ThoughtWorks
  • 联系我们
  • Español
  • Português
  • Deutsch
  • English
概况
  • 工匠精神和科技思维

    采用现代的软件开发方法,更快地交付价值

    智能驱动的决策机制

    利用数据资产解锁新价值来源

  • 低摩擦的运营模式

    提升组织的变革响应力

    企业级平台战略

    创建与经营战略发展同步的灵活的技术平台

  • 客户洞察和数字化产品能力

    快速设计、交付及演进优质产品和卓越体验

    合作伙伴

    利用我们可靠的合作商网络来扩大我们为客户提供的成果

概况
  • 汽车企业
  • 清洁技术,能源与公用事业
  • 金融和保险企业
  • 医疗企业
  • 媒体和出版业
  • 非盈利性组织
  • 公共服务机构
  • 零售业和电商
  • 旅游业和运输业
概况

特色

  • 技术

    深入探索企业技术与卓越工程管理

  • 商业

    及时了解数字领导者的最新业务和行业见解

  • 文化

    分享职业发展心得,以及我们对社会公正和包容性的见解

数字出版物和工具

  • 技术雷达

    对前沿技术提供意见和指引

  • 视野

    服务数字读者的出版物

  • 数字化流畅度模型

    可以将应对不确定性所需的数字能力进行优先级划分的模型

  • 解码器

    业务主管的A-Z技术指南

所有洞见

  • 文章

    助力商业的专业洞见

  • 博客

    ThoughtWorks 全球员工的洞见及观点

  • 书籍

    浏览更多我们的书籍

  • 播客

    分析商业和技术最新趋势的精彩对话

概况
  • 申请流程

    面试准备

  • 毕业生和变换职业者

    正确开启技术生涯

  • 搜索工作

    在您所在的区域寻找正在招聘的岗位

  • 保持联系

    订阅我们的月度新闻简报

概况
  • 会议与活动
  • 多元与包容
  • 新闻
  • 开源
  • 领导层
  • 社会影响力
  • Español
  • Português
  • Deutsch
  • English
ThoughtWorks菜单
  • 关闭   ✕
  • 产品及服务
  • 合作伙伴
  • 洞见
  • 加入我们
  • 关于我们
  • 联系我们
  • 返回
  • 关闭   ✕
  • 概况
  • 工匠精神和科技思维

    采用现代的软件开发方法,更快地交付价值

  • 客户洞察和数字化产品能力

    快速设计、交付及演进优质产品和卓越体验

  • 低摩擦的运营模式

    提升组织的变革响应力

  • 智能驱动的决策机制

    利用数据资产解锁新价值来源

  • 合作伙伴

    利用我们可靠的合作商网络来扩大我们为客户提供的成果

  • 企业级平台战略

    创建与经营战略发展同步的灵活的技术平台

  • 返回
  • 关闭   ✕
  • 概况
  • 汽车企业
  • 清洁技术,能源与公用事业
  • 金融和保险企业
  • 医疗企业
  • 媒体和出版业
  • 非盈利性组织
  • 公共服务机构
  • 零售业和电商
  • 旅游业和运输业
  • 返回
  • 关闭   ✕
  • 概况
  • 特色

  • 技术

    深入探索企业技术与卓越工程管理

  • 商业

    及时了解数字领导者的最新业务和行业见解

  • 文化

    分享职业发展心得,以及我们对社会公正和包容性的见解

  • 数字出版物和工具

  • 技术雷达

    对前沿技术提供意见和指引

  • 视野

    服务数字读者的出版物

  • 数字化流畅度模型

    可以将应对不确定性所需的数字能力进行优先级划分的模型

  • 解码器

    业务主管的A-Z技术指南

  • 所有洞见

  • 文章

    助力商业的专业洞见

  • 博客

    ThoughtWorks 全球员工的洞见及观点

  • 书籍

    浏览更多我们的书籍

  • 播客

    分析商业和技术最新趋势的精彩对话

  • 返回
  • 关闭   ✕
  • 概况
  • 申请流程

    面试准备

  • 毕业生和变换职业者

    正确开启技术生涯

  • 搜索工作

    在您所在的区域寻找正在招聘的岗位

  • 保持联系

    订阅我们的月度新闻简报

  • 返回
  • 关闭   ✕
  • 概况
  • 会议与活动
  • 多元与包容
  • 新闻
  • 开源
  • 领导层
  • 社会影响力
博客
选择主题
查看所有话题关闭
技术 
敏捷项目管理 云 持续交付 数据科学与工程 捍卫网络自由 演进式架构 体验设计 物联网 语言、工具与框架 遗留资产现代化 Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence 微服务 平台 安全 软件测试 技术策略 
商业 
金融服务 全球医疗 创新 零售行业 转型 
招聘 
职业心得 多元与融合 社会改变 
博客

