Call me old fashioned (I am not) but I believe and contend that business. as a concept, is noble. It is about making a living answering a need and solving a problem or meeting a challenge. At its best, it is about Service.
I suggest that the “quick buck” is about opportunism and even greed at times, Business, for me, is something more. It is the union of commerce and enterprise and Service at its very best. It generates prosperity through the addressing of challenges, gaps and needs… while making a living do so. Growing up in and around business, I saw what that kind of union could do for business and community alike. Indeed, I would even suggest that good business has elements of what we now call social enterprise.
That said, I encourage you to read this from RBC on 9 COVID trends that will last. And, I would humbly but assertively suggest getting to know the global goals. Both links offer challenges, needs, gaps and opportunities to consider building business around meeting. Those global goals are 17 in number, and they cover off environment, education, engagement, equality and more. Getting to know the content of both of these sources can provide signposts for new services and new businesses for the new and ever changing “normal”. Indeed, for me, I have looked at Quality Education, Good Jobs and Economic Growth, Peace and Justice, and Partnerships as core to what Epic Engage will serve moving forward. I find sometimes, the awareness of these goals can confirm how our business already fits into the future or they might invite us to consider same. Certainly, with respect to the RBC article, I see all 9 trends as either impacting my work or offering up a point to serve ever better.
That said, I do see the best idea of business as being noble. I believe great business is driven thusly and to serve. Such a mindset and heartset generates Trustworthiness and Integrity. People (clients, colleagues and constituents) see us as “in it for the right reasons”. We, in turn, are better able to focus on what matters most to those we serve who matter most. We can build a true practice of Excellence in doing so. And. understanding where and how we fit into a bigger picture provides an ever deeper sense of Purposefulness.
Indeed and in deed, character matters because it grounds us in our why. Setting that why helps with our boundaries which sharpen our focus. Character matters because we better grasp our meaning. With that in mind and heart, we better serve… and make that living doing so. Ultimately, I suggest exploring the links and any other resources around needs for a new world. Get familiar with where we are going… because that is where business is going.
In the meantime, maybe consider many of our new generation of posts to date. Peace, passion and prosperity…
Barry Lewis Green, The Unity Guy with Epic Engage.
“Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. ― Abraham Lincoln