You have now seeded sponsorship to start Creating Shared Value (CSV) and are ready to begin examining ways to create profits with purpose that simultaneously drive sustainability, economic growth and social progress. You are ready to discover innovative opportunities to integrate social progress into your business strategies as a means of creating long term, sustainable profitability that benefits your stakeholders; employees, customers, stockholders, partners and the communities in which your company operates.
In this article series, we are preparing you for your journey to start Creating Shared Value. So far, we have explored the important questions to ‘ASK’, the ‘DIALOG’ needed to ignite awareness and motivate revolutionary change within your organization, and how to attain ‘SPONSORS” to seed your journey. Today we are ready to ‘DIG’ for opportunities to begin making profits with purpose. Without question, this is the toughest part but it is also the most fun.
It is important to engage in a structured brainstorming workshop to excavate your CSV opportunities. Prior to your brainstorming session be sure to provide participants with numerous case studies and examples of successful CSV strategies from other companies. During your workshop you will rethink and in some cases revamp:
- Your corporate responsibilities and surroundings by examining the needs, benefits and threats to all stakeholders.
- Your products and services through the lens of the needs, benefits and threats to all stakeholders.
- Your structures and barriers through the lens of mass collaboration and cross fertilizing creative ideas and proven solutions.
The goal will be to identify a minimum of three ideas to consider in more depth. Try to refrain from digging too deep into how you would implement your ideas, stay focused on the need and intent for now. Start by using a brainstorming game to unleash creative ideas and then plot the benefits of each idea into a stakeholder CSV matrix like this one:
This exercise will reveal a new form of innovation that will simultaneously boost your competitiveness and form thicker value benefitting your company and society. Make sure to share your journey with your stakeholders right from the start; educate them on CSV and invite them to help shape this journey fostering a heightened level of collective ownership and loyalty with them. If you embrace this form of vulnerability and transparency it will have deep rewards.
Next we will probe into the ideas you have identified and determine which ones to move forward with in consideration of numerous imperatives. One of the greatest things I have discovered along the way is that even at this early stage, this new paradigm will begin to affect how you approach everything you do, it rejuvenates your mindset in how you engage life broadly.
For additional guidance and examples you can contact me directly at dawna@dawnamaclean.com.
