"That's something else investment banks screwed up"

That's what the woman sitting behind me said when the lights went up on Valentino: The Last Emperor, a new documentary on the legendary fashion designer. As her comment indicates, the film's not so subtle subtext is the conflict between a creative artist and the financiers who eventually drove him out of the design house that still bears his name.

The documentary provides a striking case study for social entrepreneurs, especially those provincial enough to think that social enterprise is the only movement that strives to blend innovation and a higher purpose with financial sustainability. The rise of Valentino from bankruptcy to billion-dollar firm--all the while embodying artistic integrity and a higher beauty that transcends mere commerce--exemplifies the very transformative dynamic to which social enterprise must strive if the movement is to last.

Reinforcing the point: the theaters where the film has been playing in New York. The premiere took place at the Museum of Modern Art and is now showing at Film Forum, both of which are 501(c)(3) organizations. People are going to charities to see a commercial film presenting a commercial designer as an example of a lost culture that did not reduce business to the financial bottom line--so long as social enterprise limits its perspective to people who self-identify as social entrepreneurs, we're going to miss a world of possibility for learning and growth.