Change Agents - Change your business for good!

Precious few of us imagine that we will change the world through our jobs.

Whether the world of work is your ongoing challenge to fly higher and faster than the rest, or the drudgery you endure to be able to do all the other stuff you really care about - it's just work. You may be good at what you do. You may even love what you do. But in the big scheme of things, it's mundane. Isn't it?

But the times are changing. That's good news for those who want to make that work a little more meaningful. there is now a growing realisation that what you do at work - and what your business does in its day to day pursuit of prosperity - makes a real impact on society. Whereas in the past, the business held that it had no moral responsibility, depending instead on legislators to provide the framework of what was acceptable, now it is held accountable by an increasing number of powerful interested parties. The benefit or harm of its products and services, its environmental impact, its relationship with the workforce and with local communities - all these aspects of business are now open to scrutiny. The change in attitudes has been the most rapid we have ever seen.

Even if you work for one of the many millions of small businesses - you are part of that aggregated mass of business that can choose to be part of the problem - or a highly effective part of the solution. You can help your firm make the right choice. And the good part is that you can do this by doing exactly what they pay you for - by making the business more successful and more competitive. You can achieve career success. You can boost your organisational goals. All by getting your business to do the right thing. That is the opportunity that is at the heart of the new business-led movement for social responsibility.

You don't have to be an idealist to want to do this. And more importantly, you're dead in the water if you use idealistic arguments to try to move your company forward. The business case rules - although many of the individual business leaders who have been most effective have also become personally committed to their own positive impact on society.

What you do at work counts - and this web site is for you - to help you to see why it counts and, more importantly, what you can do about it. There's a whole network of people out there trying to do the same - and waiting for you to join them.

Mallen Baker

Seven characteristics of effective change agents

In the news

To make any comments / suggestions re. this site, please contact mallen@mallenbaker.net
This site last updated on 30th June 2008