Epic question for humanity but I would phrase the question as, "how do I do something with meaningful [impact]?"
Currently I think of meaningful impact as:
-The depth of behavioral change you create in an individuals' lifetime
-The breadth and scale of behavioral interactions created
eg you use Instagram for 1min/day for a month with 100 friends vs a computer for 12hrs/day for life with millions of people (note: I'm not saying one is more or less meaningful than the other; small/simple interactions can turn into something big)
Secondly, I find it difficult to do something "meaningful" without a clear purpose or intention to create impact...(while admitting that at the early stages, visions are often opaque and intentions change)
How entrepreneurs respond to "how are you creating meaningful impact?" helps me decide which startups to invest in...wish I could write more but need to go back to DOing...
Others say:
"Impact is a change in the state of the world brought about by an intervention. Itβs the final result of behaviors (outcomes) that are generated by activities (outputs) that are driven by resources (inputs)." -Kevin Starr, Mulago Foundation
Notes:
-Know your mission (in 8 words using verb, target, & outcome) ex. save pre-mature babies in poor countries http://embraceglobal.org/
-Measure the right thing (the single best indicator)
-Measure it well (the right baseline & interval + show that it was you eg tight story, matched control, randomized controls)
A little algorithm to think about the impact you're creating: Is it needed? Does it work? Will it get to those who need it? Will they use it right?
Other points of view:
-"A change in purpose changes a system profoundly, even if every element and interconnection remains the same." Donella Meadows http://thinkinginsystems.org/
Before you can make something meaningful, you must immerse yourself in problems, either yours or someone else's. You need to learn what the ailments are, then find a cure. It's easy to see when someone is simply targeting a market they think is ripe for exploiting, and are not really immersed in solving problems.
Reminds me of a ME310 project we did at Stanford. Problem statement was so vague but it was around disabilities and keeping people active in the winter. What was my first reaction? Step into a wheelchair and spend the next 4 days in it completely playing the role. 100% immersion! Then made a list of every possible experience i could go through in this situation and did as many as i possibly could. Now that is immersion my friends and it was key to our team really understanding the problems and building rapport with some of our users. I have to say it was also a magical, eye opening experience.
Totally agree, immersion (plus interviews & observation) is often essential to discovering insights, especially for changing behaviors and solving latent needs.
I've learned first hand immersing myself in communities like East Palo Alto with http://muralmusicarts.org and in nations like Myanmar, South Africa & the White Mountain Apache tribe with http://extreme.stanford.edu.
Currently I think of meaningful impact as:
-The depth of behavioral change you create in an individuals' lifetime
-The breadth and scale of behavioral interactions created eg you use Instagram for 1min/day for a month with 100 friends vs a computer for 12hrs/day for life with millions of people (note: I'm not saying one is more or less meaningful than the other; small/simple interactions can turn into something big)
Secondly, I find it difficult to do something "meaningful" without a clear purpose or intention to create impact...(while admitting that at the early stages, visions are often opaque and intentions change)
How entrepreneurs respond to "how are you creating meaningful impact?" helps me decide which startups to invest in...wish I could write more but need to go back to DOing...
Others say: "Impact is a change in the state of the world brought about by an intervention. Itβs the final result of behaviors (outcomes) that are generated by activities (outputs) that are driven by resources (inputs)." -Kevin Starr, Mulago Foundation
Notes: -Know your mission (in 8 words using verb, target, & outcome) ex. save pre-mature babies in poor countries http://embraceglobal.org/
-Measure the right thing (the single best indicator)
-Measure it well (the right baseline & interval + show that it was you eg tight story, matched control, randomized controls)
A little algorithm to think about the impact you're creating: Is it needed? Does it work? Will it get to those who need it? Will they use it right?
Text: http://www.mulagofoundation.org/ideas/r/how-we-think-about-i...
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMEpvxGBkFU<br/>;
Slides: http://www.slideshare.net/aynne/design-for-real-impact-0610
Other points of view: -"A change in purpose changes a system profoundly, even if every element and interconnection remains the same." Donella Meadows http://thinkinginsystems.org/
-"Purpose first, then profit" as part of Umair Haque's New Capitalist Manifesto http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz2Zc9UJFUo
-"Large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, yet the social sector remains focused on the isolated intervention of individual organizations." http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/collective_impact/