If you want your business to make a difference, make sure it makes money. This is not about “me first”, which I abhor and have written about elsewhere (https://btq.wpengine.com/blogs/blog/bsbt/the-me-economy/). It is about ensuring that your business is in a position to serve the causes it cares about. I’ve seen analogies comparing businesses with people. Those […]
Purpose
UK Government Gets on the Responsible Capitalism Bandwagon
It is good to see the government making noises about the role of values in the companies which it buys goods and services from (http://bsb.tips/ukgovtvalues). Minister for the Cabinet Office, David Lidington said that the government will “extend the requirements of the Social Value Act to ensure all major procurements explicitly evaluate social value where […]
Your company can only contribute sustainably if it is profitable
When discussions with my clients turns towards the contribution their company makes to their community or environment, I obsess that they need to be reliably profitable. Especially if their contribution is philanthropic. I’m a governor at my kids’ primary school. I was astonished how many children struggle to do their best simply because their families […]
Your business can’t be about you
Entrepreneurship and business become noble when you’re doing it to improve the lot of those around you, not just yourself. I love this from Nassim Taleb. “Some people take risks and some people labor in the fields. You have the option of doing either one or the other. But my point is you should never […]
Purpose AND Profit
There is still a face-off between Purpose and Profit in much of the business press these days. This is counterproductive. If we’re looking at businesses (not charities), then they need profit to achieve their purpose. Having a more than bucketload of purpose and less than a thimbleful of profit is a guaranteed way to ensure […]