Masterclass Compassionate Capitalism – The “Good” Company

The alienation of people from businesses and their work has a tremendous expense in  knowledge driven economies, in which human capital represents the key source of  competitive advantage. Several organizations realized that the war for talent cannot be  won with a mere profit focus. They shifted their emphasis from Intrinsic Value  Maximization onto People-, Planet-, and Profit Management, thus practicing what  has been academically labelled by R.H. Girling and C.K. Prahalad as Compassionate  Capitalism.

Compassionate capitalism can be best defined as doing well by doing  good; it’s not about what a company does with its profits, it’s about how it generates them. I.e., ‘Good’ companies are sense makers, provide purpose and  make profits.

And it works! The organizations grouped as the World’s Most Ethical (WME)  companies have been financially outperforming the S&P (US) top 500 and FSTE (UK)  top 100 firms since 2005 by attracting, retaining, and engaging talent (Ethisphere  Media Report, 2019).

How can you detect ‘Good’ companies in your job search in order to gather yourself  among the 11% of business graduates who reportedly thrive in critical aspects of their  lives? I reckon that you need to ask the right questions before and during prospective  interviews. ‘Good’ companies start with a Vision and have a clearly defined Business  Model. They train, sustain, and empower employees; partner with the community; are  a steward for the planet, and systematically lead with their Mission.

I hope that all of you explore the opportunity of doing well by doing good…it pays in  many ways!