It was a real pleasure connecting with so many wonderful people in 2023, I am personally very grateful for the support given last year as we moved Doing Well Doing Good (DWDG) to connect organisational business strategy with social value growth (SVG) and wellbeing.
That said, there are clear signs of stress around the world. Aside from the continuing conflicts, lack of compassion and increasingly a famine of meaningful connection, a billion people still go to bed hungry and a child dies of starvation every six seconds.
Our form of capitalism has brought us far, but it hasn’t solved everything. We believe, and their is plenty of supporting data, that businesses who are responsible and actually make contributing to society a part of their business model will be most successful.
"This is not some foo-foo dust. It’s hard-wired, and you get what you measure. We think it’s directly linked to the bottom line."
-Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever.
It is however then a positive step forward to be demonstrating now to global business leaders how with the right practical experience we are able to link line of business financial ROI to government certified metrics for social return. This is all about helping businesses find the value in social value to drive growth, while enabling brighter better futures for a society that needs a hand up more than a hand out, and a lot more love, peace and understanding now than ever before.
In support of this the DWDG teams efforts continue to be on asking what could a company do if they were focussed on doing good for their people, customers and communities alongside doing well in business? Can these things exist together? Why can't you do well in your business results and do good by the people and the communities you serve?
These are questions also asked and answered in this brilliant TEDx talk by Amanda Brinkman who gives genuinely interesting insights from her real world experience.
Supporting the insights of Amanda, our team at DWDG would love to hear your thoughts on this debate and share our insights with you from leaders such as Paul Polman during his time at Unilever, Ajay Banga who led social value innovation at Barclaycard, and now the leaders today who are actively engaged in creating brighter better futures by Doing Well Doing Good, finding the value in measuring the impact of social value investment.
As DWDG move forward enabling Social Value Growth (SVG) The Club of Doing Well Doing Good is working with Worshipful Company of Information Technologists and City, University of London to develop the Social Value Leadership Group. The intent of this collaboration is to help and encourage companies large and small to adopt a social value programme and develop socially responsible professionals.
This all kicks off on the 10th January 2024 with an interesting debate hosted by Professor Rajkumar Roy of London City University. This national symposium brings together experts and stakeholders from academia, industry, charities and government organisations together to debate different aspects of developing the next generation of socially responsible professionals.
So as we move into a new year that will frankly disappear as quickly as the last, we must surely by now know that driving shareholder wealth at the expense of everything else will not create a company that’s built to last, or support the future of our people, communities and the society we all so desperately need to better for each other.
So as we push hard for more businesses to connect organisational business strategy with social value growth (SVG) and wellbeing, let us all continue to ask the right questions in 2024, starting with these.
What could a company do if they were focussed on doing good for their people, customers and communities alongside doing well in business?
Can these things exist together?
Why can't you do well in your business results and do good by the people and the communities you serve?
And as we start asking the right questions, the club of Doing Well Doing Good is keen to share our insights with you, to enable collaborations with the right people at the right time, and discuss how Doing Well and Doing Good together in 2024 can grow your people, your business, and your community while measurably impacting society in a positive way.
So I send you all good wishes and hope that 2024 is full of positive energy and opportunity for you, your family, communities, teams and businesses.
I would love to hear from you, share insights, hear your stories, create a meaningful connection and understand your aspirations for Doing Well Doing Good in your world.
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