Sustainable Business Business models 8/8
it affects our ability to deliver sustainable
business strategies; it also provides the
power to distribute wealth. Owner-
employees gain real empowerment,
along with a share in the rewards, which
can also have a greater impact in local
communities.
Collective ownership businesses – according
to a new report by K2A – generate a
quantifiable benefit of an additional £40 for
local suppliers, customers and employees
for every £100 in sales. This is termed 'sticky
money', as it stays close to home, supporting
the local economy.
In finding a new story, a big part of the
exercise is also about rediscovering and
reclaiming some of our forgotten truths
about business, economy and human nature.
Underpinning the whole narrative is
the need to move from self-interest to
cooperation. Our emphasis on individual
self-interest – often backed-up by
reference to Darwin and survival of the
fittest – is now being challenged, by
reference to what Darwin actually said;
it wasn't all about natural selection, he
also recognised that co-operation was a
key factor in the evolution of our own
species and of others.
And as Joel Magnusson points out,
human beings are in fact wired for
co-operation, as well as competitive
behaviour, especially in the face of danger.
David Korten also reminds us that Adam
Smith, the often-cited 'father' of the free
market, actually believed 'that people
have a natural and appropriate concern
for the well-being of others and a duty
not to do them harm.'
Perhaps it is time to embrace the more
positive and collaborative aspects of
human nature, in focusing our businesses
on the challenges of our time?
Our stories are important. They help us
share a picture of a better future. They can
be inspiring – liberating even – and help us
realise that we don't have to be constrained
by our current dysfunctional stories of
business and commerce.
Our new story can include a refocusing
of business towards higher purpose,
on creating 'thick value' for citizens,
optimising growth and consumption,
earning a living return, based on shared
ownership and living wealth.
Our new story for business could
provide the power to free-up people and
organisations, to make the real shift that is
needed – to deliver real innovation in our
businesses that will contribute towards and
frame our longer-term sustainable success.
But, the future is unwritten. This sketch
is just the start of an ongoing process. No
single business has the whole story mapped
out yet. There are fragments out there, but
we just need to pull them together into an
accessible and compelling narrative.
As David Korten shares, in his excellent
new A New Story for a New Economy
essay; "It remains for those of us engaged
in such conversations to connect and
to collaborate on a national and global
scale. We must bring the elements of the
emerging New Story out from the shadows
and engage an open and respectful public
dialogue."
Michael Townsend is the founder and
CEO of earthshine.
In
finding
a
new
story,
a
big
part
of
the
exercise
is
also
about
rediscovering
and
reclaiming
some
of
our
forgotten
truths
about
business,
economy
and
human
nature..
