The Social Entrepreneur

That question must have echoed around many public sector organisations in London’s East End soon after this young Yorkshireman arrived in Bromley-by-Bow.

Bureaucrats rarely welcome being challenged, especially by a church minister. Yet challenge he did, with more than a little success.

As his recent book ‘The Social Entrepreneur’ amply illustrates, Andrew Mawson became so adept at challenging the system that he was eventually invited to help reform it.

He made the unusual journey from protester to peer, picking up numerous public accolades along the way.

When you meet the man, or indeed read his book, you instantly form the impression that although he enjoys the recognition, he did not set out to achieve it.

He’s more interested in what he can achieve as a life Peer and now an author, than in any glory that might accompany the role. But don’t just take my word for it; please read the book and find out for yourself!

In ‘The Social Entrepreneur’, Andrew Mawson tells his story.

It’s about how he simply invested his church’s limited resources to giving local people opportunities to develop and deliver local services.

He didn’t have money to give away, so instead gave them access to his large church buildings, along with liberal doses of encouragement.

Later, once proven bids were made to public bodies and the rest, as they say is history.

The largest of these projects was a new health centre. Mawson’s battle for this led to a Ministerial visit that led to local Health chiefs being told to ‘give him the money.’

Fortunately for both Mawson and the Minister his Health Centre flourished, becoming a model that other communities sought to emulate.

So what are the lessons I take from this man’s story and his book? Here are my top ten:

Vive l’enfant terrible – In other words, you don’t change anything by being compliant and toeing the line. The best social entrepreneurs are those that challenge, provoke and at times, lob their toys out of the pram. You also need to know when you’ve moved the system as far as it’s likely to go, change tack and become supportive and positive.
Start where your audience is – because even though you might see things differently, they won’t see it in the same way. To change someone’s world you need to see it through their eyes, not yours.
Don’t ask impossible questions – People don’t always know what they don’t know. They will always ask for things to be easier, but you might know more than they do about what is possible. Or to put it another way, if you ask a silly question you’ll probably get a silly answer.
Know your customer – In the world of social enterprise there can be several customers. Statutory funders, service users, collaborators and more. Focus on the ones you can’t do without and recognise that you can’t please all the people all of the time.
Councils change the rules – public sector funders have their own agendas. Do not become over-reliant on them. Elections, funding crises, budget shortfalls are all outside your control. Don’t depend on what you have no influence over.
You’re only as good as the coffee you serve – Nice coffee in decent cups says a lot about the aspiration of your organisation. Crap coffee in a plastic cup or chipped mug does you no favours. Equally, there’s no reason why people living in a deprived community should be content with second best. Give them the best; they deserve it.
No doesn’t always mean no – Most people go through life seeking out the easiest path. You as a social entrepreneur are different; you relish challenge and change. Take no to mean ‘I’m not convinced.’ Do what young kids do; answer no with why!
Someone’s got to lead – It’s good to be inclusive but committee decisions are not always the best. Sometimes you need to push to get your way and accept a little buffeting in the process. Remember that the London’s Millennium Dome was the product of a committee and the Millennium Wheel on the South Bank the result of a hard nosed, more autocratic commercial decision. Which turned out best?
Do detail – The biggest project can fail, and many do, because no one has paid attention to the detail. Detail is boring, but neglect it at your peril.
Actions speak louder than words – Don’t spend all your time trying to change policy. Go out and change the practice. Just do what your instinct tells you needs to be done and then when you’ve succeeded, the policymakers will be there to ask you how you did it.

All in all there’s nothing revolutionary or different about anything Andrew Mawson says or writes. What sets him apart from the majority is that he got off his sofa and actually did things. Settle on your sofa with a copy of ‘The Social Entrepreneur’ and see how it moves you to go out and make things happen!

‘The Social Entrepreneur’ by Andrew Mawson is published by Grove Atlantic and costs £9.99.

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