Maven Minds: Trailblazers of Modern Business - S1 E1: Water.org’s Heather Arney Talks Innovation, Climate Change and Impact on the Global Water Crisis

S1 E1: Water.org’s Heather Arney Talks Innovation, Climate Change and Impact on the Global Water Crisis

07/19/22 • 30 min

Maven Minds: Trailblazers of Modern Business

In developed countries, access to safe water is an unnoticed luxury. But, by 2030, an estimated 700 million people worldwide will be displaced from their homes due to water scarcity.

Heather Arney, Senior Manager of Insights and Innovation at Water.org, and her team have invested years of research and innovation into creating ground-breaking water and sanitation solutions for remote populations.

“There's no silver bullet. There's no one size fits all. Especially with climate, this is felt so locally, you have to have different options in all different kinds of scenarios.” – Heather Arney, Water.org

Their creative approaches tackle all angles of the problem including financing, markets and on-site solutions like wells and sanitation. With the growing impacts of climate change, their solutions are being tested worldwide as they aim to solve the global water crisis.

In this episode, Heather discusses:

Snowballing challenges and impacts of water access and scarcity
Innovative solutions that enabled scale for their organization
Water.org has grown from impacting 100k+ people to 45m+ with access to safe water
Multi-faceted approaches to breaking down environmental, financial and innovation barriers

Consider and discuss: How can I apply this thinking to my business?

Are you embracing innovation from multiple angles of your business?
Is innovation limited to your product or technology? Are you innovating financially? Are you innovating on your marketing strategy and approach? What voices represent innovation in your company? Is innovation a core value in your business? Should it be? Is there an opportunity for greater collaboration?
Is your business prepared for scale?
Are your solutions able to support rapid scale and adoption? Will your growing solutions hold up over time? How will your business respond to needs while scaling? What funding will be needed to continue to support your solutions?
What’s the environmental impact of your business?
Are there areas of your business that are particularly harmful to the environment? How much waste is created by your business? Is your packaging environmentally friendly? How can you improve your impact on climate change? How can you support the initiatives of Water.org?

Key themes

Innovation
Finance
Micro-finance
Scale
Environmental impact

For extended show notes, resources, and ways to connect, learn more at: mavenminds.com/season-1-trailblazers
Podcast Editor and Strategist: @episodeready

In developed countries, access to safe water is an unnoticed luxury. But, by 2030, an estimated 700 million people worldwide will be displaced from their homes due to water scarcity.

In this episode, Heather discusses:

Snowballing challenges and impacts of water access and scarcity
Innovative solutions that enabled scale for their organization
Water.org has grown from impacting 100k+ people to 45m+ with access to safe water
Multi-faceted approaches to breaking down environmental, financial and innovation barriers

Consider and discuss: How can I apply this thinking to my business?

Are you embracing innovation from multiple angles of your business?
Is innovation limited to your product or technology? Are you innovating financially? Are you innovating on your marketing strategy and approach? What voices represent innovation in your company? Is innovation a core value in your business? Should it be? Is there an opportunity for greater collaboration?
Is your business prepared for scale?
Are your solutions able to support rapid scale and adoption? Will your growing solutions hold up over time? How will your business respond to needs while scaling? What funding will be needed to continue to support your solutions?
What’s the environmental impact of your business?
Are there areas of your business that are particularly harmful to the environment? How much waste is created by your business? Is your packaging environmentally friendly? How can you improve your impact on climate change? How can you support the initiatives of Water.org?

Key themes

Innovation
Finance
Micro-finance
Scale
Environmental impact

For extended show notes, resources, and ways to connect, learn more at: mavenminds.com/season-1-trailblazers
Podcast Editor and Strategist: @episodeready

Previous Episode

Meet the Mavens

Taking on the challenges of business firsthand? Leading your team through uncharted waters? Facing growing pains at every turn? Meet the mavens.

Inspired by the first explorers to journey to the summit of Mount Everest – the Maven Minds podcast connects innovators, entrepreneurs, and business leaders with game-changing experts that are blazing trails in modern business. Hear creative approaches to solving growth hurdles, business challenges, and project roadblocks as the mavens chart the paths through this new era.

Join in at mavenminds.com

Next Episode

S1 E4: Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro Talks Rapid Scale and Culture in Small Business

As Kansas City’s first artisanal brigadeiro shop, owners Jessica Harris and mom Regina, are bringing the heart of Brazilian tradition to the midwest. Similar to chocolate truffles, brigadeiro is soft in texture, luxuriously creamy, and can be crafted with a unique mix of flavor combinations.

Jessica and Regina started Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro on the side of their corporate jobs and have since been able to scale to a storefront with a certified kitchen and have landed features in major publications such as Good Morning America and New York Live.

“I’ve learned one thing - that everybody deserves publicity. You just have to do the work. ” – Jessica Harris, Sweet Kiss Brigaderio

In this episode, Jessica discusses:

Building a brand that embraces cultural traditions
Using PR to scale beyond their local area
And expanding their focus on a unique customer experience

Thought starters: How can I apply this thinking to my business?

Consider what it takes to take something from concept to execution.
Where in that process are you at with your business today? If you’re in those earliest stages, what is it going to take to get you to that next step? What is your most immediate goal? What is your long-term goal?
What is the role that PR could play in your company?
How would additional exposure help you? Is your product accessible online? Are there other opportunities that would additionally be beneficial?
What role does culture play in your business?
Are you telling that cultural story? Is that culture reflected internally as much as it is externally? Does that culture create a niche? Is there differentiation in how your product is conveyed to customers?
What are you doing to market your business?
Have you taken an audit of your marketing? Do you know how your marketing efforts are performing? Are you making the most efficient marketing decisions? Are you getting a return on your marketing investments? Are you tracking conversions? Are you aware of what it costs to bring in new customers?

Key themes