No matter where they stand on the political spectrum, a great many Canadians were surprised at the results of this evening’s national election. The Liberal party’s profound drop in both popular vote and seats is unparalleled in their proud history, and far deeper than the polls indicated before election day. Conversely, the massive upward swing of the NDP was beyond the scope of any supposition: They were the true winners this evening, earning more than 100 seats in the House of Commons. And the Conservatives finally won the majority government they had sought since forming through the merge of the Progressive Conservative and Reform parties.

As Canadians wake up tomorrow and as their elected officials get to work in Ottawa and across the country, those who supported the parties of the centre and left will surely be casting about for reasons: How did the voter turnout remain so low? Why did youth not turn up in the massive numbers pre-election ‘vote mobs’ suggested? How did Liberals fall so far? How did the NDP rise so fast?

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Larry Brilliant at Skoll. Image used with permission of Skoll World Forum.

Many of the challenges social enterprise aims to resolve are the greatest challenges faced by humanity: Poverty. Climate change. Conflict. And each is made more challenging by its interweaving with the others. Resolution of these global challenges requires us to “rejoice in complexity,” as was suggested by Stephan Chambers, Director of the MBA degrees at Oxford University’s Saїd Business School, during the opening plenary of the 2011 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

The Forum’s theme for this year was, “”Large Scale Change — ecosystems, networks and collaborative action.” Laudable on its face, the theme gave rise to a series of dialogues over the Forum’s three days that made clear big problems require big solutions. Social enterprise, and in particular its “undisputed star,” microfinance, has demonstrated its capacity to deliver that change, exemplifying Einstein’s assertion that “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”

The diversity of people, nations, ideas and enterprises present at the Skoll Forum certainly demonstrated our collective capacity to define new models and pursue new solutions. Yet few organizations have achieved scale without simultaneously diluting their impact. And therein lies the paradox:

As they grow, social enterprises’ capacity to be responsive and need-focused inevitably erodes.

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Archbishop Tutu. Image used with permission of Skoll World Forum

“Large Scale Change – ecosystems, networks and collaborative action.” This was the theme for the 2011 Skoll World Forum, March 30 to April 1, in Oxford, UK. The diversity of delegates’ nationalities, organizations, missions and ideas was matched only by the diversity of plenary, breakout and workshop session topics. Yet at least a couple of common threads united the conversations of the 900 assembled delegates.

One of these was the question of leadership, and more specifically its role in the development of large scale change.

Amid more than enough academic study, philosophical waxing and journalistic opining, ‘leadership’ has devolved in the past few years to nothing more than another example of rampant organizational rhetoric. Yet at Skoll, the profound insights of unquestionable leaders—Queen Noor of Jordan, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, and our convener, Jeff Skoll himself—shed new light on the emerging revitalization of leadership. This dialogue was perhaps captured best by the question posed in one popular session:

Is Heroism Obsolete?

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This incredible, inspiring video welcomed delegates to the 2011 Skoll World Forum:

London’s official foreign direct investment agency, Think London, has included Octopus Strategies among its 2011 listing of their greatest inward investment successes. This diverse list presents a collection of companies that Think London thinks have the “greatest chance of dominating London, European and even world markets.”

Octopus Strategies is named in the ‘Knowledge Champions’ category, along with Japan’s Panasonic Design Centre Europe and America’s LinkedIn. Octopus was selected for its strong track record supporting charities and NGOs, including Everyclick and Sentebale, a charity founded by Prince Harry.

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Mike Rowlands, Octopus Strategies’ President, is hosting a series of one-to-one and facilitated dialogues at the 2011 OxfordJam.

Scheduled to run in parallel to the 2011 Skoll World Forum, at which Mike will represent Octopus, OxfordJam is a three-day event that aims to nurture social enterprise and social finance around the world. OxfordJam’s ‘Expert One-to-Ones‘ sessions are hosted by recognized experts in diverse fields, and provide opportunities for attendees of both Skoll and OxfordJam to seek perspective, advice and insights that support their work and missions.

Social entrepreneurs and others will have a unique opportunity to ask specific questions and receive valuable advice on topics including brand strategy, communication strategy, corporate social responsibility, and to hear insights from Octopus Strategies work with a along and diverse list of social ventures, NGOs and for-profit enterprises.

If you’re attending Skoll or OxfordJam, connect with Mike via either website.