The Challenge We Face
There are countless challenges that we must, and can, tackle: starvation, illiteracy, poor health, lack of access to clean water and electricity, gender inequality, youth unemployment, homelessness, migration and environmental destruction, among others.
It is imperative now to align the minds of investors, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, social organizations, big businesses, governments, and the general public, so that we can root out these persistent problems. It is time for us all to gather around the new watchword of our young century: impact.
The rumblings of a change can be felt underfoot in nations across the world. New technologies and tools are being used to rebalance the scales, to improve lives and the planet.
We can see that it is no longer possible for us to live in a world where businesses create, unchecked, negative consequences that governments unsuccessfully try to remedy at huge cost.
"Capitalism has served us well over the last 250 years, but it has become untenable in its present form. It needs radical change."
The Paradigm Shift
The Tech Revolution is being followed by the Impact Revolution, which springs from the simple idea that we can overturn capitalism's single-minded focus on profit, in order to deliver profit and social impact at the same time, redirecting vast flows of money to improve the world.
By combining profit and impact, we fundamentally change the nature of our system, so that it is no longer acceptable to say, 'I'm just in business to make money'.
Our collective mindset has already started to shift in favor of impact.
The Movement Today
Investors and businesses are becoming socially and environmentally conscious. Impact entrepreneurs are beginning to gain access to the capital they need to bring brilliant, life-improving ideas to scale. Cash-strapped governments are starting to discover value in harnessing the innovation of the private sector, channeling its talent and capital to find better solutions to society's challenges. Philanthropists are driving the delivery of more tangible outcomes.
Now more than ever before, it is becoming possible for all people – poor and wealthy, young and old – to not merely inhabit this fragile world but make themselves protectors of it.
Historical Context: The Invisible Heart
Adam Smith, the great economist, was prouder of his first work 'The Theory of Moral Sentiments', which deals with people acting out of altruism, than he was of 'The Wealth of Nations', renowned for its theory of the 'invisible hand of the market'.
Had he thought of measuring impact in monetary terms, as we can now do through impact accounting, he might have combined the two books and cast impact as the invisible heart of markets that must guide their invisible hand.
Our current systems for creating positive social impact are more than two centuries old. The scale of our problems has changed, and so too must our response.
The Path Forward
This moment calls for a paradigm shift. We must actively shift impact to the center of our consciousness. Instead of relying solely on governments and philanthropy to achieve social improvement, we must usher in a third force to accelerate the pace of change: the private sector.
When we ignore the damage we cause through the private sector, we spend precious resources cleaning up our own mess. When we harness our powers for good, however, we can accelerate social progress, amplify the impact of the public sector, and prevent similar messes in the future.
A Vision for Tomorrow
Envision a world where inequality is shrinking. Where natural resources are regenerated, and people can unlock their full potential and benefit from shared prosperity. A world focused not just on minimizing harm, but on doing measurable good.
That's the purpose of impact. Each and every one of us has a role to play in shifting our paradigm to impact economies that optimize risk, return and impact, doing good and doing well at the same time.
