Gumball Manifesto

Written for the Gumball Corps, but free for you to chew on!

  1. Blow bubbles

    2. Succeed by having fun and being yourself: energetic, young, intent on spreading excitement about entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation.

  2. Celebrate every quarter

    3. Appreciate contributions of any kind, actively. Everyone’s busy; metaphorical quarters mean a lot. It’s 25 cents extra, not 75 cents short.

  3. Break the glass

    4. Risk it. Don’t wait for permission to try something new. Err on the side of action. Caveat: don’t be unethical.

  4. Flatten spheres into circles

    5. Minimize hierarchy. Eliminate unnecessary restrictions. Use round tables. Communicate from the same plane, not a higher one.

  5. Fit it on a Post-It

    6. Tighten it. Short attention spans! Break sparingly.

  6. Share some sugar

    7. Recognize the power of stories and symbols. Mohammed Yunus lent $27 to 42 women in 1976. We raised $3000 in 3 days on Post-Its. Stories inspire.

  7. Pop the ego

    8. Realize we’re only 1″ in diameter. Microfinance isn’t a panacea. We don’t think of ourselves as changing the world. We’re just making it a bit chewier.

  8. Remember to brush

    9. Stay fresh. Chewing gets tiring. Cavities happen. Jaws dislocate. To prevent burnout, we leave everyone time for life.