The OnP column: News, views & inspiration

David Puttergill, October 2014 Associate, shares this week’s highlights from the social enterprise scene, plus some insider news from the On Purpose programme.

Frugal economy

Nesta met with Jaideep Prabhu and Navi Radjou to talk about their new book “Frugal Innovation: How to Do More with Less”. They argue that it’s possible to deliver better services without expending more resources (energy, time, capital). The key to success in a squeezed economy will be the ability to switch your entire organisation to think frugally, not just act frugally. More on this in the HBR.

If rethinking resources sounds good to you, then how about some clothes made out of pineapple, banana or strawberry? Fruit salad has never been so stylish.

Santander Social Enterprise Development Awards

Santander launched its awards for up to £10k, available for social entrepreneurs in two categories: charities who are looking to increase their trading activity, and established social enterprises looking to scale their organisations.

Punchy press releases

An interesting article I stumbled on explains how to get your organisation noticed by journalists. Top tip — imagine you’re introducing your story on the news and make sure you’ve got a good end to the line “Coming up next…”.

What we learned last week

Giray Cordan presented a session to the October 2014 cohort on how system psychodynamic approaches can lead to better insights into our organisations.

Tom Rippin led an interesting session on performance management. The first rule of performance management: you ABSOLUTELY MUST talk about performance management. Conversations about how you are doing is often the missing link. (See also Michiel De Smet’s blog, here.)

And finally…

The April 2015 cohort met with their future placement hosts on Thursday for matching, the start of their On Purpose journey. Watch this space!