Business is a tool and like any tool, its impact and legacy is determined by the people directing the affairs of the business. A business can be a vehicle for crime and corruption. However, it can also be a vehicle for long-term change in the community. For anyone interested in building a consistent and sustainable system around their solutions, a business could be the best structure for it. The big idea here is that you do not need to choose between making money and doing good. You can really do good by solving problems in a way that is self-sustaining and profitable.
Henry Ford famously said, “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business”. A business cannot simply focus on the bottom-line without giving thought to the impact and legacy in the society. Some of the biggest changes to the way we live, work and play over the past fifty years have been driven by businesses. Corporations such as Microsoft, Facebook, and Toyota Motor Corporation have proven beyond any doubt that one can make money and have an impact at the same time. You see these businesses solving problems and increasing the productivity of nations.
If you are serious about your role to watch the world and steer it towards a better future, you would need to be business minded. You are not doing anyone a favour when you dream up “passion projects” that are not self-sustaining. The idea that you would always need to beg for money before executing projects should be abandoned. You can build out a business around any cause that interests you. And that business makes money and enables you to offer your ideas, services and support to even more people.