I am, I think, first and foremost, a Social Entrepreneur. .  I am probably best-known as the Founder of Speaking Up, a seven million pound social business.  My driving value is the good society.  I believe social entrepreneurship is a power for good which can change society as profoundly as private entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs of Apple and Sergey Brin of Google have changed the way we all live.  And I am now starting a new business, Stepping Out, which I am just forming up to help parts of the public sector to become social enterprises.  

On top of this, I also speak regularly to events up and down the UK and Europe.   I feel I have an important message about the future of the social sector and about how we can manage for success.    I tell my own story, leaning heavily on my failures as well as successes.   My fundamental message is that we all have choices, as businesses and as individuals that we don't realise we have and that, regardless of the forces around us, we only thrive if we take responsibility for ourselves.   This is a tough message especially for organisations suffering all sorts of problems but it is also liberating because, sometimes for the first time, people start to realise they have more choices than they believed.

My message is also about happiness and the life well spent.  I used to be a total workaholic and a less effective and happy person than I am today.   My relationships both at work and at home weren't good.  While outwardly succeeding, I was starting to fail.   Now I am striking a better balance as a father of two (my first job in life), an active member of my community, serving as a school governor, trustee and as a county councillor in Suffolk. We all get to a certain point, I believe when more money and status does little for our happiness.  Organisations, I believe, need to reflect this reality and become the kinds of places which recognise this and allow us to achieve better lives, not just increasingly large packets of pay.

I am passionate about the social sector, particularly in the UK.   We are at an important juncture as we decide whether to take responsibility for our future or throw in the towel and blame someone else, the bankers, the government, anyone but ourselves.  And I think it is incumbent on all organisations to maximise their potential for social good. I believe strongly that the social sector in the UK is set to grow enormously in the 2010s as the state cuts back.  That is why I am seeking to help organisations and individuals in growing their social impact.

 

“Craig is one of the most consistently insightful and courageously honest observers of the social sector. He is on the leading edge of change and growth in our field. As the Michelin Guides say, “worth a journey”.   Cliff Prior: CEO of Unltd