While many skeptics still battle the notion that not all profits are equal, great companies continue proving that Creating Shared Valuereaps significant enduring benefits. This movement is at front and center stage with many of our brilliant thought leaders and change makers. Whether you call it Creating Shared Value (CSV), creating “thick value”, or the “for benefit enterprise”, all are focused on rethinking capitalism where profits have purpose; solving the world’s problems and simultaneously making money.
In January’s HBR big idea, Michael Porter and Mark Kramer ignited this movement by introducing us to what they call Creating Shared Value. Around that same time Umair Haque published “The Capitalism Manifesto” and since then we have seen numerous discussions driving more awareness and stirring polarized beliefs. A growing number of smart business leaders are beginning to recognize the merits of becoming accountable for more than the bottom line. The spotlight for November’s HBR is “What Great Companies Do Differently” with numerous articles chiming in on the virtues of this new way of doing business. Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s article How Great Companies Think Differently is brilliant and an absolute must read.
The fundamentals of this movement rely on establishing a broader common purpose, invoking emotional engagement, reconceiving our products and services to benefit social progress, forming accountable value chains, creating trust based organizational structures, and having the courage to get naked.
For all my fellow customer experience enthusiasts, we need to broaden our focus to encourage leaders to rethink their businesses at the core. Creating Shared Value is key to sustaining thicker customer experiences.
What I love most about this movement is that it puts us all on the same team. Business, society and government with a common purpose is mass collaboration at its finest.
Over the upcoming weeks we will examine each of these fundamentals in depth and discuss the real challenges that need to be overcome as we pioneer forward. This kind of change is not easy, but it is essential.