Episode 95: Interview with Ann Mei Chang, author of Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good

As the former Chief Innovation Officer at USAID, Ann Mei served as the first Executive Director of the US Global Development Lab.  In this role, Ann Mei was responsible for identifying breakthrough innovations and transforming the way development was done in order to accelerate our pace of progress.  Her firsthand knowledge in both tech and nonprofit startups have provided her with keen insight into the many challenges inhibiting the growth of new ideas.  Ann Mei describes in this interview the difference between the traditional Lean Startup Model and the Lean Impact model she proposes in her new book, Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good.  She explores with us some unique ways to consider scalability from the beginning, workarounds for handling limitations and/or restrictions to funding and donor relationships, and dares us to think BIGGER by focusing on the needs of the world rather than the constraints that can hinder our creativity.  Ann Mei encourages all businesses to adopt a Lean Model as a standard best practice as so understanding and adaptation can be applied as quickly as possible for optimal performance solutions.