The Power of Small Actions

As the Head of Medicine, my role at Boehringer Ingelheim contributes to our focus on improving treatment for patients. Not only does patients’ health and wellbeing matter, but also that of everyone around me – my family, friends and colleagues. While on the lookout for meaningful innovations, I’m also keen on sharing my experiences and vision that we are all connected and driven by the same goal: to make the world a better place.  

The story of the starfish inspired by Loren Eisley’s The Star Thrower on the power of our individual action in making a difference often reminds me of the small and large actions we can take for the common good. We may never solve all problems, but the steps we consciously make to do good every day are significant because they contribute to a wider sense of wellbeing. 

I may only impact a handful of people, yet if hundreds, thousands of us take action together, even seemingly insignificant actions can create an enormous effect.

As I questioned how I can contribute as an individual to build a better future, I became more aware that I was a part of something bigger. An entire society, which, if united, can be immensely powerful. This ethos clearly resonated during my interactions with Ashoka social entrepreneurs. When we are in the hundreds or thousands acting together, the potential for even the smallest action to be amplified becomes enormous. 

I wondered how I could be part of this changemaking movement and introduce others to join me on this journey. Tapping on a group of young leaders, I challenged the team to curate a program tailored for colleagues in the region that would bridge business and contribute to solving social and environmental issues.  

Inspired by the butterfly effect theory that our small actions can create ripples of positive change, the B-Effect program grew to become a regional network of passionate employees advocating about social intrapreneurship and making impactful change. 

With the support from Ashoka, a framework was created to guide the program, providing colleagues with the opportunity to discover inspiring people (social entrepreneurs) to explore social or environmental issues of relevance, and to train them to become changemakers too. Together, we exchanged knowledge and expertise with social entrepreneurs to solve and advance their social mission, for mutually beneficial and meaningful engagements. 

Three years on, we have seen how a small step at the beginning can lead to lasting impact.  

The various initiatives organized under the B-Effect program have brought us closer to the patients we serve. Hundreds of colleagues became more aware and empathize with patients’ experiences through the different engagement opportunities with local communities and the ‘Match & Chat’ interactive game. These allowed to add perspectives to their respective roles at work and jumpstarted their exploration in solutions to address health disparities.  

Giving back to society is contagious! It was so reassuring to see how the people around us want to emulate the same to do good. Since 2022, we encouraged employees to invite families and friends to join in these engagement opportunities. Children learnt the importance of social responsibility from their parents; adults learnt from across projects – together, we are learning as a society.   

What's next? 

Moving forward, I want to share my enthusiasm and the team’s ambition to integrate this culture of changemaking and cultivate social intrapreneurs within our organization. We continue to innovate our program every year and advocate the benefits of participating in the B-Effect program and the wider movement. Because the purpose is to contribute to making the world a better place; and when we take action together, the potential for change becomes enormous.