Houston Monthly
Social Entrepreneurs Turn Business Sense to Good
As charitable giving dries up, new kinds of leaders are taking on the world’s problems, using the for-profit world as a model.
This departure from business as usual in the nonprofit realm is part of a major shift in the way people are taking on the world’s social problems. In developing nations and parts of the U.S., governments have failed to make substantial progress against poverty, disease, and illiteracy. Traditional charities and social service agencies often provide Band-Aids for problems instead of long-term solutions. Now a new breed of do-gooder — the social entrepreneur — is trying fresh approaches. While the term is used in many different ways, there’s a narrow definition that gets to the heart of what makes these people stand out: Rather than depending solely on handouts from philanthropists, social entrepreneurs generate some of their own revenues and use business techniques to address social goals. We hope to shed some light on four special individuals in this year’s inaugural special edition of Heroes Among Us. One is from a foreign land; one nationally and internationally recognized; one local that guides youth and another local with national ties that brings inner-city youth together with brilliance.
Honda in driver’s seat as Detroit 3 skid
— words by greg burns
Hundreds of newly hired auto workers stood by in immaculate white jumpsuits and green baseball caps. The governor of Indiana and the Japanese chief executive of Honda Motor Co. shared a stage lit up like a nightclub.
Then a Hoosier-made Civic rolled off the assembly line to mighty applause.
Less than three weeks ago, while the Detroit Three were begging a skeptical Congress for financial relief, Honda unveiled a new assembly plant in Greensburg, Ind. Anybody wondering who stands to gain from terrible conditions in the U.S. auto industry need only visit the small town near Indianapolis.
At the end of November, the domestic automakers continued their pleading for a government rescue, promising greater fuel efficiency and reduced production costs. Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli pledged to manufacture “fuel-efficient cars and trucks that people want to buy.”
