Paul Polak who I have mentioned before has been seeking to, “answer this infernal question”. What makes poor people poor and what can we do to help? He also stated that he was shocked how often people just accept poverty as a reality we have no power to change. I love what Mohammad Yuis said in an interview. He said he could either argue with people about his ideas or he could act and prove what he believed with action and success. Individuals can and do move out of poverty. Paul’s life has proven and others have proven that. The organization Paul founded International Development Enterprises boast seventeen million times that people have moved out of poverty. We have all watched as many huge projects with huge budgets have failed to deliver the expected results. Paul shares these practical steps that he uses to ensure strategic success in his mission to empower people, to come “out of poverty”.
Paul’s twelve steps to practical problem solving. (The following comes from Paul’s book, “Out of Poverty, what works when traditional approaches fail”)
1. Go to where the action is.
2. Talk to the people who have the problemand listen to what they say.
3. Learn everything you can about the problems specific context.
4. Think big and act big.
5. Think like a child.
6. See and do the obvious.
7. If somebody has already invented it, you don’t need to do so again.
8. Make sure your approach has positive measurable impacts that can be brought to scale. Make sure it can reach at least a million people an make their lives measurably better.
9. Design to specific cost and price targets.
10. Follow practical three-year plans.
11. Continue to learn from you customers.
12. Stay positive: don’t be distracted by what other people think.
IDE is a non-profit organization seeking to empower low income individuals and families by finding market based products that enable income growth. IDE is unique because of their emphasis on going to those customers and listening before developing the products. Their focus is not on hand outs but on practical products that empower.
The founder Paul Polak made a commitment to talk to one hundred customers a year. Because they were customers he had to know them and understand their needs the best that he could. It is estimated that over seventeen million people have moved from poverty to the middle class though products developed by IDE.
The best way to get excited is to begin to read some of the real life stories.
As I read about Paul and his journey I thought how ingenious to serve the poor by recruiting them into this fight when they are even more motivated. Charity is necessary, but what IDE is doing is sustaible and continually builds on successes. I can just see the joy as the that first crop is harvested in the off season. I look forward to watching this organization continue to change the world.
Mary Smith and Paul Polak are obviously on the same page with there ideas and concepts. Once again the key is listening learning seeking to understand the people who will be served by the products. I liked that Mary has her students live on two dollars a day to begin to understand what it is like to have to make the decisions that need to be made. The principles of humility, simplicity, community involvement are so basic and yet so profound in there implications. I am going to begin to try to apply some of these principles in my own community.
MIT International Development Initiative is working to empower it’s students to develop solutions for the developing world with a focus on low cost solutions. Starting with on the ground connection to the poeple in need then developing solutions and working to empower the distribution of the product.
Paul talks about some of his experiences and his philosophy of simple but big solutions that are making an impact in rural areas. Market solutions that are lifting people out of poverty. Listening to those in need and developing products at affordable cost has revolutionized communities around the globe.
I recently found some videos on Paul Polak’s out of poverty web site. What an inspiration Paul is. A couple of thing stood out to me. First I have to lay out some background. Paul has been seeking to bring solutions to those who make less then a dollar a day. He has been serving those in rural areas. The first thing that caught my attention was that he said to help people you need to go to them and then listen. You can’t solve problems of poverty from an office thousands of miles away. The second thing that hit me was a sense that this man had a respect and humble attitude about those who are among the poorest of the poor. I can’t wait to learn more from this innovator.
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