Community Leadership Experience

2008 Workshop

Hyderabad, 11 September 2008

Keynote by Sivakumar, ITC Limited
Challenges outlined by the Participants
1. Attracting, training and retaining right quality of
human resources
• Including strong second line
2. Raising the required financial resources
• Sensitising Donors
3. Managing operations professionally
• Efficiently utilising human & financial resources
4. Engaging the Board effectively
5. Promoting leadership at the community level
6. Scaling up the Organisation
Themes Covered in Various Sessions

• Leadership
• Governance
• Strategy
• Financial Management
What should I cover in the Keynote?
 No problem can be solved
from the same level of consciousness
that created it
Einstein / Emmet Fox
 In that context,
let me leave two thoughts behind,
which are off-beat
The Two Thoughts

Create Wealth
(not rely entirely on grants)

Leverage Partnerships
(beyond grant makers)
 Creating Wealth
• Traditionally, most non-profits relied on resources
donated by people & institutions beyond their control

• More recently, some non-profits have tried to support

their mission by creating wealth themselves
– Many using the route of “Community Wealth”
• It comes not from gifts, grants, annual dinners,
auctions, and bake sales
• but from profitable enterprises and partnerships,
revenue sources similar to those of an ordinary
business but directed to social betterment rather
than shareholder value
 The Best Practice
• Community wealth building usually begins with a two-
part process
– First identify assets that you can use to raise revenue
– and then find opportunities to so use them
• Assets should be viewed broadly, both as “things
you have” and as “things you do.”
• Old-fashioned physical assets such as real estate,
buildings, and work space certainly make the list
• But so do intangible assets such as brands,
methodologies, expertise, access to markets,
distribution systems, and a particularly skilled or
inexpensive workforce
• Other ideas, such as a consulting service or a retail
business, lend themselves to direct business
ventures by nonprofits
A Template (by Bill Shore, McKinsey)
Non-profits and Businesses should be partners
• In the market economy that has historically “excluded”
several segments of the society, non-profits play the
critical role of “bridging the divides” and catalysing
“balanced development”
• In most instances where development succeeded,
business played the role of an engine, as business kick-
starts a virtuous economic cycle
– new enterprises are formed, new jobs are created,
new skills are gained, and incomes begin to rise
– Growth and productivity follow, spurring more
innovation and efficiency and generating the products
and services that people want and need
– In parallel, people gain opportunity, empowerment,
and dignity
 But, why don’t we partner enough?

• Because we fail to see the simple truth…

– that there is no hope for development without
business,
– and in the long term there is no hope for
business without development
• … says, Rajat Gupta of McKinsey
 Fundamental Mistakes by Businesses

• Obvious moral mistake of seeing profits but not

people

• And a management mistake, of investing only

where there is a short-term return
– failing to build long-term markets and long-
term opportunities, the crux of business
success
Fundamental Mistakes by Non-Profits

Your reflections please…

 In Sum

Partnerships for Better World

Thank You