Value != Energy

After much deliberation, I'm ready to report that "Capitalism at the Crossroads" has joined the prestigious list of books that have helped me think deeper and clearer about the world we live in.

As a kid, I've often wondered about finding common ground between corporate profits and the common good. It was easy to view the world as a collection of evil corporations driven by profits on one side, and a bunch of unsustainable or small-scale philanthropic organizations on the other. While this perception is colored with intangibles like good and evil, we cannot deny that companies are driven by margins. If there is any room for the common good in corporate portfolios, it better be profitable. The question is not whether there is common ground between corporate profits and the common good, but whether anybody wants to find it. Stuart Hart's book urges MNCs to go hunting for that common ground by discussing the opportunities and challenges businesses have in aligning profitability, humanity and the environment.

Coincidentally, I started following Umair Haque's blog and lectures while I was reading this book. The underlying similarity between Hart's and Haque's arguments is that businesses stand to benefit more by providing real or "thick" value to their customers than by being too concerned about profitability. They urge businesses to think about the whole as opposed to the parts. These guys do so, not only with their classroom theories, but also with numerous real world examples.

Thinking about the value you might destroy while you are trying to create value seems like common sense. Try applying this thought to the simple decisions you make during the day, and very quickly, you'll realize why businesses and governments fret about the "burden" of sustainability. We know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Value on the other hand, can be created and destroyed. It is futile to believe that the transfer of value needs to be rewarded, for it's just NOT energy. Let's dig value creation... Profits shall follow.