Whether your goal is growth or impact – what matters most is focus

The readings this week presented contrasting opinions on whether social ventures should prioritize their mission or operational growth when trying to achieve scale. Each piece laid out a specific model for how organizations can best achieve scale, but most differed on the approach. Despite this divergence of opinion, one crucial factor played a central role in determining success: focus. Regardless of whether a social venture prioritizes mission or operational scale to achieve growth, they won’t be successful unless they have a clear definition of the problem they aim to solve, a specific solution, and a precise method for measuring success.

The conflict in approach is best exemplified by the Dasher Tripp and Simanis and Duke readings. In “It’s Not All About Growth For Social Enterprises” Kimberly Dasher Tripp urges that we look beyond operational growth metrics in evaluating the success of a venture and instead determine whether an organization has meaningfully advanced its mission (Tripp 2013). In contrast, Simanis and Duke argue that mission-obsessed organizations frequently miss opportunities to make a steady profit and magnify their impact with scale (Simanis and Duke 2014). Both are concerned ultimately with the long-term sustainability of social ventures, but differ on what the specific approach should be for achieving it.

Where these two approaches converge is on the importance of focus. The mission-oriented approach proposed by Dasher Tripp calls for investment in research and evaluation to prove the model (Tripp 2013). The growth-oriented approach suggests that steady profit is proof of the model in an of itself (Simanis and Duke 2014). Both rely on narrow, focused definitions of the problem, the proposed solution, and the evaluation metrics. Ultimately, focus allows social ventures to prove consistency and thus command more resources. Whether mission or operational growth is prioritized, scaled impact comes from financial sustainability wrought by focus.

Therefore, in projecting the potential success of a social venture, we need look no further than a clear definition of the problem its meant to solve and a laser focus on demonstrable impact. If being a successful social entrepreneur is about relentlessly pursuing new opportunities and innovating continuously, it must also be about having a clear vision that brings those opportunities and innovations into focus for funders and investors.