Thanks to the Centre for Social Impact and AGSM for a very interesting lecture on philanthropy by Daniel Petre. Although I initially thought the topic was “preaching to the converted”, I found his “call to action” – for each of us to find something we are passionate about – was very motivating. It got me reflecting that my volunteering and investment efforts so far have been a bit scatter gun. He also challenged us to “get rigorous” and “not to reward mediocrity” – there are lots of nice people in the community sector but they are not all doing great work.
It’s great to have a spokesperson like him for philanthropy and social impact – now we need 1000 more to get to the tipping point. I trust that having these sorts of subjects available to our upcoming MBA students will tip the balance for the future. But when I open the Fin Review and see “Me, first. The MBA re-imagined” from another university, I know it’s still going to be a hard slog.