In my previous career as a corporate fundraiser for a local nonprofit that served thousands of individuals with disabilities, I would routinely ask business leaders the question: “How would you like to feel good today?” I got to see up close how it made them feel, and their employees, to be making a difference in the lives of others.
But doing good not only feels good, it’s also great for business. And not just writing the charitable check. When a business wages everything they have across their business – especially the spirit of their people – to drive change for good, there is an immeasurable positive impact that permeates right through to their customers. It may be enlightened self-interest, but we should encourage it. It is possible to turn a profit while making the world a better place; be that world the town you do business in, or where you live, or where your employees live.
In large companies, they’ll have a person - or entire department - devoted to ‘corporate social responsibility’. They will focus charitable foundation dollars, or employee volunteerism, on issues that align with their defined corporate values. To the small local business owner, or a start-up, it may seem daunting to even consider what impact their goodwill could have. But consider this parable shared by Starfish, a charity that focuses on the AIDS orphan crisis in South Africa.
A girl walks along a beach, throwing starfish back into the sea, when she meets an old man. The man asks the girl why she is throwing starfish into the ocean. She says: “The sun is up and the tide is going out, if I don’t throw them back they will all die.” The old man says, “But there’s a whole beach and it runs on for miles. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The girl picks up a starfish and throws it back in the sea. “It made a difference to that one.”
You do not have to be Bill Gates or Ray Dalio to make a difference right in your own backyard. What matters is that you operate as a force for good at every scale available to you, because scale doesn’t matter – people do. Identify a cause, or a need; have an idea and then realize it, however modestly. Think realistically and creatively about what you can achieve. You can always scale up, as your business grows. I guarantee, you will feel good today, and the next…
It’s more important to do what you believe to be right in life, and if this contradicts your business interests, so be it. ~ Sir Richard Branson
Kevin Bielmeier
Economic Development Director
Town of Southbury
EcoDevDirector@southbury-ct.gov
(203) 262-0683
[This article first appeared in Southbury Neighbors magazine.]