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What’s the often-missing ingredients to meaningful value through social responsibility?
Willingness to be creative. You certainly need a pragmatic, analytical foundation to deliver value to both investors and society. But you also need to depart the road more travelled.
My kindergarten son, Rayden, approaches life with such verve. Rayden’s Mom and I dress him in a slightly preppy sweater for his birthday. We parents assume Rayden will go to school conservatively dressed, but Rayden knows better what will make the splash he wants in the kindergarten classroom.
While Rayden willingly wears the sweater, he insists on crazy-looking ponytail horns for his hair, and a pair of ‘Happy Birthday sunglasses’ built on a pair of thick, red, women’s fashion goggles from the 1980s. Only by integrating seemingly disparate pieces does Rayden achieve his goal.
Most business leaders are like you, comfortable with the pragmatic, fact-based analysis necessary to solve complex problems. And fear of missing out on new ways to deliver value keeps you tossing and turning all night. Then why do you miss opportunities by leaving superficial social responsibility activities stuck to the outside of your business like a cheap bumper sticker? Celebrating a melange of one-off philanthropic activities may be fun but has limited lasting impact.
Instead, recognize that interconnected worlds cross society today. For example, typically for-profit actions often create the most value when tightly integrated with not-for-profit activity. In one illustrative case, chocolate manufacturers recognized business opportunity when they decided to lead efforts that include legions of not-for-profit organizations strengthening West-African Society. Those same companies source the bulk of their cocoa in that region, and stronger ties open opportunities to deliver investor value, as well.
Opportunities to create massive breakthroughs for investors and society still abound in our digital technology society: deliver healthy food that consumers will eat; accelerate our fight against rare diseases by applying off-label pharmaceuticals; or deliver the housing so badly needed in today’s high-tech mecas. And those are just a few of the higher-profile challenges. There are trillions of dollars in value to be delivered through such activities– but you’ll need creative commercial strategies and industrial structures to unlock more than just the tiniest slivers of those funds.
So put on the equivalent of a conservative, preppy sweater by ensuring you deliver a pragmatic, fact-based evaluation of the problems at hand. Then complement that solid foundation with creative insights, innovative tools, and collaborative strategies.
The challenge may seem overwhelming. The world may simply be too complex and the required change too much. However, for those who unlock effective approaches to deliver greater value, there is money to be made.
What could you learn about creativity by getting down on your hands and knees and playing with a six year old for a couple hours?
Please share your thoughts in the comments or by sending me an email: info@RodWallacePhD.Com.
Our society cannot just survive. For the sake of our children, it must thrive.
Rod
Dr. Rod Wallace is an economist, consultant, and speaker who helps businesses make more money by solving society’s problems. A Fulbright Fellow, he has led multi-organization billion-dollar initiatives worldwide and partnered with a Silicon Valley pioneer to explore the impact of Artificial Intelligence on society.
Rod speaks about how to integrate social responsibility into business to maximize profit and purpose. He highlights digital technology’s impact on society and the strategies and tools with which business can solve our big, systemic problems.
Contact Rod at info@RodWallacePhD.com.