Chuck Proudfit
Integrate your passion to help others with quest for profits

 We spend a third of our lives at work, but for many people, work traditionally provides a disconnect between how people want to live their lives and what the marketplace demands. As I mature as a human being and business person, I see more and more examples that the best business practices are ethical ones with a moral underpinning-- and businesses which incorporate Christian (and other religious) principles succeed better than others focused solely on generating profits at any cost.

Having mentioned the 'C' in a business blog, I have to address one important point. Of course religions other than Christianity support a spirit of love, giving and help to others in need, but since I am a non-denominational Christian, I will stick to that perspective here. My giving strategies are applicable, however, to a wide range of people interested in "making a difference as well as a dollar."

What I'd like to address here is the formation of a "social enterprise," an innovative business model in which releasable profits are dedicated to causes that CEOs and business owners are passionate about.

To work hard and generate wealth solely for the sake of making money is an empty proposition.  Any thoughtful person recognizes that over time, and that's partially why so many people retire in their jobs at an early age. Employees want to support their families and earn a good living, but they want to work at jobs that are significant, too. That's also why so many people can't wait to retire so they can volunteer at their local churches, synagogues and mosques and do what they really want to do with their lives.
One way to ignite enthusiasm among career workers is to connect them with their innate desire to aid causes larger than themselves.  When employees are connected with a cause, they experience directly the impact philanthropy has on improving others' lives. It suddenly it becomes vitally important to be the best salesman in a company if you know excess profits go to aid orphans, or to help the poor.

Some employers incorporate philanthropy into their businesses model by matching employee donations with a corporate donation. This is a simple, yet effective way to encourage philanthropy among employees.    

Other businesses, like Megen Construction, develop their own corporate-sponsored and funded nonprofit organizations for causes they believe in. I am privileged to help serve Evans Nwankwo, company president, organize his two-year-old NuWay Foundation into an agency that provides educational advancement, community building and economic development for the village of Awa in Nigeria. We've already invested in fresh water projects, school infrastructure, and health care projects.  In the future, we envision a permanent facility that serves as a base of operations for more sustained assistance.

Hand-outs are passé; philanthropy in the new millennium is all about education, empowerment and implementing good business practices to have a long-term positive effect. The world may be hot, flat and crowded, but with technology it's also possible to reach millions of people instantly. This is a truly revolutionary gift.

Checking the Business news twice daily, cutting products, personnel and services, and waiting for Wall Street to recover may be an initial way entrepreneurs and small business owners deal with an economic downturn, but they aren't the only—or wisest—ways to survive a recession.

Glass half-full optimism dictates that when times are tough, the tough get creative. Not only is looking for the silver lining a healthy, proactive way of looking at problems, it's also an empowering way to focus on doing something positive and staying ahead of the competitive curve.
  
As a small business consultant who has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs over the last 13 years, branding, re-branding, and re-organizing their businesses' strategic goals and organizational cultures, I've seen some common problems that many small business owners face in tough economic times. Here's my five top tips to trim your sails and catch favorable winds into 2009:

•    Safeguard the Mission:  Organizations are often tempted to experiment with products or services that are not closely linked to their "heritage," their initial market offerings.  Expand your mission only with great care, and when it happens, make sure there is consistency between the original and the new missions.

•    Adapt Strategies:  While organizations should be consistent in pursuing their mission or purpose, they should be very flexible in choosing strategies to achieve it.  Your goal here is to "fly fast" and "fail fast," quickly building on the strategies that work, and quickly replacing the strategies that don't work.  

•    Seek Out Business Smarts:  Smart organizations are created by smart people.  Smarts come in many forms, from street smarts to school smarts.  Create a mix of smarts for your organization, as this will give you the richest business perspective.  Remember to seek out smarts in advisors or subcontractors, as well as employees.

•    Put Cash Flow Even Before Profit:  Obviously, profit is fundamental to the long-term survival of an organization (even if it's a non-profit which distributes all of its profits).  However, an unprofitable organization can remain in business over the short term as long as it has adequate cash reserves.  Strive for at least six months of cash reserve.

•    Balance Short-Term Versus Long-Term Futures:  The best decisions for a growing business benefit both its short-term and long-term futures.  Unfortunately, many business decisions are about trade-offs, such as releasing profits to satisfy investors short-term, or investing profits to build long-term infrastructure.  Strike a balance!

Our grandmothers had it right when they told us, 'Worry is like a rocking chair. It keeps you busy, but doesn't get you anywhere.' While it's important to be realistic about your financial and organizational situation, it's more important to empower yourself to move positively and steadily in the right direction for 2009. The best paths to success to begin with the right planning.