How much generosity do they need?

I don’t watch much tv, but on the rare occasion I do, there’s a 99% chance I’m watching my favorite tv show in the whole wide world. 

Shark Tank. 

On Shark Tank, every now and then a shark will offer the presenting entrepreneur half of their asking price, and leave them to raise the other half from another shark. 

A few weeks ago while coaching in the altMBA I landed on feedback given by one student to another. Within the feedback was a link to the work of Alejandro Aravena.

Alejandro is an architect who believes in bringing the community into the process. 

For him, the process is often building homes in poor countries where people who can’t afford a “good” house are often left with a smaller house, or even worse, building blocks. 

And so Alejandro presents a question: Why not give them half a “good” house instead of a finished small house? 

Looking at it this way, we can view housing as an on-going project. 

Incremental Building. 

And so Alejandro’s company builds homes that provide families with everything they couldn’t easily build alone, (concrete foundations, plumbing, and electricity), ensures they meet legal requirements, and then allows them to expand the rest. 

Every house comes with a manual that teaches ways to expand, and families can enroll in building workshops run by Alejandro’s company. In the end families end up with a much more pleasant house than what they could have built completely on their own.

And so it makes me wonder.. 

As givers, how can we involve the people we hope to help in a way that leaves everyone whole? 

Reminds me of this list we’ve been building for the last two days. (Friday is the deadline to submit)

Email me if you want to give your half to this on-going project? (mandell@givingislike.com)

P.S. Incremental Building.