SOCIAL Capitalism
 
GUSTAVO  GRODNITZKY JUNE 9,  2015
 
Social  capitalism is a concept  that is often misunderstood. It is not 
socialism or social  engineering. The best way to understand social  capitalism 
is to contrast it to classic capitalism.  
Companies that operate on the premise of classic  capitalism believe that 
it is the role of owners and investors in the  organization to create a 
machine of business that creates profit that is then  returned to owners and 
investors, otherwise known as shareholders. In  contrast, social capitalism 
companies believe that is the role of the leadership  of the organization to 
create a culture that considers all of its complex  constituencies otherwise 
known as stakeholders. A  stakeholder is anyone who comes into contact with 
your product or service. So  business partners, suppliers, employees, 
customers, shareholders, as well as the  community, society, and the 
environment are 
all stakeholders in the  organization.  
Over the past 10+ years, social capitalism has  outperformed classic 
capitalism. 
 
(http://drgustavo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/social-capitalism-vs-classic-capitalism.png)
  
This creates what I refer to as the profit  paradox: Companies that pursue 
profit directly  (classic capitalism) make less profit. Companies that 
understand that profit  is a result of creating and sustaining an outstanding 
organizational culture  that takes into consideration all of its stakeholders 
(social capitalism)  make more profit. 
The graph above illustrates the change in stock price of the three major  
market indexes (Dow Jones, S&P 500, and NASDAQ) between 2004 and 2014. It 
also  shows the performance over the same period of classic capitalism 
companies. But  these aren’t just any classic capitalism companies — these are 
the 
remaining  companies identified in a very famous business book published in 
2001, _Good To Great_ 
(http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Some-Companies-Others/dp/0066620996/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433861636&sr=8-1&keywords=jim+collins
+-+good+to+great&pebp=1433861641049&perid=11HCJJT4DA09VGZK5XQD)  by Jim 
Collins. In Good  to Great, Collins identified 11 companies that he considered 
successfully  moved from good to great because of their ability to create a 
return for  their owners and investors, or shareholders (classic 
capitalism).  
The graph also displays a particular set of social capitalism  companies. 
These companies are the companies  identified in a popular business book 
published in 2006 called _Firms of Endearment_ 
(http://www.amazon.com/Firms-Endearment-World-Class-Companies-Passion/dp/0131873725)
 , by Raj Sisodia. In 
Firms of Endearment, Sisodia  identifies 30 companies (20 public, 10 private) 
that are called social  capitalism because of their ability to balance the 
needs of all of their  stakeholders. As you can see in the graph, these  
companies are far more profitable than classic capitalism companies in both  
the 
short and long term. 
So why stay with classic capitalism? Classic  capitalism relies on business 
norms which are clear, well defined, and  require quid pro quo behaviors. 
Social capitalism relies on social  norms, which are more ambiguous. This 
means leaders in companies that  rely on social norms must manage anxiety — 
both their own and their  investors’. This means it requires strong and  
courageous leaders who believe that culture precedes profit to establish a  
culture where all stakeholders are considered and profit follows. Social  
capitalism relies on the social norms applying primary human drives to connect, 
 to 
belong, and to drive behavior rather than just financial exchange. When you  
create a culture that is based on social norms, you get behaviors from your 
 employees you cannot buy, sell, or trade — and these are the behaviors 
that most  drive organizational success.

-- 
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