In Pursuit Of Impact Mission Led Businesses

A higher purpose is not simply about profit. Symbolising the motivations of our actions and efforts, it reflects something much more aspirational and contributes to our global society. This open access book offers novel solutions to ensure employees support a wider organizational meaning whilst guaranteeing that the company benefits from the employee’s individual sense of purpose. Advocating a shift from previous models and theories, this book contributes to debate and offers insight for both scholars and practitioners. The chapters bring together academic rigour and practical models to help readers distinguish between the fads and influential strategies. Exploring the development of purpose at each level of business, from strategy and leadership to communication, this book avoids theoretical jargon and provides new approaches to building sustainable purpose-driven organizations. This is an Open Access book sponsored by DPMC Spain, UIC Barcelona and Corporate Excellence - Centre for Reputation Leadership

Thinkers50 Top 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 A distinguished Harvard Business School professor offers a compelling reassessment and defense of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the vast performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms manage to get purpose right. Few business topics have aroused more skepticism in recent years than the notion of corporate purpose, and for good reason. Too many companies deploy purpose, or a reason for being, as a promotional vehicle to make themselves feel virtuous and to look good to the outside world. Some have only foggy ideas about what purpose is and conflate it with strategy and other concepts like “mission,” “vision,” and “values.” Even well-intentioned leaders don’t understand purpose’s full potential and engage half-heartedly and superficially with it. Outsiders spot this and become cynical about companies and the broader capitalist endeavor. Having conducted extensive field research, Ranjay Gulati reveals the fatal mistakes leaders unwittingly make when attempting to implement a reason for being. Moreover, he shows how companies can embed purpose much more deeply than they currently do, delivering impressive performance benefits that reward customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, and communities alike. To get purpose right, leaders must fundamentally change not only how they execute it but also how they conceive of and relate to it. They must practice what Gulati calls deep purpose, furthering each organization’s reason for being more intensely, thoughtfully, and comprehensively than ever before. In this authoritative, accessible, and inspiring guide, Gulati takes readers inside some of the world’s most purposeful companies to understand the secrets to their successes. He explores how leaders can pursue purpose more deeply by navigating the inevitable tradeoffs more deliberately and effectively to balance between short- and long-term value; building purpose more systematically into every key organizational function to mobilize stakeholders and enhance performance; updating organizations to foster more autonomy and collaboration, which in turn allow individual employees to work more purposefully; using powerful storytelling to communicate a reason for being, arousing emotions and building a community of inspired and committed stakeholders; and building cultures that don’t merely support purpose, but also allow employees to link the corporate purpose to their own personal reasons for being. As Gulati argues, a deeper engagement with purpose holds the key not merely to the well-being of individual companies but also to humanity’s future. With capitalism under siege and relatively low levels of trust in business, purpose can serve as a radically new operating system for the enterprise, enhancing performance while also delivering meaningful benefits to society. It’s the kind of inspired thinking that businesses—and the rest of us—urgently need.

Business as mission has emerged as a significant new model for mission in the twenty - first century. Today's globalized economy has created strategic opportunities for Christian business enterprises in some of the most unlikely corners of the world. In this landmark book, economist Steve Rundle and missiologist Tom Steffen offer their paradigm for the convergence of business and missions - the Great Commission Company. Such companies intentionally create businesses in strategic locations, pursuing profits while remaining unabashedly Christian in their purpose. By establishing authentic businesses that employ local workers among the least - reached peoples of the world, they contribute to the economic health of the immediate community and also provide avenues for both physical and spiritual ministry. In an era where multinational corporations have global influence and impact, the Great Commission Company opens up new possibilities for missions - minded entrepreneurs and businesspeople who want to change the world to the glory of God. This revised and expanded edition provides new and updated case studies of Great Commission Companies in diverse contexts around the world.

This publication is a sequel to the OECD 2015 report on social impact investment (SII), Building the Evidence Base, bringing new evidence on the role of SII in financing sustainable development.

​A few decades ago, management thinking started to embrace the idea of purpose. The first edition of this book marked an important step in this trajectory; it drew attention to the need for managers to relate the concepts of ‘purpose’ and ‘missions’ to strategy, culture and leadership. In the years since, purpose and missions have become business imperatives – not only in terms of remaining competitive but as core in the attempts to have a sustainable impact on the world. The second edition of Management by Missions is an open access book based on substantially more research carried out over fifteen years, involving more than 200 organizations around the world. All of this research supports that the practical models and ideas offered in the book have been tried and tested and actually work in practice. With case studies, anecdote and new research findings, the authors present the main tools of the MBM method (shared missions, missions scorecards, interdependency matrix, missions-based objectives and integral assessment) and the type of leadership needed to implement it. The ideas presented in this book mark a path towards a new management methodology for the XXI century and a new way of understanding the work that managers do.

