ReThinking: Matt Damon on solving one of the planet’s biggest problems, in partnership with Gary White
Episode
28 min
Read time
2 min
Topics
Productivity, Relationships, Startups
AI-Generated Summary
Key Takeaways
- ✓Microloan repayment model: Water.org's WaterCredit program issues microloans averaging $300 to the world's poorest households, 90% of whom are women, who repay at a 98% rate. Because capital recycles back into the system, the cost per person reached drops from $25 via traditional well-drilling to $5, stretching philanthropic dollars dramatically further.
- ✓Partner selection framework: Matt Damon attributes his most productive long-term collaborations to deliberate partner selection based on three criteria: domain expertise, shared curiosity bent toward innovation, and alignment of values. He stress-tests potential partners through intensive questioning sessions, treating the process like a chemistry read, before committing to any joint venture.
- ✓Zero-based goal setting: Rather than anchoring next year's targets to last year's budget with a 10% adjustment, Adam Grant recommends organizations periodically start from scratch, asking what moonshots they would pursue if taking over for the first time. Water.org applied this thinking to launch an asset management arm that has raised $500 million in committed capital.
- ✓Innovation tournament structure: Grant cites Dow Chemical's decade-long innovation tournament as a replicable model: set clear parameters (ideas costing under $200,000 with a one-year payback potential), open submissions to all staff, and run continuously. Over ten years, Dow funded 575 ideas and saved an average of $110 million annually, with most winning ideas originating from factory floor workers.
- ✓Bottom-up goal setting: Research shows leaders systematically underestimate how ambitiously committed teams will set their own targets. Grant recommends giving small teams unconstrained blue-sky sessions to propose goals independently, then aggregating those targets upward. Water.org's international offices, staffed entirely by local nationals, already surface ground-level projections but have not yet run fully open-ended innovation sessions.
What It Covers
Adam Grant speaks with Matt Damon and Gary White, co-founders of water.org, about their microloan model that has delivered clean water access to 85 million people across the developing world, reducing the philanthropic cost per person from $25 to $5 through a revolving loan system with a 98% repayment rate.
Key Questions Answered
- •Microloan repayment model: Water.org's WaterCredit program issues microloans averaging $300 to the world's poorest households, 90% of whom are women, who repay at a 98% rate. Because capital recycles back into the system, the cost per person reached drops from $25 via traditional well-drilling to $5, stretching philanthropic dollars dramatically further.
- •Partner selection framework: Matt Damon attributes his most productive long-term collaborations to deliberate partner selection based on three criteria: domain expertise, shared curiosity bent toward innovation, and alignment of values. He stress-tests potential partners through intensive questioning sessions, treating the process like a chemistry read, before committing to any joint venture.
- •Zero-based goal setting: Rather than anchoring next year's targets to last year's budget with a 10% adjustment, Adam Grant recommends organizations periodically start from scratch, asking what moonshots they would pursue if taking over for the first time. Water.org applied this thinking to launch an asset management arm that has raised $500 million in committed capital.
- •Innovation tournament structure: Grant cites Dow Chemical's decade-long innovation tournament as a replicable model: set clear parameters (ideas costing under $200,000 with a one-year payback potential), open submissions to all staff, and run continuously. Over ten years, Dow funded 575 ideas and saved an average of $110 million annually, with most winning ideas originating from factory floor workers.
- •Bottom-up goal setting: Research shows leaders systematically underestimate how ambitiously committed teams will set their own targets. Grant recommends giving small teams unconstrained blue-sky sessions to propose goals independently, then aggregating those targets upward. Water.org's international offices, staffed entirely by local nationals, already surface ground-level projections but have not yet run fully open-ended innovation sessions.
Notable Moment
Gary White described meeting a Tanzanian woman named Amina who took out a $300 microloan to install a water tank, then took a second loan to sell water to 150 neighbors — illustrating how a single small loan can transform a water recipient into a community water entrepreneur.
Episode Transcript
This episode is brought to you by Sequoia's new podcast, Long Strange Trip, CEO to CEO. If you're building something or leading a team, you know that some of the best lessons come from leaders who've actually been in the trenches. That's what makes Longstrange's trip essential listening. Host Brian Halligan, cofounder of HubSpot, opens the door to candid behind closed doors conversations with CEOs of Robinhood, Rippling, and Intuit. These aren't polished success stories. They're real discussions about the emotional weight of leadership, the tactical decisions that define a company's trajectory, and how to stay grounded when everything feels like it's moving too fast. Whether you're an aspiring founder, a seasoned leader, or simply curious about what it really takes to build something enduring, this show delivers insights you might not find anywhere else. Tune in to Sequoia's new show, Long Strange Trip, to hear from some of the top CEOs who are defining the new CEO rule book. Long Strange Trip is available everywhere you get your podcasts. Listen to Long Strange Trip today. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes. Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch. Terms and more at applecard.com. What's up? Adam Grant from Work Life, a TED podcast here. If managing supply runs is still on your to do list, here's your sign to upgrade. Walmart Business has the tech, tools, and services that make it ridiculously easy to stock up for your office or Teamthink schedule deliveries, multi user accounts, and even IT setup. Bonus. With a Walmart business plus membership, you get free shipping, spend analytics, and 2% rewards on orders of 250 or more. Join the smart way to shop at business.walmart.com. Terms apply. The worst career advice you've ever gotten. Well, I don't know if it's the worst, but I do love telling the story about my father reading the script of Good Will Hunting and telling me that the line, how do you like them apples, would never work. He told me to take it out of the take it out of the script. Your father told you to cut the most iconic line of the movie. He rest in peace. Hey, sir. And after the movie came out, he said, Matthew, don't ever give me a script to read again. That was a great rethinking moment for him. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, everyone. It's Adam Grant. Welcome back to Rethinking, my podcast with Ted on the science of what makes us tick. I'm an organizational psychologist, and I'm taking you inside the minds of fascinating people …
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“Water.org's WaterCredit program issues microloans averaging $300 to the world's poorest households, 90% of whom are women, who repay at a 98% rate.”
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“Adam Grant speaks with Matt Damon and Gary White, co-founders of water.org, about their microloan model that has delivered clean water access to 85 million people across the developing world”
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