I
was aware that Bill Gates gave this year’s commencement
speech to the outgoing Harvard Class. But I was unaware of the profundity of
his speech until a friend sent me an email transcript. Not only is it a well
done dialogue rife with sound bites, it is full of real world wisdom that we
should all look to put into practice. One portion that my friend highlighted is
particularly moving:
I believe we
have more caring than we know what to do with. All of us here
in this Yard, at one time or another, have seen human tragedies that broke our
hearts, and yet we did nothing – not because we didn’t care, but because we
didn’t know what to do. If we had known how to help, we would have acted. The barrier to
change is not too little caring; it is too much complexity. To turn caring
into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact. But
complexity blocks all three steps.
What an insightful
point. Many people look at the developed western world and think, “they don’t
care.” But I agree with Mr. Gates that at this moment in history, there is a
heightened awareness and that complexity so often stifles action. Take giving
for example – many have tried to send money to address world crises such as
hunger. Simple solution for a complex problem, right? But then you see reports
that aid often fails to reach its intended recipients. One of the most
memorable reports is from ABC News correspondent John Stossel (MYTH: More
Foreign Aid Will End Global Poverty.)
So what can we do
if something as seemingly straightforward as picking a non-profit and giving money often fails to alleviate suffering?
The short answer is to apply Mr. Gates’ wisdom even to the exercise of donating funds – we have to take responsibly to try harder to find those organizations that use our money wisely. Take for example a group called Playpumps International. Instead of sending cases of water to impoverished nations, the organization found an innovative way to draw water up from the ground via merry-go-rounds. Children play and water is pumped – It’s that simple. Corrupt governments surely have a much harder time stealing aid that does not travel across boarders. Sure we can’t all be on the ground in impoverished areas. But at the very least, we can support the innovative organizations that are sidestepping the aforementioned complexities that so often suffocate change.
This is the type
of innovation that Mr. Gates talks about in his speech – it fits “the three
steps” to alleviating what ails the world. This portion is definitely worth a
read:
If we can
really see a problem, which is the first step, we come to the second step:
cutting through the complexity to find a solution. Finding solutions is
essential if we want to make the most of our caring. If we have clear and
proven answers anytime an organization or individual asks “How can I help?,”
then we can get action – and we can make sure that none of the caring in the
world is wasted. But complexity makes it hard to mark a path of action for
everyone who cares — and that makes it hard for their caring to matter.
Cutting through
complexity to find a solution runs through four predictable stages: determine
a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for
that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the
technology that you already have — whether it’s something sophisticated,
like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.
The AIDS
epidemic offers an example. The broad goal, of course, is to end the disease.
The highest-leverage approach is prevention. The ideal technology would be a
vaccine that gives lifetime immunity with a single dose. So governments, drug
companies, and foundations fund vaccine research. But their work is likely to
take more than a decade, so in the meantime, we have to work with what we have
in hand – and the best prevention approach we have now is getting people to
avoid risky behavior. Pursuing that goal starts the four-step cycle again. This
is the pattern. The crucial thing is to never stop thinking and working – and
never do what we did with malaria and tuberculosis in the 20th century – which
is to surrender to complexity and quit…The final step
– after seeing the problem and finding an approach – is to measure the impact
of your work and share your successes and failures so that others learn from
your efforts.
But if you want
to inspire people to participate, you have to show more than numbers; you have
to convey the human impact of the work – so people can feel what saving a life
means to the families affected.
Playpumps
certainly does all of the above – see their most recent results here.
Although I believe that Mr. Gates’ speech was about taking action in our own lives, we should not overlook something as important as doing our homework before we give. Other than that, my takeaway from the speech is that we all need to use our current situation, be it our job or even the neighborhood we live in, to find ways to innovate for the improvement of the world. As Mr. Gates so vividly pointed out, making money for the sake of making money is increasingly being looked upon as a hollow pursuit. Take it from the man who has made more money than anyone.
Please
see conditions of
use for important legal disclosures and information relevant to this post.
Comments