I felt it deep in my core, but I couldn’t exactly articulate it.
Companies were destroying the environment at an alarming rate, totally ignoring the irreversible damage they were causing. They were exploiting people: both their own employees and those in the communities where they operated. Even customers weren’t being treated the way they should– for some businesses, the mantra seemed to be, “give the least amount of value you can while charging the most you can.” And it was all in the name of “maximizing value for shareholders.”
There were a lot of people around the world who were claiming that business or capitalism is the problem. And I had to admit, based on what I saw, they had a point. Yet I couldn’t help but feel like we were just doing it wrong. I knew there were businesses out there who cared for the environment, their employees, and their communities. They were still making a profit, but they weren’t hurting others in the process. In fact, they were making the world a better place.
I struggled to articulate my thoughts in a meaningful way until I came across the B corp movement and learned about stakeholder capitalism. To say it was a lightbulb moment is an understatement. I learned the phrase business as a force for good in the world, and I haven’t shut up about it since.
I’m on a mission to transform the world by fueling the fire of business leaders and changemakers who want to use their business as a force for good.
We all have lightbulb moments — it’s what we do with them that matters.
Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
