Missioneurs.com

If you’re anything like us, something about the word “missioneur” resonated with you. But what was it exactly?

This blog post is an open discussion of what “missioneur” should mean in our community.

The missioneurs core team has been tackling this question for the last few weeks. We quickly realized that this conversation is too important to keep to ourselves. It should be out in the open and should involve the whole community.

So let’s start that community conversation here on the web:

What does “missioneur” mean to you?
How should we define it as a group?

Some key questions:

• Does the mission have to be “social”? For example, Apple is clearly a company on a mission, but is Steve Jobs a missioneur?
• How does a non-profit need to be run to be missioneurial?
• What is the role of the profit-motive in missioneurship?

To kick things off, here are some definitions of “missioneur” from the core team. Add your definitions and feedback in the comments below.

Definitions of ‘missioneur’ from the core team

Sam Cohen – Web Strategist and Developer – http://www.samcohen.com

What ties all Missioneurs together is that they have a mission to change society for the better and they are using business methods to achieve that mission. This may mean:

1. Building a business that has direct social impact
2. Using profits from a business to fund social change
3. Running a triple bottom line business (people, planet, profit)
4. Running a nonprofit that employs business practices

Anita Garimella – CEO of Infinity International Investments – http://www.linkedin.com/in/anitagarimella

It’s a strange word – but maybe that’s because it’s a new way of thinking. Or re-igniting and channeling a way of thinking that’s already out there.

As entrepreneurs, we can focus on so many things – marketing, investors, users, etc. All of those things are important, but it’s difficult to prioritize and integrate these things into a coherent road map without having a real sense of purpose…what’s the one metric, the one goal, that is most important to you – over and above everything else?

If that is something that clearly moves society forward, in a tangible concrete way, then that’s a mission. If the way you accomplish that mission is through your scrappy, make-it-happen attitude, then you’re a missioneur.

Blake Jennelle – Founder of too many things – http://www.blakejennelle.com

To me, a missioneur is someone who pursues a mission (a deeply important personal cause) like it’s a business. They have one primary audience, the people they serve, and they answer only to their mission. That mission doesn’t have to be social but it does have to be good and matter deeply.

Missioneurs should strive to fund their work primarily through their work instead of depending on outside capital. Profit is one of their most powerful tools because it helps them preserve their independence and scale faster.

Neil Kleinman – Senior Fellow and organizer of the Corzo Center for the Creative Economy at University of the Arts – http://corzocenter.uarts.edu

The idea behind the Missioneur group is that we need to help ourselves develop the entrepreneurial savvy and business clarity we’ll need if we are “to do good” while also being able to control the economic lives and destinies of our enterprises.

I believe in the 60/40 formula. Social enterprises — creative, non-profit, or motivated by a commitment to social change – must learn to free themselves from dependence on the kindness of donors and patrons. Sixty percent of their overhead should be covered by earned income and no more than 40% by donations, gifts, and support from friends and family. Of course, that’s not easy to do, but it is a goal worth pursuing.

Dan Levin – Founder, Phame Entertainment

This country is built on capitalism. So the solutions to our most dire social problems must also be built on the backbone of capitalism. Relying on handouts and donations has gotten us this far, but it’s not a sustainable solution. So if you are a non-profit who believes more of your revenue should come from earned income, and less from donations, then you are a Missioneur. And if you are a for-profit who runs your business with the goal of making the world a better place, then you too are a Missioneur.

Anthony Pisapia – NPower PA (early), ITWorks (founder), NPower DE (founder)

We’re not nonprofit, we’re not for-profit, we’re something in between. We’re definitely entrepreneurs. We know business is more than money and we know nonprofits need to start acting like businesses. We’re confident there is a world to be created where commerce and “making the world a better place” co-exist. We know we’re the ones who will create it.

Devon Segel – Founder, ShareUrMeal.com

I love the word “missioneur.” When Blake first posted the word and philosophy, I called him to say thank you. This word embodies who we are. We are people who have worked hard and long hours on many important issues. We are committed to moving forward as a group. And we are interested in good ol’ progress through ongoing hard work.

Paul Wright – Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Mediavix

As my wife, who runs a non-profit in Philadelphia called Women’s Campaign International would tell you, I am passionate about the need to connect business philosophy to traditionally non-profit endeavors. As an entrepreneur I had thought about that largely in one direction, in providing non-profits with the tools and goals of earned revenue self-reliance and cash flow sustainability.

Those are absolutely essential. After speaking more deeply about Missioneurism, however, I realized that it very clearly goes both ways.

It is just as important for traditionally for-profit companies to determine what positive social impact their products and people can make. While the triple bottom line objective (people, planet and profit) is certainly one path, and one that I agree with, the Missioneur objective for a for-profit enterprise should go further. It should indelibly link its core product, processes, profit and people to specific social objectives that are in line with its company values and a mission that represents the nexus of those values with action.

Your definitions of ‘missioneur’ – Leave a comment!