In 2009, the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program

launched the First Movers Fellowship Program. It is designed for

exceptional business professionals – a.k.a. social intrapreneurs – who

are creating new products, services or management practices that

help their companies integrate profitability and social and

environmental value.

The Inaugural First Movers Summit – held in Aspen, Colorado from

October 5-7, 2012 – brought together Fellows from the first four

classes and invited experts in the field of social intrapreneurship.

More info? Visit www.aspeninstitute.org/firstmovers

They hoped to:

• Connect

• Reflect, recharge, reignite

• Examine personal purpose

• Design strategies for change

• Discover possibilities for collaborations

• Be inspired

• Find common connections with people

on a life-long journey

• Learn how to move the fellowship

program to the next stage

What called participants to be at the Summit?

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

Connect – build bonds across classes of Fellows and with other experts in social intrapreneurship

Share knowledge – learn how social intrapreneurs are changing the game in business

Amplify impact – explore how we can leverage the efforts of intrapreneurs to move to scale

Read on to learn what happened . . . .

SUMMIT GOALS:

1

2

3

Fellows and experts on social intrapreneurship met

and identified opportunities for further collaborations.

CONNECT 1

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

Fellows and experts on social intrapreneurship shared

practices and tactics for creating breakthrough change

within their organizations.

SHARE KNOWLEDGE 2

Share knowledge. Participants discussed: What do social

intrapreneurs do at their best?

10 practices worth noting. Social intrapreneurs . . .

1. Make the most of their institutional intuition, create an environment of incubation.

2. Scheme virtuously.

3. Connect others.

4. Tell great stories.

5. Think ahead, prepare their organization for a new social contract.

6. Build trust.

7. Listen.

8. Take chances. Have courage to start something from nothing – or connect what does

exist with something that doesn’t yet exist.

9. Ignore the roof (constraints). Think instead about the whole building (opportunities).

10. Serve as sherpas in unchartered territory.

Bruce Hutton, Professor, Daniels College of Business,

University of Denver, told the story of the remarkable

group of WWII leaders who trained in the Rockies

near Aspen.

Robert Chapman, CEO, Barry-Wehmiller, discussed his guiding

leadership principle: truly valuing your employees. He believes

in treating your employees like a family.

Andy Ruben, co-founder of yerdle and former Chief Sustainability

Officer at Walmart, shared his story – of pursuing sustainability in

and through organizations large (with 2 million employees) and

small (with one partner).

“Leadership Lessons from

the 10th Mountain Division”

“Turbocharging Sustainability:

Possible from any perch?”

“Truly Human Leadership”

Share knowledge.

On Leadership

Share knowledge. On Collaboration

…to solve big problems you have to think about big collaborations.

- Fred Dust, IDEO

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin Collaborations are hard. It’s critical to think about the design of any collaboration.

Remember: The future depends on the changes you make now.

Share knowledge. On how to have a sustainable family

life…

IDEAS • It is important to define sustainability at the family

level

• Know what you need to do to sustain your family and

the life you want

• Sacrifices may be required

• Communication is key

• Find the courage to ask for what for what you need

• Self-care (exercise, leisure time for yourself) is

critical

• Remember it’s important sometimes simply to listen

to your partner, not try to troubleshoot

• Help your children understand what your work is

about

PRACTICES • Say thank you to your partner

• Take time alone with him or her. Pledge NOT to talk

about logistics

• Write a family mission statement

• Annually, revisit what’s working and what’s not

• Iterate. Try different approaches and see what works

• Establish family rituals; Fun Friday, Kid’s Tuesday (one

parent, one kid), date nights, no TV. Go for walks.

• Create a family calendar for the year with photos from

the previous one

• Ask your children what they think you do at work or how

you could solve a problem that you are working on

• Eat dinner together. Always.

Share knowledge. On Reflection -special thanks to Michelle Edkins for her notes

Ideas that stuck (literally) -culled from the post Summit survey

Share knowledge. Questions for further reflection

• What are the BIG issues we are silent about?

• How can I get the confidence I need to let go

of an innovation I have brought to fruition?

• How do I develop a non-judgmental mindset

so that I can find ways to work productively

with colleagues whose approaches/insights

don’t converge with mine?

• What is the why behind the change I want to

achieve?

• How can I learn to take time to be still?

• How can I influence without authority?

• What is it that the universe needs right now

that I am uniquely able to provide?

Fellows and experts on social intrapreneurship

explored how to increase the impact of their work and

the Fellowship more broadly.

AMPLIFY IMPACT 3

Thought

Amplify Impact.

Action

From the post-Summit survey: What participants say they are doing as a result of being

at the Summit:

• Reworking current collaboration approaches based on input from Fred Dust (IDEO)

• Staying put in company – “digging in heels to make change where I am”

• Prompting a “mission conversation” with my spouse, to consider where they want to

be/go as a family

• Deciding, despite time constraints, to accept a position on a board that could influence

an industry

• Building in reflection time for my team

• Renewing commitment to active listening

• Sharing lessons from the Summit with my adult children – reminding them of the

importance of integrating personal purpose and professional endeavors

• Considering how to encourage intrapreneurs in my organization

• Creating a coaching group with other Fellows

• Following up on collaboration ideas that surfaced during conversations in Aspen

The work ahead

© Photo Credit: Seth Marbin

• Build on the connections made at

the Summit – make collaboration

ideas come alive

• Develop case studies to showcase

the great work the Fellows are

doing

• Commit to additional in-person

convenings

• Publish a guidebook for social

intrapreneurs based on the First

Mover Fellowship experience

(coming soon!)

