LEAN IMPACT: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good

For the inaugural post of 2026, we'll look at what is arguably the holy grail for nonprofits: IMPACT. Specifically, we will explore some of the highlights of Ann Mei Chang's challenging and inspiring book, Lean Impact: How to Innovate Radically Greater Social Good. (1)

The book is divided into three parts.

Part I, "Inspire," makes that case that audacious goals and a relentless drive to maximize impact are as important as, if not more important than, altruism in our pursuit of social change... We have a responsibility to do more.

Part II, "Validate," dives into the core of the Lean Impact methodology, detailing the process of continuous validation through a social innovation lens.

Part III, "Transform," tackles the broader ecosystem that must be engaged for social good... organizations need a culture that embraces risk and rewards ambition... More and more real solutions will cross conventional boundaries. (p7)

Chang quotes Peter Singer in concisely summarizing:

"Innovation is the path, impact is the destination." (p14)

One important note regarding terminology: "'Lean' does not mean cheap. Rather, think of 'lean' as cutting out the fat, or waste... The aim of Lean Impact is to find the most efficient path to deliver the greatest social benefit at the largest possible scale." (p17)

Early on Chang outlines the principles of Lean Impact as the following:

• Think Big. Be audacious in the difference you aspire to make basing your goals on the size of the real need in the world rather than what seems incrementally achieveable.

• Start small. Starting small and staying small makes it far easier to learn and adapt- setting you on a path to greater impact over time.

• Relentlessly seek impact. To make the biggest impact, fall in love with the problem, not your solution. (p23)

"The birth of innovation begins with a clear, aspirational goal. The is the top-down vision of the change you seek to create, rahter than the bottom-up calculation of what appears achievable with foreseeable improvements on your current trajectory." (p29)

"To maximize social good, we must think beyond ourselves and beyond our current organizations, to embrace a bold vision for the world we want, then relentlessly pursue ways to make it a reality." (p32)

While Chang is a proponent of the importance of collecting data, she discourages using what she calls "vanity metrics."

"Most funders want to see tangible results for the money they provide, and that means numbers- the bigger the better. The websites of nonprofits, socail enterprises, foundations, government agencies, and impact investors are littered with vanity metrics on the number of people, communities, schools, or small businesses that have been reached. Yet such raw numbers only indicate activity, not whether the intervention was effective." (p90)

"Vanity metrics have spread throughout the social sector like a communicable disease... It's meaningless." (p74)

She adds,

"There's a difference between doing things right and doing the right things." (p74)

"If you can't clearly articulate how you are better than what's out there, think hard about whether you should be competeing for scarce funding and attention." (p75)

In regard to innovation, Chang argues that "the most critical indicator of successful innovation is the speed of the iteration. The faster we run through the entire cycle, the faster we learn and the faster we improve." (p76)

A keep piece of the above cycle (build, measure, learn), is failure. Yes! We must fail- fail fast, fail often, and LEARN. "Failure is a natural and essential part of the process." (p85)

Of course, failing fast and frequently is not helpful if we don't learn. That's where data collection becomes vital. "A culture of rigorous data collection is one of the primary drivers of greater impact... Timely, accurate data is the fuel that drives your feedback loop." (p 98)

"Our aim shouldn't be to merely provide some value, but rather to offer something beneficiaries demand, use, and encourage their family and friends to to adopt. If users see compelling value, it will be far easier to achieve impact at scale." (p106)

The book closes with a summary of Lean Impact.

"There is no one right path to Lean Impact. What matters is setting our sights high, learning as fast as we can, and finding every possible way to maximize value, growth, and impact. In other words...

Think big.

Start small.

Relentlessly seak impact." (p260)

I look forward to implementing the ideas put forth in the book into our work in rural Guatemala. We undoubtedly have been guilty of succumbing to the trap of "vanity metrics," at times been insufficiently audacious in our aspirations, and fallen short in the area of failure.

It seems odd to assert it, but our organization- and the population we serve- would benefit from a recommitment failure... to achive the impact we desire, we must: dream big, fail often, learn and iterate, in an endless cycle of innovation.

Thank you for joining us on the journey!

1. Chang, Ann Mei. Lean Impact. Wiley, 2019.