Short, Sweet, To the Point: Human Spirit Prevails

What is more profound, uplifting or wise than:

Hope in the future. Life goes on. The human spirit prevails.

Those were the words of Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Simple. Profound.

Add her other observations and you have a short, sweet summary of spirit that keeps social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders energized.

• We're on the edge of a new frontier.
• Improving the way we do things will pay a dividend far greater than any we got before.
• To drive social change, we need leadership, vision, passion, and savvy.
• None of us can do it alone. We need resilient, resourceful partners.
• There is a new generation of social change agents. (God bless those Millennials!)
• The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
• While failure is a bitter pill to swallow, it teaches lesson.  

The lessons Risa thought worthy of note:

• Data needs to be clear and convincing.
• The need needs to be obvious.
• The solution must be do-able.
• Taking social innovation to scale takes time. Don't let urgency squeeze timelines so projects become undo-able.
• Under-funding an initiative can undermine it. 

Simple. Profound. 

'Nuf said.

For complete coverage of the 2010 inaugural Social Impact Exchange Conference: Taking Successful Innovation to Scale, go to Ventureneer SIEX10.