I actually am a capitalist, and I believe in shareholders. But I believe in them as a result of what I do, not as a reason for what I'm doing. The same with profits - profits alone cannot be an objective. It has to have a purpose.
Profit is the celebration of service.
Profit has to be a means to other ends rather than an end in itself.
Profit is not the explanation, cause, or rationale of business behavior and business decisions, but the test of their validity.
Profit is not the proper end and aim of management - it is what makes all of the proper ends and aims possible
When I first entered the corporate world, doing good and making money were seen as separate and contradictory threads. Challenging that notion set my career - and life - on a new course.
Discovery Channel's 'Planet Healers' will provide a look into how businesses can exist for more than just making profits, how they can help create a better and sustainable future.
At Patagonia, making a profit is not the goal because the Zen master would say profits happen 'when you do everything else right'.
I think business needs to have a heart and to have a heart a company must be more than just a moneymaking machine.
The most potentially transformative impact of social media is its ability to encourage brands to marry profit and purpose. The reason brands participate is that such outreach earns those companies social currency enabling them to start or participate in conversations that connect them to consumers in meaningful ways.
