Falling in love
Hannah Keartland - outsourced Chief Impact Officer
Scale up your impact | Founder of B Corp? consultancy Keartland & Co - helping business leaders have a meaningful impact through their business | Board Advisor | TEDx speaker
Hello!
At the Regenerative Business Summit, Kresse Wesling CBE sparked a conversation about bringing more love into business. It got me wondering about the connection between love and impact, and how bringing more love into business could affect the impact it has (see this LinkedIn post).
What I do know is – if we want to make a meaningful difference in the world, then we need to fall in love with the problems we’re trying to address. Not with our solutions. And so that’s the topic of this month’s newsletter.
If you want to have a meaningful impact through your business then the first thing you must do is be clear on the difference you want to make. This should be specific and measurable in the real world – i.e. it’s about real things that you can see and measure, not business metrics like money or brand equity.
For example, Tony's Chocolonely exists to end exploitation in the cocoa industry. Fairphone 's mission is to establish a viable market for ethical electronics and so motivate the whole industry to act more responsibly. ?
Both these businesses are addressing recognised problems – exploitation of and damage to people and the environment in the cocoa and electronics industries. They can see and measure the difference they are making.
What’s the problem you’re addressing?
Once you’re clear on that, then you need to peel back the layers of the onion to understand more about the problem and its root causes.
How do you do that?
By falling in love with the problem.
The aim is to gather insight and help increase your understanding.?
Be open minded, prepare to have your assumptions challenged and expect to be surprised. I’d love to hear what “aha moments” you have – please share them with me!
Most importantly, don't think about where you fit yet. We’re falling in love with the problem, not your solution.?
By increasing your understanding, you will massively increase the chances of making a meaningful difference to the problem. Be prepared to spot new opportunities you didn’t know existed!
The question I’d encourage you to ask yourself this month is:
What's the real world problem we are addressing?
Once you’re clear on the problem you’re addressing, do one thing to learn more about the problem. For example:
You might just have one or two hours available – that’s ok, you will be surprised by what you discover.
Want to be a bit more Tony's ?? ? Or Fairphone ????
I’m looking for 15 business leaders?who have already started on their responsible business journey and now want to scale up their impact. Business leaders who feel like there’s more potential for their business to make a difference and want to take their business’s impact to the next level.
I’m evolving my Amplify solution, which helps businesses create an integrated strategy where commercial success and positive impact are mutually reinforcing. This research will help me ensure that the solution is as useful and effective as possible.
Are you willing to have a 30-45 mins research call with me??If so, please reply to this email to let me know.?
To say thank you,?I will give you a 45 mins mentoring session?where I will help you explore where you are on your responsible business journey and the key area to work on in 2025 to help you scale up your impact.
Better Business Summit
Nicky and I will be leading our next walk in nature at the Better Business Summit in January. I’m thrilled to be part of this conference as it’s one I love and admire.?
This is the third annual flagship conference by the Better Business Network and it’s taking place Wednesday 15th - Friday 17th January 2025. You can use the code SPEAKER20 to get 20% off your ticket – book here.?
As always, let me?know?([email protected]) what you'd like me to include in future editions of the newsletter. What help do you need to ensure that the actions you’re taking deliver meaningful impact?
P.S If you enjoyed this newsletter please share it with a friend and encourage them to sign up.