The most neglected stakeholders

Stakeholders are anyone or anything that either has an effect on our business or project, or who our project or business has an effect on. It is easy to forget those we have an effect on if their effect on us is less clear.

If you don't have a healthy planet and functioning society, nothing else matters.

The CEO of Wal-Mart discussed how companies can contribute to society. The first principle is to prioritize issues relevant to the mission of the company. A grocer, for example, would care about the sustainability of the world's food supply. Second is to draw on the company's capabilities. If a company has a resource they can use to help other people, they should do so. For example, a grocery store may donate food that is approaching its expiration date to a local food bank. It costs them nothing, as the food would have gone bad before it sold anyway. Third, aim for the triple bottom line. This includes considering how companies can positively affect profit, people, and the planet. Four is reshaping the system for lasting improvement. By collaborating to improve the system for oneself, the sytem is improved for everyone that is part of it. Number five is engaging partners in transforming systems. The challenges we face in our world are not ones that can be addressed solo.

It is interesting that someone from Wal-Mart would have this discussion, since they are known for brutally taking over their suppliers' supply chains in order to squeeze every drop they can from them. They do this in the name of efficiency which can be good, but it really turns out to be high volume and low per-unit net income at the expense of employee expertise and quality. A company who charges slightly more can afford to provide better service and a higher quality product.

It is often seen that businesses will attempt to maximize shareholder returns at all costs. The means don't matter, only the end of the almighty stock price. The problem with such thinking is that anytime we care about any end more than any of the possible means to get there, there is an inherent systemic motivation to cheat. This holds in sports, in school, in relationships, in business, and everywhere in society. By focusing only on the predetermined outcome, people will do whatever is required to steal or otherwise manipulate the inputs to achieve what is considered the best output. The thing is, if they would just focus on using the best means - cooperating, being kind, treating employees well, cleaning up the environment, and otherwise sharing their means, the best ends will result, whether or not they were the end we initially desired.

"Not everything that is confronted can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is confronted." - James Baldwin