Business doing good is doing good business; this book learns from the era where governments ruled the world, pre-globalisation, and where business looked after itself, where issues like climate change, resource depletion and even poverty and hunger were not thought to be the responsibility of business. The Company Citizen concludes that not only are these key issues for business today but that the world will not be able to manage these issues without the active participation - even leadership - of business. Aware of the shortcomings of both government and civil society the author argues that environmental sustainability, economic and social inclusion and the better management of resources are all key issues for business and that it makes good business sense to manage them better. This book examines the case for the company citizen on a global, national and community level working alongside other. Never has the conscientious company citizen, as envisaged by 19th century Quaker philanthropists, been more needed; and never has that business case, one that justifies a long-term commitment to practical corporate behaviour for good, been more clear. Drawing attention both to the businesses that are taking the lead and those who are holding us back, the author concludes that only by involving business can we tackle the great issues of the day - and survive, as communities, nation and planet.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From Blackstone chairman, CEO, and co-founder Stephen A. Schwarzman, a long-awaited book that uses impactful episodes from Schwarzman's life to show readers how to build, transform, and lead thriving organizations. Whether you are a student, entrepreneur, philanthropist, executive, or simply someone looking for ways to maximize your potential, the same lessons apply. People know who Stephen Schwarzman is—at least they think they do. He’s the man who took $400,000 and co-founded Blackstone, the investment firm that manages over $500 billion (as of January 2019). He’s the CEO whose views are sought by heads of state. He’s the billionaire philanthropist who founded Schwarzman Scholars, this century’s version of the Rhodes Scholarship, in China. But behind these achievements is a man who has spent his life learning and reflecting on what it takes to achieve excellence, make an impact, and live a life of consequence. Folding handkerchiefs in his father’s linen shop, Schwarzman dreamed of a larger life, filled with purpose and adventure. His grades and athleticism got him into Yale. After starting his career in finance with a short stint at a financial firm called DLJ, Schwarzman began working at Lehman Brothers where he ascended to run the mergers and acquisitions practice. He eventually partnered with his mentor and friend Pete Peterson to found Blackstone, vowing to create a new and different kind of financial institution. Building Blackstone into the leading global financial institution it is today didn’t come easy. Schwarzman focused intensely on culture, hiring great talent, and establishing processes that allow the firm to systematically analyze and evaluate risk. Schwarzman’s simple mantra “don’t lose money” has helped Blackstone become a leading private equity and real estate investor, and manager of alternative assets for institutional investors globally. Both he and the firm are known for the rigor of their investment process, their innovative approach to deal making, the diversification of their business lines, and a conviction to be the best at everything they do. Schwarzman is also an active philanthropist, having given away more than a billion dollars. In philanthropy, as in business, he is drawn to situations where his capital and energy can be applied to drive transformative solutions and change paradigms, notably in education. He uses the skills learned over a lifetime in finance to design, establish, and support impactful and innovative organizations and initiatives. His gifts have ranged from creating a new College of Computing at MIT for the study of artificial intelligence, to establishing a first-of-its-kind student and performing arts center at Yale, to enabling the renovation of the iconic New York Public Library, to founding the Schwarzman Scholars fellowship program at Tsinghua University in Beijing—the single largest philanthropic effort in China’s history from international donors. Schwarzman’s story is an empowering, entertaining, and informative guide for anyone striving for greater personal impact. From deal making to investing, leadership to entrepreneurship, philanthropy to diplomacy, Schwarzman has lessons for how to think about ambition and scale, risk and opportunities, and how to achieve success through the relentless pursuit of excellence. Schwarzman not only offers readers a thoughtful reflection on all his own experiences, but in doing so provides a practical blueprint for success.

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER! From Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and his coauthors, a follow-up to groundbreaking bestseller Conscious Capitalism—revealing what it takes to lead a purpose-driven, sustainable business. John Mackey started a movement when he founded Whole Foods, bringing natural, organic food to the masses and not only changing the market, but breaking the mold. Now, for the first time, Conscious Leadership closely explores the vision, virtues, and mindset that have informed Mackey’s own leadership journey, providing a roadmap for innovative, value-based leadership—in business and in society. Conscious Leadership demystifies strategies that have helped Mackey shepherd Whole Foods through four decades of incredible growth and innovation, including its recent sale to Amazon. Each chapter will challenge you to rethink conventional business wisdom through anecdotes, case studies, profiles of conscious leaders, and innovative techniques for self-development, culminating in an empowering call to action for entrepreneurs and trailblazers—to step up as leaders who see beyond the bottom line.

A Wall Street Journal Bestseller Named a Financial Times top title How to unleash "human magic" and achieve improbable results. Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and orchestrator of the retailer's spectacular turnaround, unveils his personal playbook for achieving extraordinary outcomes by putting people and purpose at the heart of business. Back in 2012, "Everyone thought we were going to die," says Joly. Eight years later, Best Buy was transformed as Joly and his team rebuilt the company into one of the nation's favorite employers, vastly increased customer satisfaction, and dramatically grew Best Buy's stock price. Joly and his team also succeeded in making Best Buy a leader in sustainability and innovation. In The Heart of Business, Joly shares the philosophy behind the resurgence of Best Buy: pursue a noble purpose, put people at the center of the business, create an environment where every employee can blossom, and treat profit as an outcome, not the goal. This approach is easy to understand, but putting it into practice is not so easy. It requires radically rethinking how we view work, how we define companies, how we motivate, and how we lead. In this book Joly shares memorable stories, lessons, and practical advice, all drawn from his own personal transformation from a hard-charging McKinsey consultant to a leader who believes in human magic. The Heart of Business is a timely guide for leaders ready to abandon old paradigms and lead with purpose and humanity. It shows how we can reinvent capitalism so that it contributes to a sustainable future.