How doing good is good for people - and good for business (with Prof Nava Ashraf)

"Altruistic Capital" could change the way we think about incentives and rewards

My #YearofLearning challenge has been a wonderful driver to meet with today's most challenging and inspirational thinkers. One of those thinkers is Professor Nava Ashraf, who recently took the time to talk to me about Altruistic Capital.

Along with Professor Oriana Bandiera, her colleague from the London School of Economics, Professor Nava Ashraf developed the theory of Altruistic Capital, or the economics of doing good. Inspired by ideas found in moral philosophy, the theory offers a new mindset to explore how doing good can actually create powerful economic benefits.

Nava explained that Altruistic Capital is the “investment in altruistic acts that subsequently have returns for us”. This means the more altruistic acts we invest in, the more altruistic capital we have. 

Altruistic Capital is the “investment in altruistic acts that subsequently have returns for us”

Doing Well by Doing Good

The Altruistic Capital theory is built on the observation that every individual has an intrinsic desire to serve and help others, and that nurturing this can have a bigger effect on performance than any financial rewards or incentives.

When you have an organisation that nurtures and enables people who invest in altruistic capital – with meaningful work and the opportunity to make a difference, for example – you have a more productive, more engaged workforce. 

And it gets better. When the organisation itself invests in altruistic capital – through social impact for example – you can create a business with the power to make a better world. Exciting, right?

Unilever partnership

It doesn't end there, either. Individuals with this desire to serve can keep investing in altruistic capital. This capital then aggregates within the company, offering constant returns both to the individual and the business itself. 

Until now there hasn't been a long term field study to explore how this theory of Altruistic Capital might impact business. I’m delighted to say that Unilever is now running one. We could be the first to share real data on this! So stay tuned and I hope to come back to you with some exciting results.

If you'd like to learn more about the theory, you can watch Nava speaking about it here:

Or read more about it here

I look forward to learning more about this – and sharing it with you all as part of my #YearofLearning challenge! Thank you so much to all of you who have chosen to join me on this #LearnWithLeena journey!

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