The Great Reset of Capitalism with Purpose-led Humanism Strategy

The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity is a book first published in April 2010 by Richard Florida, a professor at the University of Toronto‘s Rotman School of Management.

Little did Florida know at the time how prophetic the term ‘The Great Reset’ will become, post Covid-19.

If you have followed my recent articles you will know that I am very passionate about the purpose led space and I subscribe to the remit that a socially conscious brand business model is the future.

This is where brands and industry recognise that real sustainability and growth come from putting communities and the environment ahead of simple bottom-line profit, with the foresight of knowing that this can lead to greater success and longevity.

It all comes down to business that is purpose-led first and foremost, building sustainability strategies in your business is the key to real change that will see profits flow.

It’s not about profit first, it’s all about being conscious of your place in the world and what your business and role is, creating value that benefits the human race and the planet we share with every other species.

I have been involved with the SDG Global Festival of Action forum for some time now and is passionate about a need for The Great Reset but with a Purpose led humanism strategy, and believes that 2020 could be just the wake-up call industry has needed for some time.

The World Economic Forum has mooted The Great Reset as ‘an urgent need for global stakeholders to cooperate in simultaneously managing the direct consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.’

The Great Reset summarised

Now is the time for a ‘great reset‘ published on the World Economic Forum looks at how markets and industry should be steered toward fairer outcomes to create a ‘stakeholder economy.’

Governments need to take the mantle and introduce tax, regulatory, and fiscal policies, plus upgraded trade agreements to create these conditions.

Secondly, government reforms, which are long overdue, should ensure that investments advance shared goals, such as equality and sustainability.

‘Building “green” urban infrastructure and creating incentives for industries to improve their track record on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics is a must.

The third component to the Great Reset agenda is to ‘harness the innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to support the public good, especially by addressing health and social challenges.’

If Covid-19 has taught us anything it has been that current government policies and the current state of global capitalism was not equipped to support communities adequately.

The pandemic is an ‘opportunity to reflect, reimagine, and reset our world to create a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future.’

Purpose led humanism and the way forward

Broader corporate social responsibility (CSR), social entrepreneurship and purpose led business could not be more pressing than in a post Covid-19 world.

John Elkington, who first developed the triple bottom line (TBL) concept, a sustainability framework that examines a company’s social, environmental and economic impact, now argues that this has been captured and diluted by accountants and reporting consultants.

The pandemic has exposed how little has been done to date by big business, and how much work still needs to be done for industry to fulfil a broader role to serve and sustain the society and environment it operates within.

Elkington points out that a new TBL innovation and deployment is needed:

“We must start working toward a triple helix for value creation, a genetic code for tomorrow’s capitalism, spurring the regeneration of our economies, societies, and biosphere.”

I have often pressed the point that brands need to move from a ‘for profit’ to ‘for benefit’ business model.

2020 may be the year that we can all look back to and tell our grandchildren one day that The Great Reset saved our planet and created a fairer more sustainable life for all.

However, it must start with the purpose to benefit strategy of which human experience and rational thinking provide a source of both knowledge and a moral code to live by — a Purpose led humanism strategy.

Good Reads:

• Purpose-led businesses are gaining relevance says Unilever CEO
• What NGOs and brands need to know about ‘Doing Good’ in a digital world
• Coronavirus spotlights the need for businesses to go digital
• A Cause marketing case study: The Limitless Potential In Self
• Cause Marketing Campaigns — the good and the bad