post.

My ongoing intention for the group is to facilitate a meeting space and if needed provide a framework for conversation, but not to "lead" the group per se. My personal intention is to practice enjoying the process and to not become attached to forcing an outcome that does not evolve naturally from the group's collective ideas.

Thanks to all of you for what you do!

Best,
Kala

Austin Social Biz Group: What is it??

Hello and welcome to the Austin Social Business Group Blog!

The Austin Social Business Group is a diverse group of people brought together by a curiosity about "What's Next?" for business’ role in social benefit.

The foundation of our interest lies in Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dr.Muhammad Yunus' ideas of social business as detailed in his book "Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism".

Dr. Yunus proposes that traditional definitions of Capitalism are too narrow. To view an individual (in the economic sense) as a being solely focused on profit maximizing ignores other aspects of our humanity: spirituality, emotion; national, community and cultural affiliations.

What is a Social Business?

Social business is a term used in many contexts and is often confused with social entrepreneurship. The two terms are related but are not synonymous. Social businesses are a for-profit subset of social entrepreneurship, as are innovative non-profits that provide a social benefit.

The ASBG adopts Dr. Yunus’ definition of Social Business to provide a common starting place for our discussions:

• Social businesses are for-profit companies that focus on providing social benefit rather than maximizing profit for their owners, and are owned by investors who seek social benefit and forgo monetary dividend in return for social dividends. The nature of the product or service creates social benefit.
  
  or
  

• Social businesses are also for-profit companies owned by poor or may or may not create direct social and build wealth in struggling
  disadvantaged people. Goods or services benefit but the companies create jobs communities.

Much of the ASBG discussions focus on social business funding in the United States as a work in progress, influenced by factors unique to our economy and culture.

Since its inception in the Fall of 2007, the ASBG has met monthly to discuss and create community around Social Business concepts. At a time when large companies are exploring ways to re-invent traditional ideas of corporate social responsibility, our interest focuses on how social investors and small business owners in Austin may influence society and become agents of positive social change in our community.

The interests and enthusiasm of ASBG members determines our activities. We provide an open platform for participation. We also provide encouragement and moral support to our members working on social business projects or considering ways to incorporate social business principles into their work.


The ASGB meets on the 4th Monday of each month, (in November and December the meeting date may change due to the holidays).


If you would like to join our group email list and receive notification of meetings, please email ASBG founder and facilitator Kala Philo, owner of Walkie Talkie Productions LLC, at
kalaphilo@gmail.com.