Are Social Entrepreneurs Crazy?

In his piece in The Washington Post, NYU Wagner School of Business’s Paul Light asks the question “Are Social Entrepreneurs Crazy?” Light’s thought is lead by the fact that social entrepreneurs globally seem to be solving the problems that the world is tired of – poverty, hunger, inequality and disease. Given the scale of the problems they are trying to solve, labeling them ‘crazy’ does not appear to be inappropriate.

The notion also stems from the fact that these entrepreneurs are few and far between – perhaps as low as one in every 10 million he says. Light cites John Hopkins’ University Professor John D. Garter who points to the term “hypomania” with reference to business entrepreneurship. Those with “hypomania,” Garter suggests are “brimming with infectious energy, irrational confidence, and really big ideas. They think, talk, move, and make decisions quickly…. Hypomanics are not crazy, but ‘normal’ is not the first word that comes to mind when describing them.”

This notion however is not new. Light points to how Bill Drayton of Ashoka, set out more than 30 years ago to look for entrepreneurs who were possessed with an idea. The difference in practical terms is that being possessed isn’t necessarily being hypomanic. It is more akin to intense “purpose rooted in the belief that the world must change.”

Light’s article goes on to describe this purpose through examples of various enterprises. Read the entire article here.