Elon Musk has it, so too does Jeff Weiner, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
Do you have it too?
Do you have the ability to transform your business into a force that can change the world?
Passion changes the world, whether this to be a passion to go faster, higher, or further than ever before, to break new ground, to solve humanity’s problems.
You do not have to colonise the moon, or Mars, to do this. Nor do you need to reinvent the way in which global commerce is transacted or the way in which business is carried out. It all comes down to how you view the world and the choices you make. You can change your part of the world by solving societal issues of importance to your customers and the community as part of your business growth strategy. It could be as simple as viewing the project you are working on, the business you run or the services you provide from a slightly different perspective. For example – That project you are about to start – Is it possible it could be used as a means of generating support for the community? Or could it assist towards the resolution of a social problem that is important to you and the executive team, or your customers? Could working in collaboration with the Community drive better outcomes for both your business and the community? Could this create “Shared Value” whereby your business and the community both derive benefit from working together towards a set of shared goals?
Creating #SharedValue does not need to be difficult. Nor does it need to be risky and it most definitely does not require any direct financial investment. With the right approach, it will reduce cost, gain the active support of your marketplace and it will assist in creating trust and respect, enhancing your social licence to operate. Great for the Community and great for your business!
As technology evolves, business models change, economies grow and the world becomes increasingly more connected, business and product life cycles continue to contract and business disruption becomes more prevalent. As power shifts to consumers via social media, any business is but one tweet, post, or blog away from meteoric success or catastrophic failure. So why not harness this? Why not work with community leaders in your marketplace towards mutually achievable goals and objectives? With the right approach, the Community can benefit whilst your organisation grows and prospers. Rather than simply being a supplier of products and services, you can change the whole marketplace dynamic and become an active part of the fabric of the community.
This can be done simply and easily, without the need for investment, without the need to change strategy and without the need to introduce risk.
So how can you do this?
The simplest approach is to partner with organisations up and down your supply chain that have an interest in working with you to better engage with community leaders to create a healthier marketplace, able to support and sustain business growth for all. Opportunity exists to work with Social Enterprise suppliers, that will reduce the cost of products and services used by business and donate significant amounts of money towards the resolution of social issues affecting your marketplace. This could be via a Corporate Social Responsibility model or through working together from the outset in a “Shared Value” approach. This can be implemented at a project, departmental, local, national, regional or global level to enhance your “Social Footprint”, building trust, earning respect and creating “mind share” of the community and your marketplace.
Are Australian businesses embracing the concept of Shared Value?
Most definitely!
There are some great examples of Shared Value innovation in Australia listed below:
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, winner of the 2017 Shared Value Award for Corporate organisation leading through Shared Value, established it’s Community Banking model in 1998 to address economic decline and community dis-empowerment. This “Shared Value” approach to banking has assisted communities all across Australia, and the Bank, to grow and prosper together. The Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Community Bank now has more than 1 million accounts across 320 local community bank branches.
NAB also provide a great example of a Shared Value approach - After the GFC, Australian banks faced challenges with bad debts. NAB took a positive approach and looked to the community for answers. They worked with Kildonan UnitingCare to gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding financial hardship, enabling them to transform the way in which they approached financial hardship, reducing bad debts by $70 million. NAB looked at the problem differently and came up with a solution that saved money for the bank and lessened the impact of financial hardship on its customers.IAG have taken a Shared Value approach in bringing innovation to create people centric
IAG insurance products that make sense to customers.
Could your business adopt a “Shared Value “approach?
Could working with the community generate positive business outcomes for your business?
Recruit for Good is but one organisation that can assist in this endeavour. It was created to enable business to participate in “Shared Value” initiatives and generate active support from the community as it hires new staff. The Recruit for Good Social Enterprise model of recruitment enables business to lower the cost or recruitment and paves the way for a new way of marketing as business and community leaders collaborate and cooperate so as to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. For the NFP, it is the generation of donations. For business is it cost reduction, business growth and creating competitive advantage. A true win – win for business, the community and people.
You too can transform business into a force that can change the world as you grow your business, making a difference, driving high impact, positive and sustainable change.
For more information, contact us today.