Impact Organizations
The ‘Impact Organization’ Framework and Movement
Background & Vision
We believe that economic and societal challenges, innovative forms of technology, and a new articulation of human needs are triggering us to reconsider the way organizations work. The evolution of a “Generation Why”, expressing a “lateral cycle of needs” (instead of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs) will demand new organizational vehicles.
We expect that businesses will shift towards “Impact Organizations”, which place social and financial impact at the same strategic level, governed not by hierarchy or transactions, but rather by “lateral accountability” and “relationships”.
We aim to empower organizations and individuals that aim to develop businesses towards these archetypes, building an ecosystem to conceptualize and implement a framework that we believe will supplant the traditional mainstream business. This will not only result in satisfied/empowered employees and stakeholders, trigger innovation, and enhance performance, but might also turn the current vicious cycle of self-interest-based capitalism into a virtuous cycle of enlightened self-interested-based capitalism.
How does an ‘Impact Organization’ work?
This new framework for businesses will combine five elements that are taken from best practice in different fields and industries, and that can be incrementally developed:
- An impact mission that defines the core message towards the organization and beyond it.
- An enlightened leader/leadership team.
- (Co-created) Genuine values.
- Clear measures/key performance indicators that take into account both social and financial dimensions.
- Governance structures that embrace “lateral accountability”, often complementing or even substituting hierarchy.
Building the Ecosystem
We have been developing and implementing this framework with several key partners in academia and practice, including the LSE Innovation Lab and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, over the past couple of years and are supporting several organizations with how to implement the framework most effectively through our advisory services (contact our Chief Innovation Agent Nadia Laurinci for more information).
Want to learn more?
Watch our Co-founder’s Christian Busch’s TEDx-talk about ‘The Emergence of Impact Organization” here.
Register here if you want to become part of the ecosystem, or want to be kept updated about the recent developments.
Contact Nadia Laurinci if you would like to access our global community to source innovative ideas in this space.
