Conscious Capitalism - 6 Major Stakeholders
- Neil Emeigh
Introduction
In the book Conscious Capitalism, the authors argue a controversial approach to doing business: that profit is not the only goal of business.
The idea that companies should only maximize investor value, and specifically not care about societal issues, evolved over years. But the tipping point has been credited to one man, Milton Friedman. As the Nobel-prize-winning economist famously wrote in 1970, the “one and only social responsibility of business [is]…to increase its profits.”
We say: to heck with that!
Business is so much more. It has made the world a better place. It has advanced society in ways that are unthinkable. It has also done great damage. It has caused wars, famine, and irreversible impact to our climate. At Rayobyte, we want more of the former, and less of the latter.
In the book, the authors offer us a framework to help realize the potential of for-profit companies, by focusing on six major stakeholders:
By ensuring every stakeholder gets equal attention, not just the Financial Health bucket, we can use business as a force for doing more good in the world.