Judy Park: The Impact Vision: Why All Businesses Should Use the Impact Lens | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Businesses can be forces for good by using an impact lens to make better decisions that benefit society while also being financially successful.

Key Insights

• 👋 Millennials inherit the consequences of previous generations' bad decisions but are optimistic that businesses can be a force for good and drive real-scale change.
• 🤔 Near-sightedness in business thinking leads to costly mistakes, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach using an impact lens.
• 🥺 The impact lens allows businesses to see new opportunities and risks that might otherwise be missed, leading to financial success and long-term sustainability.
• 👨‍💼 Examples like The Gym Group and Unilever demonstrate the positive outcomes of using the impact lens to benefit society and make better business decisions.
• 👨‍💼 More business leaders, institutional investors, and consumers need to adopt the impact lens to drive positive change.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: How does near-sightedness in business thinking contribute to negative consequences?

Near-sightedness in business thinking causes a focus on short-term gains, resulting in decisions that neglect the bigger picture, like the rush to launch the BP oil rig that caused the largest oil spill in history.

Q: How can the impact lens lead to new opportunities?

The impact lens encourages considering the long-term sustainability of a company and potential societal impact, which can reveal new market opportunities that others might have missed, like the success of The Gym Group targeting low-income markets.

Q: What is an example of a risk that can be identified using the impact lens?

Unilever's CEO, Paul Polman, recognized the risk of climate change and used the impact lens to make the company more environmentally sustainable, resulting in long-term benefits and better preparation for climate change impacts.

Q: Who should use the impact lens when making business decisions?

The impact lens is for everyone, not just impact investors or social entrepreneurs. It encourages all individuals, including personal investors, consumers, and business leaders, to consider the societal impact of their decisions.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The speaker, a millennial, believes businesses can be a force for good but also acknowledges the negative consequences of previous generations' bad decisions.

• Near-sightedness in business thinking can lead to costly mistakes, as seen in the BP oil spill, and the impact lens encourages asking questions that consider long-term sustainability and societal impact.

• Two examples are given to illustrate how the impact lens can lead to new opportunities, like the success of The Gym Group, and help identify hidden risks, such as Unilever's focus on addressing climate change.