Remember the Power of Purpose and Mission

B The Change Weekly: May 22, 2020

Delivered on Fridays, B the Change Weekly delivers the most important and most relevant stories about people using business as a force for good. The newsletter features a weekly note from the B the Change team alongside insight and context on the stories we share here on Medium. Below is our latest roundup. To receive these insights directly in your inbox, sign up for B the Change Weekly today. Now on to the good stuff:

Challenges can provide an opportunity for change or an excuse to stick with the status quo. One value that sets Certified B Corporations apart from other businesses — the stakeholder framework that incorporates purpose as well as profit — can serve as the spark for that change.

Whether the challenge is a revenue drop, a supply chain interruption, a sudden demand increase, a global recession, or all of the above, B Corps can rely on their purpose — and reach out to better understand the needs and ideas of their stakeholders — to find a source of resilience.

5 Lessons on Business Resilience

Amid the pandemic’s effects on the economy, businesses are dealing with busts, booms and everything in between.

Three B Corp leaders whose businesses weathered challenging economic times, including the 2008 recession, share their suggestions on finding strength in a stakeholder framework — with a purpose beyond just profit — to stay resilient through the challenges of COVID-19 and the long-term future.

Speeding a Purposeful Transformation

The contemporary concept of purpose — a higher goal beyond profit that drives an organization’s activities — gained momentum after the 2008 recession, when many organizations were forced to reject legacy business thinking and adopt new models.

On B The Change, Tom Moore of B Corp Mandalah shares why the COVID-19 crisis may accelerate the next phase of business transformation and the arrival of a more socially centered form of capitalism.

Finding Strength in Personal Purpose

While humans are wired to contribute something larger than our own survival, we feel inclined to hunker down in times when fear and uncertainty abound, as Nell Derick Debevoise of B Corp Inspiring Capital writes on B The Change.

But she says that’s also when it’s most important to identify our purpose — our reason for getting up in the morning — and contribute to a better future.

Stay in the Know

Here’s your chance to catch up on recent articles:

• 5 Lessons on Business Resilience and Stakeholder Engagement From the Great Recession: B Corp Leaders Who Made It Through the Recession Share How a Stakeholder Framework Helps Them Weather Economic Challenges
• Travel Can Only Rebound Stronger If It Rebuilds More Responsibly: B Corp Intrepid Travel Shares 4 Ways to Rebuild the Tourism Industry for a More Sustainable Future
• How This B Corp Fund Manager Uses the B Impact Assessment to Evaluate Its Investments: Bridges Fund Management Demonstrates the Value of Multi-Stakeholder Approach and Builds the B Corp Community
• 5 Elements Of Purpose Done ‘Right’: Why a Guiding Statement Holds Special Value Right Now
• Helping Workers Thrive in the Transition to Greener Economies: Denmark and Canada Provide Varying Examples of Market Shift Toward Clean Energy
• 5 Ways AeroFarms Puts People, Planet and Purpose First in Uncertain Times: B Corp Strives to Be a Force for Good in Agriculture Industry

B the Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.

Remember the Power of Purpose and Mission was originally published in B The Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.