Strategy Isn’t a Plan—It’s a Choice: Lessons from Seth Godin on Scaling Social Innovation

In a live masterclass hosted by MovingWorlds, marketing legend and systems thinker Seth Godin joined us to coach two social entrepreneurs from our global network: Anish Malpani of Without by Ashaya, and Sasibai Kimis Steenland of Earth Heir. They bravely brought their biggest strategic challenges to the table—and what followed was a rapid-fire, insight-rich conversation with timeless takeaways for any social enterprise looking to scale.

While the session was recorded, it is only available to those that registered on the MovingWorlds platform (If you are a member, you can access it here after logging in)

This session was inspired by Seth’s latest book, THIS IS STRATEGY, which we highly recommend as a mindset-shifting guide to making meaningful decisions in uncertain conditions. We also encourage every social entrepreneur to revisit four foundational episodes from Seth’s podcast Akimbo, which were recommended listening before the session:

• This is Strategy

• A Quantum Theory of Customers

• Systems Thinking

• Five Monkeys

Here’s a recap of the most resonant lessons from the session, framed to help social entrepreneurs turn strategy into scalable impact.

💡 6 Strategic Lessons for Social Entrepreneurs

1. Choose your customers, choose your future.

Every business decision cascades from who you serve. Seth reminded us that when you select your customer, you're also choosing your constraints, your pricing power, your messaging, and your long-term impact.

Stop trying to appeal to everyone. Instead, be specific. Are you serving early adopters looking to make a statement? Or procurement officers looking to reduce ESG risk? Your choice will define your path forward.

2. Don’t race to the bottom—you might win.

Social enterprises often feel pressure to compete on price. But Seth warns that racing to be cheaper than those who exploit people and the planet means you'll eventually compromise your mission—or lose altogether.

Instead, build value through storytelling, transparency, and integrity. As Seth said: “Patagonia isn’t the cheapest coat. The iPhone isn’t the cheapest phone. And yet, they thrive because people buy the story.”

3. Experiments are fine—but discipline scales.

Innovation gets applause. But growth comes from consistency. Seth encouraged Anish to continue exploring new verticals—but only as long as those experiments don’t dilute focus or drain resources from the core offering.

The advice? Create a clear division of labor. One team focuses on disciplined execution to cross the chasm. Another experiments—with boundaries. If you can’t sustain both, prioritize scale over novelty.

4. Strategy is subtraction.

Seth described strategy not as a to-do list, but as a “stop-doing list.” In Anish’s case, narrowing from 50 potential applications for his recycled plastic material down to 4 verticals was already progress—but still too much.

Ask yourself: “What’s the one thing we must be known for?” If you can’t answer that, you haven’t made a strategic choice yet.

5. Sell status, not just stuff.

In her effort to mainstream social procurement, Sasi (Earth Heir) faced the common challenge of convincing companies to change entrenched behaviors. Seth's answer: flip the script.

Rather than pushing for compliance, invite them into a movement. Create a council of pioneers and offer them bragging rights. Make it about prestige, leadership, and the fear of being left off the list. As Seth said, “You’re not selling tote bags. You’re selling status.”

6. Practical empathy is your superpower.

Your mission is noble. Your team is working hard. But as Seth bluntly reminded us: your customers don’t care—unless you make them care. That means understanding what’s in their head, not just what’s in yours.

Practical empathy asks: “What story does my customer need to tell their boss, board, or community?” Make your offer align with that story, and they’ll champion your cause as their own.

This wasn’t a playbook or a blueprint—it was a powerful invitation to rethink how we define and execute strategy as social entrepreneurs. The biggest takeaway? Strategy is a series of hard choices in service of a future worth building.

To Anish, Sasi, and all the entrepreneurs in the MovingWorlds community: thank you for showing us what it looks like to lead with courage, curiosity, and conviction. Now let’s go make a ruckus—strategically.

You can watch the full recording if you are registered on the MovingWorlds platform. Register/login, and then you can access it here after logging in)