“87% of consumer believe that business needs to place equal weight on society’s interest as it does its own business interest. Not only do they want their jobs to have meaning but they want the businesses that they interact with as consumers to have meaning.”
~ Haley Boehning
I recently met with Haley Boehning to explore the question of how for-profit companies can shift to make a better impact in the world, and how they can develop a definite purpose that drives their business forward.
What is Storyforge?
She founded Storyforge with Barry Chandler with this express purpose: “to help founder-led businesses forge their meaningful story”. It’s critical, she noted, because if your purpose isn’t clear then you can’t be consistent throughout your organization. It is a problem if your marketing message says one thing, but the delivery of your services are inconsistent. It needs to be clear, simple, meaningful and compelling so that everyone in the organization can use that as a filter for making decisions.
As an organization, Storyforge helps other businesses achieve this clarity so that they can tell more meaningful stories across all of their stakeholders. The research shows that having a purpose higher than profitability helps companies to be more successful – which Haley pointed out means that purpose and profitability are not opposites — they actually feed each other, and when you miss one, it will hurt the other.
Storyforge mostly works with companies one on one, but in 2018, they’re developing an intensive workshop day for companies to create this clarity in a single day. (I’ll post more details here when they come available!)
What is Conscious Capitalism?
Haley is also involved with bringing Conscious Capitalism to Central Ohio. Thier credo:
“We believe that business is good because it creates value, it is ethical because it is based on voluntary exchange, it is noble because it can elevate our existence and it is heroic because it lifts people out of poverty and creates prosperity. Free enterprise capitalism is the most powerful system for social cooperation and human progress ever conceived. It is one of the most compelling ideas we humans have ever had. But we can aspire to even more.”
~ From the Conscious Capitalist Credo
I’m excited about this new chapter because this podcast usually explores non-profits and social enterprises, but I believe there is a significant opportunity that established businesses can make to impact our society.
What events are coming up?
The kick-off event for Conscious Capitalism is this Thursday, February 15th, at 5:30 pm — check out this eventbrite sign-up.
- Storyforge Website
- Haley on Twitter: @haley_boehning
- Conscious Capitalism, Central Ohio
- Conscious Capitalism International
- Conscious Capitalism, Twitter: @consciouscap
