Opportunity’s knocking! Are you ready?
In spite of evidence suggesting otherwise (as illustrated by this New York Times article) some believe that the worst of this recent recession may be over. Many people even view it as an opportunity, where business owners, innovators, and other forward thinkers can have a significant effect. History bears this thinking out. Take Apple, which was established in 1976, just 2 years after a significant stock market crash. Or Forbes magazine, which was launched during the Great Depression, and by 1937 had almost a half-million subscribers. In a business or social context, chaos gives organizations a chance to create products or services that can significantly alter how we do things. Think of Google, Wikipedia, or eBay, for example. Through disruptive change these entities have had a global impact, from creating jobs, to generating wealth, as well as spawning new phrases (“Google it”). They are now everyday parts of our lives; many people can’t imagine a world without them.
“I think it’s more essential to innovate through a recession, and certainly what we’re trying to do…is to continue to bring sustaining and even disruptive new brands and products for our consumers, to make their lives better, to offer them a little more value.”
A.G. Lafley, Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble
Now can be the time for innovation and change. I believe in it as well, hence the title and tagline of my blog. Be mindful, however, of the fact that opportunity is a neutral concept. Let’s look at acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), for example. A worldwide phenomenon, millions of people died, are still dying (2 million in 2008 alone), and continue to be infected. Check out this report from UNAIDS for further details. What’s important to understand in the context of this post is that AIDS itself doesn’t kill someone who’s been infected. The disease destroys the body’s ability to defend itself so that other diseases can take root. Had a person’s immune system not been compromised there wouldn’t have been an opportunity for infection. Collectively, we’re in a delicate position also and as we begin to get healthy we need to be mindful of forces which may attempt to weaken us further.
So what should we do? I have an idea – make saving the world part of your job. Now more than ever people and organizations are realizing what type of impact they’re having in the world, both for good and not. Information on the true costs (environmental, social, etc.) of producing goods and services is easily available and hard to ignore. More importantly, these issues are being addressed in a variety of different ways in order to reduce or stop the damage that’s being done, thus helping organizations and its members remain healthy.
Here’s a few examples:
- Pepsi Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi is leading several change initiatives at the company in the areas of public health, recycling, and social innovation. More information from HBR: Adding Values to Valuations and Greening Pepsi from Fertilizer.
- Becoming a B Corporation identifies a company as one which embraces certain environmental and social standards. The brand Seventh Generation is one notable member. Their Declaration of Interdependence outlines their purpose.
- Tom’s Shoes business model is simple – “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need.” According to their website they’ve distributed over 600,000 pairs of shoes since 2006.
Creating lasting social and economic value is the true opportunity for this age. Emerging from the recent economic chaos will require great insight, a willingness to change, and lots of hard work. It will mean that leaders from a variety of sectors-government, non-profit organizations, business-engage each other and address the issues at hand, as well as the ones waiting in the wings. If done right, we can prosper. If not, we may leave ourselves vulnerable and other, less positive forces may take advantage.
How are you changing the world? Answer in the comments below.
Opportunity Center photo by mikelove. Supermen photo by videoplacebo is not. Both licensed under CC.
