For the past six months, I’ve been working as External Relations Co-Chair on the Social Enterprise Conference (SECON). Presented by students of Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government, SECON brings together over 1500 students and practitioners from across the globe for a weekend of social enterprise. This year was the 15th Anniversary, themed “Reflecting on the Past, Shaping the Future.” In honor of this weekend’s conference, I’ve decided to do some reflecting. Here is what I’ve learned:
- People care about social enterprise: Organizations from a variety of industries and sectors have become more conscious of their impact on the globe. This, in practice, is not limited to CSR, but also expands to strategy and mission as reflected by conference participants and speakers (from Kiva, Patagonia, and more).
- Raising money is hard: No surprises there, but for the conference, it really involved connecting the mission to the right individual/ organization. Yes, we did hear a lot of “No” but that made the “Yes” sound even sweeter.
- Managing is not necessarily easier: As External Relations Co-Chair, I managed the External team which included Sponsorship, Marketing, Press, and Career Fair. This called for driving the direction of our initiatives and often taking a hands on role when directors needed help. Outside of that work stream, I helped manage the 29-person leadership team with my co-chair board of 7. This involved meetings, phone calls, Google Hangouts, you name it! The project was a MAJOR endeavor. I learned a lot about management style, negotiations, and how to overcome challenges.
I am very proud of what the SECON team has created over the past few months. We took on the challenge of making the conference an active experience— breathing new life into the typical model of panels and workshops. I have met several entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs who have inspired me. I have high hopes going forward: for the conference, Memunatu, and social enterprise in taking on the world’s most challenging problems.
-MK
