By Swapnil Chaturvedi
As we work towards our GOAL of impacting the lives of over 250 Million people in the next 10 years, I wanted to share our philosophy behind building the MOST AWESOME Team of Heroes that will enable us to accomplish this Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
The Founder’s Quest
In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell asserts that – “A legendary hero is usually the founder of something—the founder of a new age, the founder of a new religion, the founder of a new city, the founder of a new way of life. In order to found something new, one has to leave the old and go on a quest of the seed idea, a germinal idea that will have the potential of bringing forth that new thing.”
The Archetypal Hero’s Journey
Joseph Campbell popularized the notion of an archetypal Hero’s Journey, a pattern he asserts recurs in the mythologies and religions of cultures around the world – From Moses and the burning bush to Luke Skywalker’s meeting Obi-wan Kenobi, the journey always begins with a hero who hears a calling to a quest. At the outset of the voyage, the path is unclear and no end is in sight. Each hero meets a unique set of obstacles and overcome these obstacles to fulfill his destiny.
The Team of Heroes
In my humble opinion, Campbell puts too much stress on Hero’s Journey and any sustainable social change is not about one hero’s journey but the journey of a Team of Heroes who share the same vision, passion and mission.
Vision and Collaboration
All efforts begin with a vision — A hope for what could be and a goal few others can see. But in order for founding entrepreneurs to make their vision real – to succeed in impacting people’s lives – they must have a team that shares their vision, passion and mission, and strike out together on what appears to be a new path, often shrouded in uncertainty.
The Role of Leadership
As Samagra’s founder my role is to build a team of people who are smarter than me and to make sure that our paths are aligned towards singular goal of creating a more inclusive society.
Embracing Imperfection
In my journey of creating a better world, I have made more than my fair share of mistakes. But I have learned and I have always kept moving forward with new zeal. I have come to believe that taking on a goal that far exceeds ones capacity has a powerful side effect – it primes us to find allies everywhere.
Invitation to Join
That is why I am always on the lookout for partners and leaders who can enable us to take Samagra to the NEXT LEVEL.
If you feel inspired by our Manifesto and if any of available Opportunities pique your interest, I invite you to join Samagra’s Team of Heroes.
The Power of Collaboration
I must point out that Samagra is far from being a perfect organization. We are regular people who struggle, make mistakes, and are sometimes frustrated about our limitations. We are fallible like the rest. But, I have seen my team members – our field executives, our safai sainiks, our women entrepreneurs – do amazing & heroic things in the last 6 years.
The Potential of Collective Action
And I have come to believe that when intuitive goodness is pitted against unthinkable odds, it stirs imagination and awakens possibility; when ordinary individuals come together for a common purpose and make uncommon decisions, unbelievable sacrifices and commitments, then something EXTRAORDINARY HAPPENS.
The Responsibility Ahead
TOGETHER, as a Team of Heroes, we have great opportunity and responsibility to create impact on the lives of Millions of people worldwide.
About the author:
Swapnil Chaturvedi is the Founder and CEO, Samagra Empowerment Foundation. Pune based, 4 year old, Samagra is a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supported impact enterprise dedicated to providing sanitation and other life-improving services to the poor and marginalized. Swapnil Chaturvedi has won several Awards for his work. Grand Challenges Canada and FICCI Millennium Alliance have also supported Samagra for its ground-breaking work in sanitation. Samagra has a goal of impacting over 100 Million urban poor in the next 10 years.
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