Whether you are a big or small organisation, an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur, a funder or investor it can be hard keeping both your social and economic aspirations aligned.

Suggested Reading Time: 4 minutes including video

Following on from our previous post we wanted to linger a bit more on what we really mean when we talk about blended value.

Our previous blog questioned whether a business can be uncompromising in its desire to create both financial and social returns. You can read it here. And if you want to learn more about what we mean by blended value I recommend watching this video – a flashback to our TDi days!

Can we create blended value in an already existing business model? Or if we recognise we have compromised either financial or social outcomes in the pursuit of the other – is there a way out? We think so and here are some questions for you to ponder. These questions are not only relevant for entrepreneurs leading their own business but also for intrapreneurs and funder (whether government or philanthropic). You don’t have to be the sole decision maker to take the time to reflect on how your organisation, programs or interventions are combining (or not) the good you want to do in the world with the engine that drives the commercial sustainability of the organisation.

“Not just making money to do good but making money while doing good.”

Paul Steele

How can you more effectively bring the “value” you add on both the economic front and the “making the world better” front together? 

• Are you currently prioritising one type of “value” over the other?
• In order to build a more integrated model do you need to consider a different scale of organisation, or maybe a whole different business model?
• Are there new, fresh ways of thinking that need to be applied to how you go about trying to solve that problem in a way that can also get an economic return?

These are big questions, and it can be hard to objectively look at your business and see new approaches, models and opportunities. If you’re not sure exactly what this might look like for your business but are committed to finding a way through to the other side and building an organisation that aligns with your personal and organisational values, we’d love to work with you on that journey. 

Whether it’s in a coaching capacity to be that fresh set of eyes and sounding board. Working through a Studio and Lab designed specifically for you to dive deeply into the scenarios and options that could help transform your organisation. Or through crafting targeted training programs for your team to design and navigate a new way forward. Benefit Capital’s team of strategists, systems thinkers, designers, coaches and entrepreneurs can walk with you on the journey into the unknown. You don’t have to tread this path alone.

We hope the video in today’s blog helps stir some fresh thinking for you and opens up some new ideas on how you can do good and make money.