One Simple Question...

Parent: “Can you please pick up that piece of trash”

Child: “I didn’t put it there” 

The basic problem starts very young, my almost 4-year old might not quite yet speak these words but I know for a fact my 6-year old does. The response is reactive, instinctive almost, and hard wired in from a very early age. Unless we have raised our awareness, we basically all function like this when we see trash on the street, hear about hunger or catastrophic events, read about global warming or are exposed to war and terror on the television and other news channels. And this is just naming a few of them, the list goes on. The reality is that most of mankind shrugs their shoulders and marches on, busy with our own lives and entirely occupied with our own trials and tribulations. The compassionate among us might donate some money or even time and effort, but very few take the perspective that we actually own these realities. Yes, you heard that right, I am going to make the case that each one of us actually owns the very reality we see and experience when we open our eyes every morning.  

So, this gets me to what I am going to call the “one simple question” and that question goes as follows:

Does this [word or action] make the world a better place…?

The one single question (“1SQ”) is relevant on both the personal and business level alike, let me start by relating this to the personal level. How many times have each of us spoken an unkind word or have just been unfriendly (whether to someone close or to a stranger) because we’re having a bad moment. How about impatiently beeping our horn, not picking up a piece of trash because we didn’t put it there, take more napkins or utensils at Starbucks than we really need, you get the concept by now I am sure. For all of these typical daily occurrences there’s no explicit charge however there’s definitely a cost. The cost is a less friendly world, hurt feelings or worse maybe lingering anger or even a fight, a more polluted world drowning in the excrement of excess mindless consumption and its accompanying waste. All of these have massive costs yet we each believe we’re not responsible because “I didn’t put it there.” Now, let’s introduce the concept of 1SQ. If every one of us would ask ourselves “does this make the world a better place” before we speak or act (which could be buying or consuming) then the world – i.e. our reality – would start to look very different virtually overnight. In fact, and I am not even talking about raising our respective levels of awareness on par with the Dalai Lama, if we can start by pausing just occasionally it would already yield radical results and be completely transformative. So, perhaps next time you spot a piece of trash, you have your smart (and probably hurtful or rude) comeback ready, or you’re about to beep your horn and create a bunch of noise pollution and irritation all around, you could consider asking “does this make the world a better place…” If the answer is no, don’t do it and see what happens – I guarantee you’re going to feel rewarded and maybe even crack a smile internally because this is a 100% inside game and you’re the only one in on it.     

So, enough preaching this on a personal level, let’s dig into the business side of things as that’s likely what you wanted to read about in the first place. To me, the application here is so obvious because the indiscretions on behalf of companies and organizations is so much more egregious. Why? Because the cover of a company or organization lets the individual off the hook and everything is so easily and conveniently justified in the name of profits and the bottom line.  So, this is where the real leaders step up and change the paradigm. By instilling a strong sense of humanity and stewardship into companies and organizations, these contrarian thinkers and visionaries open up the path to a better and more prosperous planet. We have no shortage of tall challenges to get there, but it fundamentally starts by making better choices and smarter decisions and that’s where the premise of 1SQ can help make a difference.  Profit is important and I am not advocating we toss away all that’s good about the pursuit of profits, I am merely suggesting we introduce another metric or yardstick to make sure our progress is balanced and accounts for all costs including those not directly recorded on the financial statements.  So, what comes to mind when you ask “does this make the world a better place” when considering your product or service?  I wonder what this question would mean to the creators of violent video games, the tobacco industry, or diabetes inducing food producers if they actually answered this with true integrity.  What if private equity and venture capital firms would adopt this very simple question when evaluating where to deploy capital.  What if the business world as a whole would start asking this one simple question in all aspects of business from what products and services it offers to sourcing materials and services to hiring and nurturing its human capital. While we’re at it, what if people would sincerely ask this question before joining a company or organization, and exercise their power to vote with their choice of employment? The world would transform, that’s what would happen. We would see the results of more balanced decisions almost overnight. Once we collectively and individually accept the responsibility for the enormous – but not insurmountable – problems we have facing the planet today like the proliferation of plastic waste, pollution of our oceans, the eradication of natural resources like forests and fish stocks, global warming, widespread hunger and malnourishment, lack of access to proper healthcare, etc. we can also start seeing that all the technologies and solutions are already at our fingertips or within reach. All things are connected and businesses and organizations play a vital role in driving change, our quality of life is directly related to the state of our planet and our ability to create a friendlier and gentler reality for all of us. This is in my humble view the future of business, the adaptors of this more holistic approach will thrive and those that ignore the shifting currents will go the way of the dinosaurs. I am convinced this one simple question – “does this make the world a better place?” – can do us a lot of good to get there and would be a worthy tribute to one of the giants of the last century who reminded us of taking full personal responsibility...     

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world” - Ghandi

Robert Althuis is the founder of Wayfare Impact LLC, a Miami-based impact investment firm committed to pursuing projects, investments, ventures, and business opportunities based on the premise of impact investment or the triple bottom line. Please visit our website – www.triplebottomline.com – for more information or reach out to us via email. Wayfare’s mission is to be a force of good for people, planet, and profits – i.e. “the triple bottom line.”

Impact Investing

Investments made into companies, organizations, or funds with the intention to generate measurable, beneficial social and environmental impact alongside financial returns.

Triple Bottom Line

The triple bottom line refers to a company’s commitment to measure its success in terms of social responsibility (“people”), environmental stewardship (“planet”), and financial returns (“profits”).