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| Turning Fiasco Into Benefit |
| Written by Masami Sato |
| Thursday, 31 December 2009 08:17 |
|
What we should do when things go bad.
What we should do when things go bad. When the financial market is unstable worldwide, the first reaction of most people is to hold on to what they have and also cut costs. They also presume that practically everyone is doing the same thing, as that is the impression that newspapers create. However, each and every person ISN'T doing so. There are sections of the society which prosper, come what may. Those, who feel surprised about this odd equation, can find the clue for it in a most obvious place where they might have missed it. It might be worthwhile to analyse it together. When a current is going downward, whatever the reason be, the way to survive is by rowing against the current. If we let ourselves to be swept away by the current, we may sink deep down and survival might become difficult. The fact is that when we know our strength and can hold sway over ourselves, we can rise above the mundane and not worry about what is going on all around. Let us visualise it properly. 'Go-getters' or 'Go-givers' Let's say we want more - more profits, a pay raise, more holidays, more freedom, and more opportunities. When we want something, the first thing we tend to do is to go and get it. So, we call ourselves 'Go-getters'. And being a 'go-getter' is, let's face it, a sign of leadership, activism and an early-adopter mindset. This is of course one of the keys to the success formulae we often read about. But there is a problem. It turns out that when we use this 'strategy', there are some unexpected (but quite predictable) consequences. Because after 'getting' and 'having' it what tends to follow is 'losing' it. We either lose it physically or we lose interest in what it was we got. And when we are tired of one thing we concentrate on getting something new. And these fresh cravings never end. The more we go in search of newer things, the wider the chain of desire that makes us continuously yearn for things. It simply becomes an addiction! So what if we turned our 'desire to get' into a desire to provide? You've probably noticed that giving always creates a great feeling. And it comes from gratitude rather than from fear or greed. We can continue to give more and receive more on our now, ever-fulfilling journey. Our generous and giving attitude creates generous and giving customers and team members while our price consciousness and 'getting attitude' attracts precisely those types of customers and team members. And they're the very ones we don't want! Inspiring capitalism Most ventures are today aware of the inspiring role of capitalism. They are ever ready to contribute more through many avenues. The idea has strongly impacted the business world as they realise how giving is central to business interests. A typical example is Bill Gates, who expounded the philosophy of 'Creative Capitalism' in July 2008 in a TIME magazine article. He said: "Doing good might be the tipping point that leads people to choose one product over another." The gist of what Bill Gates is saying is that when an enterprise is associated with the idea of providing in any manner, that enterprise and its products become more appealing to clients. It carves out a niche for itself far above that of others. Creative Capitalism is about rising above what we reluctantly settle for to reach what we truly aspire to. When we can capitalise on our ideas and imagination in a way that benefits and nurtures the wider community and network; we stop wasting our resources, efforts and talents in trying to temporarily win. We start creating the real win for ourselves and for the sustainability of our global economy. The appeal of effective giving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the phrase that's often used to describe giving back at a corporate level. It's becoming almost a required part of corporate business practice. Yet when it's done out of a sense of obligation or with the intent to just make ourselves look good, people eventually get what it is. It still is a temporary strategy. Business ventures and people who 'donate' become popular. The zeal and sincerity that prods them to act is recognized by the people with whom they interact. This response is on top of what is spun by way of the company's public relation efforts. What is likely to be the upshot if some of the capital meant for marketing is apportioned for contributions? Giving gives rise to something greater than what we actually are. It has the power to inspire. And true inspiration is possible only when it echoes on the people whom we want to enthuse. And we are enthused only when we put our heart and soul into the procedure. It is simply not sufficient to listen to the interesting tales. One has to become part and parcel of the whole process. Everyone has this inclination to make one's own input - to one's immediate relatives, friends, and to the society at large. Transaction-based giving makes it inevitable A far better atmosphere for donating has become possible because of an idea (or we can call it a 'phenomenon') by the name Buy1GIVE1 (Buy One Give One). Buy1GIVE1 is the abode of transaction-based giving. Transaction-based giving overhauls everything. Let us put to use our resourcefulness and decide why. How wonderful is the situation where every time someone buys an ice cream, a child somewhere in an underprivileged country gets a cup of milk? Imagine if every time you subscribed to a magazine you love, a tree got planted automatically just because you bought the magazine? Or every time you dine out, you fed a child in need? Automatically