Let’s just acknowledge out loud that effecting transformational change is a lot more challenging than we might like it to be.
Who among you wouldn’t want to simply declare an end to systemic bigotry, hunger, homelessness, climate change, ecosystem collapse, human trafficking, etc.? We know from conversations with many of you that you are working diligently to tackle these and other deeply entrenched and complex issues.
And yet we also know from conversations with you and others that change makers everywhere are finding themselves thwarted by the same high, hard barrier: established practice.
Practice makes … permanent
You probably know the famous quote (misattributed to Einstein), “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Persisting in an established pattern while expecting a novel outcome may not be insanity, exactly, but it is inanity. It is ineffectual at best, and more often counterproductive and self-defeating.
Like you, we have encountered numerous well-intended, sophisticated people who sincerely wish for different outcomes, but who — incongruously — keep using the same well-trodden methods. Sometimes we’re those people ourselves.
As Rodney Foxworth pointed out so eloquently in his recent Medium post, that won’t cut it.
So while we’re making public acknowledgements, let’s include the admission that we all persist in our established habits and practices because those feel comfortable. We talk to the people we know. We use the selection criteria we have always used. We listen to the wrong influencers. We tell ourselves that we adhere to these practices because they are effective, prudent, and safe, even when the data say otherwise (see also here and here and here, just for a sampling).
Sound familiar?
Do you aim to effect change with your (personal or organizational) investments? Back people who are making change — whether as founders, fund or wealth managers, or in other roles. There are plenty out there (see this very short list, for example).
You might begin with highly visible figures in your chosen impact arena; they are surrounded by many others who are less well known, and who are doing the work of truly disruptive, transformative change. Take note: many innovative change makers won’t have conventional qualifications (demonstrated track record, etc.) that fit with long-established evaluation criteria.
This is where you can make real change, by choosing to back someone who is not one of the usual suspects. You don’t have to make a wholesale shift in all of your investment decisions — start with one!
If you need some suggestions, we’ll be delighted to help. If you are operating within an organization, you can also engage and learn with and from your peers through groups like Mission Investors Exchange, TBLI, WISE, BASIC, Criterion Institute, Wharton Social Impact Initiative, and others.
Don’t have capital to invest? Take up Frances McDormand’s challenge and institute an inclusion rider (or the equivalent) in your organization. Apply the Rooney Rule. Recruit from HBCUs and through LaborX, Code2040, Cultivate Coders, etc. Mentor or partner with Rise of the Rest, DigitalUndivided, Immigrant Learning Center, Black & Brown Founders, Latina Circle, your local Impact Hub, BlackGirlsCode, GirlsWhoCode, or others.
Repeat as needed.
Long-held habits, particularly thought habits, can be really hard to break. So here are some new mantras you might find helpful to repeat every time you find yourself reverting to change-resistant thought patterns:
There is no shortage of good deals, or diverse talent.
We do not have a pipeline problem. We have a network problem.
Decades of established practice anchor us to the same old outcomes. It’s time for change.
If you can change your network or your practice even a little bit, you will open new opportunities for the meaningful change you are working so hard to achieve.
Don’t waste any more time perpetuating the same old same old. Break the barrier. Be brave!
Be the change.
For our part, Reinventure Capital is raising a fund to invest equity and debt capital in expansion stage (breakeven or so) companies led by women and people of color, across the US.
We see an incredibly vibrant and robust deal flow, representing phenomenal economic, social, environmental, and technological change potential. We know from prior experience and from daily encounters that these overlooked founders represent tremendous untapped capacity to achieve higher value outcomes for all involved.*
Please join us.
*While there’s no such thing as a guarantee in investing and no one can reliably predict the future, Ed’s prior track record provides direct evidence that it is indeed possible to consistently invest for both financial returns and social value creation. To learn more, please contact us.