It’s hard enough building a startup — why should you care about “doing good?”
- Renowned sustainability strategist Susan McPherson argues that “doing good” is not simply about giving: it’ll grow your business too.
- “What we are talking about is doing the right thing for the planet, our communities, and our employees.”
- It’s more than just writing cheques — it’s about the balance. What do you do well, and how can you use it to do good things?
You run a startup. You’re a good person. You’re building a business and it’s sapping all of your time and energy. Why should you even bother trying to “do the right thing” at the same time? And what is “doing good” anyway?
Sustainability strategist Susan McPherson has a compelling argument for making your business “good”: it’s actually pretty easy, it’ll help you build your business, attract the best employees, and keep shareholders happy. What’s not to love?
Susan has taught her core belief — that “business can and must be a force for good,” for years via her New York-based consultancy McPherson Strategies. At TOA Berlin, she condensed decades of insight and explained why and how startups should make social good a central focus — right from the start.
Below, in the first of two posts, are the highlights of her talk, where Susan laid out exactly what strong community values are, and why they’re a no-brainer for any businessperson.
In part two is her step-by-step guide of how to actually implement social good in your business. (Subscribe to TOA.life here so you don’t miss out.)
What do we mean when we talk about “social good?”
“There are loads of semantics around that the space: corporate responsibility, sustainability, shared value… in the end what we are talking about is doing the right thing for the planet, our communities, and our employees. It’s nothing more than that — but it’s nothing less than that either.
“It’s a commitment to your community, and you’re not doing it because it’s the right thing to do, but because you’re actually really committed.”
So why should you care?
“Number one: it is the right thing to do. As business entrepreneurs we have the responsibility to go ahead and do the right thing. Lord knows we have enough global problems — so we need the business community to be pushing hard for positive social change.”
Do you like having great employees that stick around?
“Global recruitment for programmers and technical engineers is extremely challenging. So why wouldn’t you make sure your company was as socially conscious as possible?
“73% of millennials stated that they would prefer to go work for a company that had a social mission and an environmental mission.”
Think about your company and what you’re all about. What is the DNA of your company — and what you can offer?
Writing cheques — or checking your privilege?
“Years ago corporate philanthropy was all about writing cheques. And we’ve seen a major change in that in that dynamic. Now it is much more about providing an opportunity for your employees to volunteer and supporting individual causes.
“So think about your company and what you’re all about. What is the DNA of your company and what you can offer? For instance: Twitter opened a tech training centre next door to their headquarters in the worst part of San Francisco, known as the Tenderloin.
“Twitter talk about themselves as providing voice for the voiceless. Well, if you’re not providing training for individuals how do you get Twitter into their hands? So at the tech training centre, employees teach homeless people how to code and how to use various technological tools.
“But they even went one step further — they provide a daycare centre on site, so when homeless moms and dads come in, there’s somebody to look after their children.
“[Running this scheme] helps Twitter make sure that they are doing what they what they say they do.”
Want a glowing reputation and loyal customers who’ll pay more?
“The media coverage about you matters. So why wouldn’t you do the right thing from the start?
“A recent Nielsen survey showed that 55% of global online consumers would pay more for a product or service that was created by a company that they perceived to be doing the right thing environmentally and socially.”
Do you like saving money? Like, duh…
“Money is very important to startups! If you can showcase the fact that you’re able to retain your talent, that’s a huge cost saving.
“If you’re able to showcase reduction in packaging, that also has cost savings that goes back to affect the shareholder.
“Do the scrutiny and make sure suppliers have the same values as you. While there might be an initial investment on your part to create the programs and build partnerships, in the end, if you are using less packaging, less water, or ordering from more suppliers, chances are you will be saving money in the long run.”
Serious creating a socially conscious company? Shout it to the hills!
“Put it in all your marketing material, put it on the portion of your website where talented potential employees would find out about it — because it will give you an advantage over the competition.
“It will help you stand out to the people that are actually looking to get hired and want to be working for that kind of innovative company.”
Part two — where Susan explains how you can simply build a company that does good for the world, your customers, and your bank balance — is your toolkit for making a change towards doing social good.
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This talk was edited for clarity and length.
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