Amplify Impact.

“Don’t forget about the mountain”

Participant list Carlos Abogabir, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Inclusive Business, SMU

• Nicola Acutt, Director, Foundation, VMware

Chris Adkins, Executive Director, Undergraduate Business Program, College of William & Mary

Lisa Arnold, Mosaicist and Multi-disciplinary Teaching Artist

• Ajay Badhwar, Market Manager, Natural Gas, Gasification Dow Oil & Gas, Dow Chemical

Garrett Barr, Program Coordinator, Aspen Institute Business & Society Program

• Anupam Bhargava, Chief Executive Officer, Clearwater Systems Corporation

• John Buckley, Managing Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, BNY Mellon

Thoedore Carter, Executive Managing Director, CBRE

Diana Connett, Senior Specialist, Environmental Policy & Engagement, Hess Corporation

Rebecca Darr, Aspen Institute Business & Society Program

• Aslihan Denizkurdu, Director, Corporate Strategy, Citi

• Mike Dupee, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

Fred Dust, Partner, IDEO

• Michelle Edkins, Managing Director of Corporate Governance & Responsible Investment, BlackRock

• Erin Fitzgerald, Director of Social and Environmental Innovation Consulting, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy

• Nikki Foster, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, Sunrise Community Banks

Thomas Gensemer, Managing Partner, Blue State Digital

Laurie Ginsberg, Senior Program Manager, Aspen Institute Business & Society Program

Ann Graham, Editorial Consultant, The Center for Higher Ambition Leadership

Laurie Gray, Director of Development, Aspen Institute Business & Society Program

• Joanna Hafenmayer, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, MyImpact

Wolfgang Hafenmayer, Managing Partner, LGT Venture Philanthropy

• Amir Hasson, Chief Development Officer, Oxigen

Jeff Hittner, Professor of Leadership, Bard MBA in Sustainability

Bruce Hutton, Professor and Director of Ethics Integration, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver

Lois Ingram, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ingram & Company

• Annalie Killian, Director of Innovation, Communication & Social Business, AMP Services Limited

• Ryan Kuder, Director of Marketing, ecoATM

Kellie Kreiser, Executive Director of Thunderbird for Good, Thunderbird School of Global Management

Steffen Landauer, Chief Learning Officer, Citi

• Drummond Lawson, green giant – director of sustainability + international product innovation, method

Participant list cont’d… • Miranda Magagnini, Global Advisory Board, The Fetzer Institute

Jyothi Marbin, MD, Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland

• Seth Marbin, Program Manager, Employee Social Responsibility, Google

• Marika McCauley-Sine, Director, International Public Affairs, The Coca-Cola Company

Nancy McGaw, Deputy Director, Aspen Institute Business & Society Program and Director, First Movers Fellowship Program

Henry McGee, President, HBO Home Entertainment

• Chris McKnett, Vice President, State Street Global Advisors

Erin Meezan, Vice President, Sustainability, Interface, Inc.

• Hamlin Metzger, Director, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Best Buy

• Rahul Raj, Director, Sustainability + Merchandising, Walmart.com

Paige Reidy, Program Assistant, Aspen Institute Business & Society Program

Susan Reynolds, Corporate Real Estate Manager, CH2M HILL

Sarah Rienhoff, Business Development Associate, IDEO

Emily Rosenthal, Community Volunteer

Andy Ruben, Co-founder, yerdle

Judy Samuelson, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Business & Society Program

Carol Sanford, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, InterOctave Global

• Regula Schegg, Strategic Business Developer, Hilti Foundation

• Max Schorr, Co-founder, GOOD

William Shutkin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Presidio Graduate School

• Diana Simmons, Director of New Product Commercialization, Clif Bar & Company

Dave Sluyter, Advisor, The Fetzer Institute

• Keshav Sondhi, Chief Engineer for Global Vehicles, FedEx Express

• JoAnn Stonier, Senior Vice President, Global Privacy and Data Protection Officer

• Abe Tarapani, Vice President, Global Strategy and Business Development, Astonfield Renewables

Jennifer Thompson, Program Manager, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Remediation Division

• John Thompson, President, Advent Financial

• Kevin Thompson, Senior Manager, Center for Applied Insights, IBM

Bryan Walker, Associate Partner and Business Lead, IDEO

Chris White, Managing Director, Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship, University of Michigan

• Jocelyn Wyatt, Co-lead + Executive Director, IDEO.org

• Denotes Aspen Institute First Mover Fellow

The Aspen Institute Business & Society Program believes the

business sector has immense power to shape the long-term health of

society. To align business activities with the public good, we engage

leaders in dialogue, networks and public programs that put responsible

decision-making at the heart of business practice and education.

www.aspenbsp.org

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization

based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on

enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with

critical issues. The Institute has campuses in Aspen, Colorado, and on

the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also maintains offices in

New York City and has an international network or partners.

www.aspeninstitute.org

For more information on the First Movers Fellowship visit:

www.aspeninstitute.org/firstmovers

Click here to access the Summit’s program, which includes the

agenda in addition to the participant bios.