A focus on profit can often lead to short-term gains and material long-term losses in market value. Business leaders around the world have led their businesses to maximise shareholder returns to only discover that regulators and communities have moved against them. Making strong profits is essential in business, so if you can’t focus on profit first what do you focus on?

 

Review, Reflect, Refocus – 2018/19

It is year’s end. A time during which many business leaders seek to close out the year well and turn their minds to the one ahead. It’s a period to review, reflect and refocus. 

Each year, ‘Compete Weekly’ selects a theme to support business leaders in this process and provides a series of articles to challenge and extend their thinking. In 2018/19, the theme is ‘If Not Profit, Then What?’  

Around the world, we have seen businesses and industries challenged by regulators and communities for their profit-first focus resulting in significant impacts on their market value. 

For all business leaders, the simple question then becomes one of ‘what do I then focus on to drive the performance of my business, if not profit?’

 

 

Summer Series No. 1/7

Three Selected Articles:

 

 

Profiteering By Big Business – Whose Fault Is It?

Around the world today, big business is in trouble with regulators and their customers for ‘not doing the right thing’ and being too focused on profit at all costs. This is not isolated to any one country or industry, and it’s not the first time we have been here. Is this just part of being in business or are we missing something?

 

 

 

Active Knowledge Questions: What do you believe is the role of business in society? Is it all about pushing the boundaries of profit as far as you can, or is there something else?

 

 

Why A Profit-First Motive Is Just Bad Business

We seem unable to break away from the profit-first motive that drives many businesses. It’s the accepted premise for the existence of a business – particularly publicly listed companies. But it’s a flawed model.

 

 

 

 

Active Knowledge Question: What is the prime motive driving your business? 

 

 

How To Plan 100 Years Ahead

It’s pretty much unheard of in the business world today, but in setting your business up to win you should cast your eyes forward one hundred years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Active Knowledge Questions: When you undertake strategic planning for your business, how far ahead do you look? How would your leadership team respond if you asked them to plan ahead for the next 100 years?