Why Sharehold Is Here
Our Mission, Vision & Values
In some ways, I’ve been working on Sharehold for more than a decade. It’s the culmination of the driving themes of my career and those of our team.
In 2016, I felt my community design work concluded before reaching its full potential. We were working on very strategic, often business-critical projects, but each project’s success was limited by the predefined bounds of a client’s community or organizational department. We were missing the opportunity to pursue change to the furthest extent.
Community design requires organizational transformation. In order for a company’s efforts around community design, or even its fundamental capacity for listening to stakeholder needs, change must permeate the entire organization. Successful community design requires a shift in values and in how we share power, make decisions, empower our teams, define goals, and in who we regard as our most important stakeholders. We created Sharehold so we might expand our work and deliver community and organizational design together.
Community design requires organizational transformation.
The tide of the market supports this. In 2019, a year after Sharehold was founded, chief executives from companies like JPMorgan and Apple rejected shareholder primacy and committed to delivering value to an expanded set of stakeholders, including customers, employees, and the environment. Larry Fink embraced purpose and prioritized long-term outcomes over short-term profiteering. Knowledge workers have begun unionizing. At the time of this publication, the values of capitalism vs. socialism are being debated in real time as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. There are many big questions individuals and organizations must answer: How will we take care of our citizens? What work do we value? What’s more important: profit or lives? How will we work together to create the future and whose voices will be heard in the process?
Community and organizational design, and their inherent system design, values, and dynamics, are at the heart of the above questions and vital elements of rebuilding or creating something new, whether it’s a product, community, or program. Now is the time to elevate a more diverse set of stakeholders and reexamine the values shaping our most fundamental systems.
Now is the time to elevate a more diverse set of stakeholders and reexamine the values shaping our most fundamental systems.
Why Sharehold Is Here
As an innovation agency focused on people-driven change, Sharehold is redefining who counts as a shareholder. To us, “shareholders” are no longer just those financially invested in a company. They are everyone in an organization’s orbit. We believe every organization should actively foster belonging by serving the entire community — customers, end-users, beneficiaries, employees, and others. To us, community and belonging are the future of economies and society.
That means co-designing solutions for, with, and by people.
Our Mission
Our mission is to change the definition of “shareholder.”
By expanding the term to include everyone in an organization’s orbit, institutions can increase equity and belonging for those who are actively contributing to collective success.
Our Vision
We imagine a world in which…
Everyone belongs, is seen, and is recognized.
Everyone has equity in what is built, from systems and products to communities and organizations.
Shareholding is an active value and process of increasing equity for everyone in the orbit of an organization, system, or community.
Mindsets are shifted from bottom-line thinking and short-term goals toward longevity and prosperity for all.
Being a ‘shareholder’ redirects power dynamics from top-down models toward equitable co-ownership.
We believe this is progress.
Our Values
Positive Human Progress: We believe in building meaningful, sustainable movement forward with, for, and by people. Progress should be inclusive and ethical.
Generosity & Optimism: We bring “It’s possible” and “Yes, and…” mindsets to all of our work and client relationships.
Grit With Grace: We believe in being scrappy, while embodying grace and professionalism.
Continuous Iteration: We believe in constantly learning, being curious, and always improving.
1 + 1 = 11: We believe that working together means gaining exponential power and strength. Teamwork is our superpower.