again. Or supposing you are undergoing some training. How wonderful it would be if another eager student far away is also getting the necessary training as a corollary (believe it or not, the training does not cost the training institute more than 60 cents a day). Or if a conference sponsors has arranged a speaker, part of whose income goes to help kids who has speech impediments due to deformities, wouldn't that be a matter to feel satisfied? Just by attending the conference and paying for it, you are becoming part of a noble cause. Consider whether you will be able to use transaction-based giving in your own exclusive way to go with your services or products to make your customers and other team-mates part of the saga of contributing. This is how you can do it. The economy where all benefits Business ventures, on a global basis, have already internalized the efficacy of this transaction-based giving. A case in point is TESCO, one of the foremost supermarket chains of UK. The company's programme ensures that a Kenyan child gets a school uniform when someone buys a pair of school trousers from them. Mineral Water Company Volvic also rolled out their transaction-based giving program successfully last year. For every 1 litre of Volvic people buy, Volvic gives funds to build wells in Africa in a program they call Buy1 GIVE 10 (since every 1 litre sold essentially creates a flow of 10 litres in the well. Small to medium sized companies are now starting to take leadership in expanding this global giving movement through Creative Capitalism. Buy1GIVE1 (www.b1g1.com), a Singapore-based Social Enterprise came up with a mechanism that has turned this transaction-based giving into something every one of us can be involved in. Buy1GIVE1 is the heart of a most powerfully persuasive transaction-based giving globally, correlating business ventures of all sizes to any noble cause anywhere. It is weaving a universal society of business givers and for SME`s, Buy1GIVE1 links up businesses, their clients AND charity requirements in a most passionate and mutually satisfactory manner. The whole thing is completely automated. You can enroll yourself as a citizen of this marvel of universal giving by simply getting a Buy1GIVE1 `VISA` directly from the Buy1GIVE1 site at www.b1g1.com. And if you are an entrepreneur, you can become a B1G1 Business through making an online application and choosing the requirement for which you would like to donate and your product or service through which you would prefer to do it to initiate the giving. Buy1GIVE1 forwards the whole of the donation to their international Worthy Cause Partners (with more than 528 projects to choose) making the giving entirely satisfactory. Do you know? * One half of the world's population -which is about three billion people-does not have a daily income of even two dollars. * Even in the 21st century, which is the age of the internet, there are about a billion people who have never put a pen to a paper. * According to UNICEF, 30,000 children die each day due to poverty. That is about 210,000 children each week, or 20 children every minute. * Just 12% of the people worldwide utilize 85% of the water available for human consumption. And this 12% does not belong to any of the underdeveloped countries. * One billion people lack access to basic health care. * Rainforests of about 63,000 sq. miles get destroyed every year. Figures From Global Issues Buy1GIVE1 Businesses-check out these examples * Buy1BUILD1 (www.sunsplashhomes.com, www.arkgroup.com.au) * Instruction to Instruction (www.kipmcgrath.com.au) * Medical practice providing medical benefits (www.primanora.com) * Telephone card helping in communication (www.ultimatecomms.com) * Mind Expansion to curing (www.meditate.com.au) * Losing weight to feeding children (www.bodychain.com) * Blind installation to lighting up schools (www.blindscouture.com.au) * Socks for comfort to feet free of frostbite (www.socksforhappypeople.com) * Coaching to train social entrepreneurs (www.b1g1forcoaches.com) * And for an overall look, simply go to www.b1g1.com. Unearthing what we are looking for-Nature's eternal secret So let's begin again from where we had set off-financial instability and succeeding in having what we need. The requirements are in reality quite clear-cut. It is just a triumvirate starting with the letter C - correlation, cooperation and community. When we can collaborate instead of isolate and when we can create an effective way to add to each other instead of taking away from each other, we discover there is so much abundance and resource already available in our world. And when we connect, not just with each other but with our true selves, we discover something really interesting-that we're all ONE. Then we understand how easy it is to create a global community from something as simple as giving. And nature gives us a real clue to that. In the wild, all types of insects cross-fertilize plants to create fruits and flowers of endless varieties benefitting men and animals alike. The perfect give and take pattern was there even before civilizations started. When a fiasco inundates the world, it should be leveraged to turn it into a benefit to return to normalcy. Now is the time to acknowledge what we have got and forge ahead to succeed. And when a person opts to begin giving today itself, the sense of euphoria would be much more, notwithstanding the economic problems. And with this sense of elation comes a reawakening of hope that will remind him of how the power and direction of tide can easily change. And his giving might be that which brings about this change. About the Author: Find out more about how Buy1GIVE1 (BOGO) can transform your business using Cause Marketing. |