Innovatia

And the government is facing pressure to de- regulate. Exactly. My impression has been that it has been hard for non-Australian entities to be real banks, and to have the full range of ser- vices, so if that loosened up, that would be another dynamic. The best outcome would be for it to come from within, but that may be wishful thinking. What motivates you? You’ve never gone into a senior management role with a ma- jor company. I love the process of trying to figure out these very important problems. My work spans companies and economic develop- ment, and I see that economic prosperity is fundamental to society and human progress in almost everything. I work directly on what creates prosperity but I am very clear in my own mind that at the root of prosperity in economies is good managers who make good choices, have strategies, and who compete in this way. Everybody wants to feel that what they are doing is important. I feel it is important be- cause if I can make a contribution to thought, about how to make societies and the compa- nies in them more prosperous, then that is a big deal. I’ve been increasingly interested in the interface between capitalism and so- ciety and what role corporations play in im- proving economies. The circles are closing and I’m still very stimulated by research. Does your work lead you to believe that economic value can be consistent with making a contribution to society?

Exactly. I fundamentally believe that there’s a deep integration between what most peo- ple argue is social values and economic val- ues. The proof is the environment, and the next corporate philanthropy paper will be very focused on that issue. I do believe there can be a triple bottom line. You need to be very careful about how you think about that. I have a chart in the paper (Philanthro- py’s New Agenda: Creating Value, HBR, Nov/ Dec 1999) which compares social value and economic value. You can think about some things that are pure business, and there’s everything that you could do that is pure phi- lanthropy, but I believe strongly that there’s a zone of things that do both. For example, when you start investing in the development of a trading system in your location, you can be in this zone. I argue that if corporations are going to be involved in social things, they ought to be in this zone. As companies get involved in these things, there are principles about how you can add value in your philanthropy, beyond just the money. You’re not talking about just donating to charity. No, I’m talking about a more active role for the corporation and influencing those areas. Milton Friedman once said that the respon- sibility of a company is to increase its profit, and the company should not give; individu- als should give. I look at the underlying as- sumptions that would make his argument correct or incorrect.

“In business endeavours, if you feel like you are running on air, make sure you are getting traction.”

INNOVATIA

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