Lean Impact keynote and workshop at Independent Sector’s annual conference.

Join us to hear Ann Mei Chang speak about her book "Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good".

Are you tackling one or more problems facing people and the planet, but just can't seem to make enough of a dent? Transformative change will not be achieved through business as usual. By building on the best practices for innovation that have emerged from Silicon Valley, we can bend the curve of progress by running lightweight experiments, driving fast feedback loops, and accelerating learning. The result will better address real needs, improve cost effectiveness, and unleash the possibility of true scale. Through inspiring stories drawn from her interviews with over 200 organizations across sectors and geographies, Ann Mei will share both the theory and the practice behind successful social innovation.

This event will be followed by a reception in Fuqua's Faculty Hall.

SPONSOR(S): Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative and Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE)

COST: free

The Lean Startup has revolutionized how businesses build and launch products. Can these same techniques work for purpose as well as profits? Despite a number of unique challenges, the answer is a resounding yes. Around the world, social entrepreneurs, nonprofits, triple bottom line companies, and impact investors are starting to innovate for radically greater social good by running lightweight experiments, driving fast feedback loops, and accelerating learning. To do so, they have pioneered new ways to engage customers, measure impact, structure funding, and build business models that can drive exponential growth. Join Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and The Startup Way, and Ann Mei Chang for a special fireside chat on the eve of the launch of Ann Mei's new book, Lean Impact. 

Do you want to tackle one or more problems facing people and the planet, but are not sure how to make a meaningful dent? Transformative change will not be achieved through business as usual. By building on the best practices for innovation that have emerged from Silicon Valley, we can deliver far greater bang for the buck by running lightweight experiments, driving fast feedback loops, and accelerating learning.

The result will better address real needs, improve cost-effectiveness, and unleash the possibility of true scale. Through inspiring stories drawn from her interviews with over 200 organizations across sectors and geographies, Ann Mei will share both the theory and the practice behind successful social innovation.

Lean Impact: Lean principles for social change

The Lean method took the startup world by storm by providing a new playbook for how startups could develop businesses and products while minimizing wasted efforts. “Going Lean” encourages testing and experimentation instead of elaborate planning, values customer feedback over intuition, and uses iterative methods over traditional “big planning up front” development. Learn how to apply this framework to the world of social good organizations.