The "big" ripple effect

I live on an island and have 2 young kids. Thankfully, going to the beach is a regular part of our lives. Recently, my 5 year-old son and I were at the water's edge, enjoying a gorgeous Northwest summer day. He was throwing rocks into the water, watching the ripples as they went out from the place where the rock entered the water into ever-increasing concentric circles. After a while, he said "look Mama, the more you throw in, the bigger the circles." I assumed he was talking about the ripples that go out from throwing one rock into the water. He wasn't - he was focused on the bigger picture - he had noticed that with each rock he threw in, the individual circles joined up to create a bigger set of circles that just kept getting stronger. The more rocks he threw in, the bigger the "big" ripple effect got.

I realized that is exactly how I believe social enterprise and social entrepreneurship add up to big change in the world. There are an ever-increasing number of social entrepreneurs out there in all sectors. Each one, working hard to create a ripple effect in the area of the world they are focused on. All of these efforts combine to make powerful change in our society as a whole. More and more consumers are thinking about the choices they make about how to spend their money. More and more Americans are getting engaged and re-engaged in the political process. More and more businesses are realizing that they must take societal and environmental impacts into consideration. More and more social sector organizations are applying enterprise-based concepts to strengthen their mission-based activities. I see every social entrepreneur and social enterprise as another, important rock thrown into the water of our world that, together, are making an important big ripple effect that is being felt by us all.