YakShaving

Dr. Mohammed Yunus collected his Nobel Peace Prize speech the other night in Oslo. Yunus has been my hero since I read his book in college and learned about Grameen, but I didn’t realize how remarkable of a speaker he is.

The text of his speech is available here.

Tidbits that I found particularly interesting:

First of all, Yunus is a natural servant leader. He accepted the Nobel on behalf of Grameen, instead of for himself. "By giving their institution the most prestigious prize in the world, you give them unparalleled honour… This years’ prize gives highest honour and dignity to the hundreds of millions of women all around the world who struggle every day to make a living and bring hope for a better life for their children. This is a historic moment for them."

Grameen has accomplished so much because it has a naturally charismatic, ego-less leader at its helm. Instead of people like Yunus, often times we have egotistical asshats running corporations (oh, and countries that give themselves way too much credit for their organization’s success.

Here are snippets that I loved from Yunus’ speech:

By giving us this prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has given important support to the proposition that peace is inextricably linked to poverty. Poverty is a threat to peace.

Reminiscent of Sachs. Very strong point.

Yunus talked about the UN MDGs and the goal to reduce poverty… that were derailed by the Iraq war and the fight against terrorism…

I believe terrorism cannot be won over by military action. Terrorism must be condemned in the strongest language. We must stand solidly against it, and find all the means to end it. We must address the root causes of terrorism to end it for all time to come. I believe that putting resources into improving the lives of the poor people is a better strategy than spending it on guns.

::knock knock:: Anyone in DC home? Or should I say Crawford Texas?

Capitalism centers on the free market. It is claimed that the freer the market, the better is the result of capitalism in solving the questions of what, how, and for whom. It is also claimed that the individual search for personal gains brings collective optimal result.

Most people think I’m some Marxist commie for my beliefs. Thanks for reiterating this.

Human beings are a wonderful creation embodied with limitless human qualities and capabilities. Our theoretical constructs should make room for the blossoming of those qualities, not assume them away.

Sounds very humanistic.

By defining "entrepreneur" in a broader way we can change the character of capitalism radically, and solve many of the unresolved social and economic problems within the scope of the free market. Let us suppose an entrepreneur, instead of having a single source of motivation (such as, maximizing profit), now has two sources of motivation, which are mutually exclusive, but equally compelling 3/4 a) maximization of profit and b) doing good to people and the world.

Excellent!! This is articulated very much like Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka, would.

Young people all around the world, particularly in rich countries, will find the concept of social business very appealing since it will give them a challenge to make a difference by using their creative talent. Many young people today feel frustrated because they cannot see any worthy challenge, which excites them, within the present capitalist world. Socialism gave them a dream to fight for. Young people dream about creating a perfect world of their own.

I was thinking about this the other day. I want to agree with Yunus, as I have seen groups of my peers who share the same interest.. but many more most just think I’m communist Anyway, this is a post for another day.

Almost all social and economic problems of the world will be addressed through social businesses. The challenge is to innovate business models and apply them to produce desired social results cost-effectively and efficiently. Healthcare for the poor, financial services for the poor, information technology for the poor, education and training for the poor, marketing for the poor, renewable energy ‚àí these are all exciting areas for social businesses.

Yes!!!!! Innovating business models for social causes. This sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Bilateral and multi-lateral donors could easily create this type of social business. When a donor gives a loan or a grant to build a bridge in the recipient country, it could create a "bridge company" owned by the local poor. A committed management company could be given the responsibility of running the company. Profit of the company will go to the local poor as dividend, and towards building more bridges. Many infrastructure projects, like roads, highways, airports, seaports, utility companies could all be built in this manner.

Hmm.. infrastructure? I remember reading somewhere that poor infrastructure is the first thing that prevents developing countries from getting FDI. It’s interesting to think how the creation of a social business could have a snowball effect, and cause more FDI over time.

We wanted to go to the moon, so we went there. We achieve what we want to achieve. If we are not achieving something, it is because we have not put our minds to it. We create what we want…

A human being is born into this world fully equipped not only to take care of him or herself, but also to contribute to enlarging the well being of the world as a whole. Some get the chance to explore their potential to some degree, but many others never get any opportunity, during their lifetime, to unwrap the wonderful gift they were born with. They die unexplored and the world remains deprived of their creativity, and their contribution.

Grameen has given me an unshakeable faith in the creativity of human beings. This has led me to believe that human beings are not born to suffer the misery of hunger and poverty.

Who is Dr. Yunus’ speech-writer? And is s/he for hire?

To me poor people are like bonsai trees. When you plant the best seed of the tallest tree in a flower-pot, you get a replica of the tallest tree, only inches tall. There is nothing wrong with the seed you planted, only the soil-base that is too inadequate. Poor people are bonsai people. There is nothing wrong in their seeds. Simply, society never gave them the base to grow on. All it needs to get the poor people out of poverty for us to create an enabling environment for them. Once the poor can unleash their energy and creativity, poverty will disappear very quickly.

How’s that for a sticky metaphor?

I hope you enjoyed this speech as much as I did.