By 
Written By: Brian Reich
The best thing that ever happened to environmental organizations and sustainable businesses is the downturn in the economy.
…Hear me out.
You will be hard pressed to find anyone today arguing that companies can succeed by creating shareholder value at the expense of the environment, or by ignoring basic human rights. Nobody will defend a non-profit or charity that prioritizes its own organizational success over the fulfillment of its social mission. We live in an era in which those who create and contribute value to our society will find themselves both morally and financially rewarded. Individuals expect more from the companies and charities they support.
Today, we live in a globalized, smaller, more tightly connected and more deeply intertwined world than ever before. Each one of us has the ability to transform the way the world thinks about critically important issues. Each of us brings a different set of insights, experiences, and perspectives that challenge the established structures and call into the question the agreed-upon protocols for how work gets done. Still, the radical shifts that we expect to see haven’t happened yet. Not fully. Not in the ways that we think, and sometimes know, are now possible. Why not? A big reason is because our attention has been unnecessarily divided. Until recently, there were too many choices for how to apply our expertise, commit our resources, direct our energy.
That was before the economy was in trouble.
Innovation, and social innovation especially, won’t happen without some real commitment, sacrifice, and hard work. Thanks to the economic challenges that we are currently facing, the sacrifices are already being made. People are spending less — and making different choices about where to invest their time and energy. Businesses are scaling back — and exploring ways to be more efficient and creative with their application of limited resources. For all the negative impacts of the economic slowdown that has consumed the nation, and the globe, one certain benefit is the ability for each of us, individually and collectively, to regain their focus. We needed to create conditions where new ideas can thrive, become contagious, and get executed well — and now we have one. With a more engaged public, we have an unprecedented opportunity to drive participation and mobilize action in new and exciting ways. This is an invitation to act.
But more is still needed. We are in a situation where we can force ourselves to change, be innovative, and experiment with different ways of addressing serious issues. But we have to take action. For every exciting new start-up that gets funded, there are dozens of under performing organizations that should be incentivized to close their doors — the investment in moving the intelligence and experience that exists within those groups somewhere else would deliver a significant return. Instead of introducing new products and services, organizations can redouble their focus on improving their existing offering, to help deepen their commitment to the audience they already have. These areas of focus aren’t as sexy as a new brand or flashy marketing effort, but they help to establish a solid foundation for long-term success and take full advantage of the tools available today and the economic situation we currently face.
If we truly want to solve the problems that exist in our society, we need a whole new approach, a dramatically different structure for all the social, economic, political, organizational, communications, and personal efforts we undertake. We need to shift our thinking, reset our operations, and establish a way of addressing serious issues that is designed for the current realities, not for the past. And we need to re-frame the debate. We need to change the conversation. We need a new way of thinking, a new kind of language, new strategies and tactics, and an overall different way of operating. We need to embrace the idea that our increasingly interconnected world is fueling the need for a new era of real citizenship. Not just in words, but in real, meaningful, measurable actions and results.
Technology and the Internet, and their role in our lives, has changed how we communicate, get and share information, the media we consume, and the reasons we engage with each other—online and offline. The effects of these changes are being felt by all of us, every day, all the time. Information moves faster. People are more closely connected. The expectations we all have for what we want to see and hear have changed. The kinds of relationships and the levels of support we want from organizations have been redefined. Our connection to the issues and events that define our world has been transformed. The economic challenges of today, coupled with the incredible opportunities that exist in a connected society, have provided us a powerful foundation from which to change the present, and future. All we have to do now is stay focused.
Brian Reich is the SVP-Global Editor at Edelman Digital, has written both Shift & Reset: Strategies for Addressing Serious Issues in a Connected Society and Media Rules!: Mastering Today’s Technology to Connect With and Keep Your Audience. He also teaches at the Graduate School of Communications at Columbia University, contributes as a Fast Company expert, and is the former briefing director for Vice President Al Gore.
