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How can businesses make themselves a force for good, and what are the key challenges that they could encounter? The key question to ask isnt how do we do charity, but how do we do business differently? Business leaders need to consider how to put people and planet alongside profit in all they do. They need to ask what is the most we can do as a business, not the least we can get away with? The digital age means that consumers have more information than ever before and means in turn that they can hold organisations more accountable for their business practices and their role in society. Thankfully, it is some time since businesses were expected to merely address hygiene factors and comply with legislation now there are huge opportunities for them to rethink and reinvent their business models. It helps to be both visionary and pragmatic in your approach, but of course always bold. Businesses need to do what is right and relevant for them in their context considering factors such as; what do their communities want, expect and aspire to, what assets do they have, what is happening in the wider landscape? I think there are three key challenges: The first is that businesses need to decide what they really value and then ensure that this is embedded in their strategy. Secondly, they need to find a balance between managing short-term commercial performance and planning for the longer term horizon. The experiences of businesses like Unilever demonstrate that to scale change you need to focus much more on the long-term as well as dealing with the critical needs of your business today. The third challenge is for businesses to realign incentives to ensure that they are incentivising the change they want staff to create. All of these challenges are of course also opportunities! Business leaders need to consider how to put people and planet alongside profit in all they do.
Which businesses or business leaders do you admire the most in the world? There are many businesses I admire. One of the best is Unilever, under the inspirational leadership of Paul Polman, who is also one of the leaders in The B Team. His approach is to balance the needs of the business today with the long term needs of society and the planet. The late Ray Anderson, who led Interface for decades, is an incredible example of someone who truly transformed a business. Im also really excited about new business models. Trends in collaborative consumption and the development of the sharing economy have given rise to businesses such as Air BnB and Zip Car. These businesses are highly profitable fast growing businesses that are not only offering customers what they want but are also better for people and planet. The next generation of consumers are not only shopping differently, they are lending to each other and are investing in each other in new ways and if they cant find what they are looking for in existing businesses then they simply come together and launch it themselves. It is a really exciting time in that respect and businesses will need to innovate to ensure they remain relevant. I am also excited that whereas people used to boycott businesses they are now prepared to buycott them, that is to say target businesses that can offer them the goods and services they want while also reinforcing their personal principles. This is such an exciting opportunity for businesses to respond to. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/HF94oN, this factual content has not been modified from the source. This content is syndicated news that can be used for your research, and we hope that it can help your productivity. This content is strictly for educational purposes and is not made for any kind of commercial purposes of this blog. |
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