In business school, the holy grail of venture building was to create “network effects” through “demand-side increasing returns.” If you’ve been to business school, you’re probably salivating at the very mention of network effects! So you’ll be surprised, as I was, that some leaders consider a network to be runner up to another form entirely: a movement. My friend Peter Sims, author of Little Bets and CEO of BLK SHP, distinguishes them thus:

“A network is transactional, whereas a movement becomes a part of a member’s identity.”

For example, Peter is an integral member of the group behind Giving Tuesday, a global movement with a presence in more than 100 countries, which has catalyzed charitable giving in excess of $10 billion to date.

What makes it a movement? Peter notes three elements:

An audacious value statement. Giving Tuesday was a response to the plague of consumerism: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. “Where’s the day for something other than consumption?” the crew wondered. Voilá: Giving Tuesday.

Addresses a wicked problem. NGO’s world-wide are challenged to raise money online. While commercial ventures make buying easier, Giving Tuesday connected non-profits with simple tools to make giving as easy as shopping was for their constituents.

A rally-cry. A movement unlocks pent-up energy of a universal nature. It gives courage to folks who feel the same way about an issue permission to speak up and a pathway of action.

Importantly, Peter cautions would-be movement-makers: “Don’t prematurely define the metrics of success while you’re in discovery mode. It took us six years to define success at BLKSHP. Instead, focus on little experiments you can commission to learn, to rally folks, and to build momentum. When we started Giving Tuesday, we were against consumerism, and we had no idea about the challenges NGO’s faced in collecting gifts online. That only emerged with time.”

There was a time when the entrepreneur in me thought nothing could be better than building a business with DSIR. Now, I’d rather spark a movement.

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