“How do I want to make an impact?”

Students in Entrepreneurship for Lawyers began class today by asking themselves this question. They didn’t try to come up with business ideas — not yet — but only to understand their own curiosity, passion, and capabilities more deeply.

One student said she talked to an entrepreneur who was wondering if the hassles and headaches were worth it. It won’t be, we agreed, unless your business lets you live your curiosity and values.

Friendraising

After taking a few minutes to write their own impact statements, the students circulated around the room, looking for two people whose impact statements did not match theirs.

Once in those groups of three, they brainstormed: What kind of venture could you start that would touch on all three of your desired impacts?

After the brainstorming session, several groups shared their ideas. They discussed how they worked from their different impact statements to arrive at an idea that animated all of them.

Jack’s Diner

They came up with ingenious, unexpected ideas.

One group said, “We want to start a diner that caters to older, retired men, giving them a place for community and a way to stay involved.”

I asked how this intriguing concept came out of their individual impact statements.

One of them wanted to do something for older people. Another felt strongly about promoting mental health among men. The third — a student named Jack — said he just loves diners. He visits diners whenever he travels and imagines, someday, opening “Jack’s Diner.”

Dad

Honestly, this business struck a profound chord with me.

Yesterday, January 16, would have been my dad’s 81st birthday. My sister, brother, aunt, cousins, and I texted all day about how much we missed him.

In the last few years before his death, my dad’s health declined rapidly. He never fully recovered from painful back surgery intended to help his mobility. Retired and widowed, he spent much of his time drawing, which he loved, and loved sharing, but which didn’t help with his mobility decline.

To my dad, his friends meant the world. He’d been friends with the same group of guys for fifty years, and he wouldn’t dream of moving away from them, even to be closer to us. We understood — that’s who Dad was.

But in those last years, he did struggle for a sense of purpose. I sometimes wonder if I could have done more to help him. He saw his friends as often as possible, but once COVID hit, those visits became limited too. He died in August 2020.

Honestly, I wish he’d had a Jack’s Diner.

necessity and invention

I came up with this exercise because of the weather.

Our textbook included a similar exercise in which the students, outside of class, network to find people who share their sense of mission, then brainstorm business ideas.

I wanted to condense that for a one-hour class. Then it got trickier: A snowstorm and cold snap moved classes online on Tuesday, with no guarantees for in-person classes on Wednesday.

I had to think of a version of the exercise that students could easily do on Zoom. No circulating possible — but instant, random sorting available into Breakout Rooms of any size.

What could happen when you brainstorm around three completely different impact statements? Inquiring minds wanted to know — even though the weather cooperated and we met in person.

The students’ ideas brilliantly demonstrated how collaborating around diverse impact missions but common operating principles can produce unexpected and wonderful new directions.

So guys, don’t wait around the house, take my advice: Eat at Jack’s Diner!