Girl Power. Nike Foundation. Social Innovation.

So, a friend of mine has been in an advisor position with the Nike Foundation (http://www.nikefoundation.org) for about a year. In that time, I have had the chance to learn a great deal about Nike, the foundation's mission, and what lies at the heart of social innovation. This video (cool in it's own right) points to one of Nike's approach to social innovation by providing new definitions of decade old problems, harnessing the collective to create exceedingly imaginative solutions, and mobilizing resources (people, governments, NGO's) to drive change.



This is a great example of a foundation as laboratory/incubator for creating an innovation culture while making a difference. Imagine if every organization had a foundation and used it to build innovation skills/frames in their leaders. Imagine if the the foundation was run by high potentials. How would the perspective change their approach? How would it alter their leadership style during their career? How would it fast forward their readiness to take a senior position?

Check out some additional content on the site that has blown me away:
http://www.nikefoundation.org/video/IDareYou.mov
http://goingtoschool.com/map.html
http://www.nikefoundation.org/what_you_can_do.html