The Manifesto for Good Business
To be a good business means to recognise that the entity of business is one of the most potent organising forces for change in our world. Led inspiringly, towards an inspired purpose that goes beyond profit, product or category, businesses like yours have the ability to drive large-scale shifts in attitude and behaviour that benefit humankind, the planet and our future.
A Good Business is one whose leaders and employees take this responsibility to heart. Acting as one impassioned, aligned organism, you are driven to be a force for good.
Central to this is a commitment to growing your employees to become the best that they can be – as workers, managers, team-members, leaders, parents, partners, sons, daughters and members of the wider human community on earth. Good Business isn’t just a nice idea. It’s the quantum shift that we need to make in order to address the looming economic, social and environmental challenges facing every one of us at work and in our homes, wherever we are in the world.
Quite literally, this is our future.
1
Passionately and commercially embrace our ability to be an organised force for good on the planet, leveraging our advantages of vision, leadership, structure, scale and a connected network.
2
Wholeheartedly endorse the universal truth that happiness, health and holistic wellbeing are basic rights of all living things. So we foster awareness and practices that support our team’s physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and happiness.
3
Maintain our focus on business performance. Because profit and growth should accrue as a fairly calibrated outcome of a well balanced, healthily run, aligned organisation.
4
Take conscious steps to align everybody within our business behind a healthy, unified purpose.
5
Honestly embed this purpose into our organisation, integrating it alongside the values that define and guide how we operate at every level.
6
Support this with an authentic, daily leadership commitment to achieving this in a way that betters humanity, our environment, our future… or all of these.
therefore as a
Good Business
we will
7
Take responsibility for helping every member of our staff reach their greatest potential as a human being, irrespective of whether they plan to stay with us.
8
Demonstrate through the actions of our leaders that both corporate and personal integrity is sacred.
9
Regard creativity – the ability to problem solve by thinking laterally – as an essential skill. We’ll provide coaching so that everyone in our organisation can access his or her own unique creative potential.
10
Be conscious that healthy, conscious communication is the lifeblood of our organisation. Therefore we’ll make sure that this is standard throughout.
11
When we innovate, we do it in a way that’s congruent with our purpose, in ways that benefit the health of all.
12
Demonstrate through work practices and ongoing leadership that we authentically intend to send every employee home at the end of their daily work time better prepared to fulfill their role as present, wholehearted partners, parents and human beings.