话题

选择主题
  • 技术
    技术
  • 技术 概观
  • 敏捷项目管理
  • 云
  • 持续交付
  • 数据科学与工程
  • 捍卫网络自由
  • 演进式架构
  • 体验设计
  • 物联网
  • 语言、工具与框架
  • 遗留资产现代化
  • Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence
  • 微服务
  • 平台
  • 安全
  • 软件测试
  • 技术策略
  • 商业
    商业
  • 商业 概观
  • 金融服务
  • 全球医疗
  • 创新
  • 零售行业
  • 转型
  • 招聘
    招聘
  • 招聘 概观
  • 职业心得
  • 多元与融合
  • 社会改变
转型社会改变商业招聘

Three cultural principles for sustainable social change

Oli Gibson Oli Gibson

Published: Nov 20, 2018

Business can often be a driver of social change, but some organisations are started specifically to further a social mission. The social enterprise sector in the UK employs approximately one million people, in 70,000 organisations, contributing more than £24 billion to the economy. All these organisations are using the power of business as a force to drive social change.

With customers becoming ever more socially conscious, traditional businesses are also waking up to the need to deliver value both socially and financially. Companies like Patagonia and Innocent Drinks are demonstrating how delivering value to all stakeholders, such as suppliers, customers, the environment and local community, can improve the world we live in, while also delivering a healthy financial performance.

However, many organisations struggle to balance their social mission with their commercial reality and thus face challenges sustaining the positive changes they make. There is no single answer to this challenge, but after working with a number of social enterprises, I have come to the realisation that creating the right culture can greatly increase the chance of success. These cultures can be highlighted in three core principles:

Principle 1: Purpose over profit

To do social good, we need to prioritise purpose over financial return. Profit should be a by-product of an organisation that is achieving its reason-for-being.



By focusing on purpose, organisations can treat all their stakeholders equally rather than holding shareholder goals above those of all other stakeholders. This allows organisations to make decisions in the interest of their purpose, not to make the most money or defend their financial position.

A clear purpose can also remove competition between organisations. Others who help achieve the purpose are friends, not competitors. Collaboration with your competition may seem foolish; you could be giving away what differentiates your company; but you are actually enabling others to achieve your purpose, growing your reach and amplifying your impact.

Principle 2: Personal over professional

To make a sustainable social change we must also look internally at how we treat each other.

Organisations have traditionally encouraged people to show up with their “professional” self and leave their “personal” self at home. This “professional” culture has led to employees not exposing too much of themselves for fear of criticism and ridicule, thus creating unrealistic workplace expectations, a lack of empathy for others and emotional dissatisfaction for many.

By encouraging everyone to bring their whole self to work, we can gain a better understanding of each others personality, beliefs, and life outside the office. To do this, we must have the humility to remove the trappings of perceived success, such as the CEO’s suite and the private parking spaces that subconsciously remind people of their position in the organisation and work to treat everyone in the organisation as equals.

We may be surprised to see the energy that wholeness and shared purpose can bring to people within our organisations. We should not lose this energy by creating roles or rules. If we allow people to define their own roles, they can focus on their personal contribution to the purpose, not the boundaries of their role as defined by the organisation. If we remove rules and focus on creating shared values, we no longer need to manage people; we can utilise collective responsibility to ensure we are treating each other correctly and achieving our collective goals.

Personal over professional workplaces can lead to more adaptive and responsive organisations, where employees form strong personal relationships with their colleagues leading to greater equality and inclusivity throughout the organisation.

Principle 3: Trust over control

Trusting people rather than trying to manage and control them can unleash the highest forms of human motivation. If we want to do social good in a scalable way we need to have motivated, driven people behind our purpose. Trusting people to further this purpose is the only way to scale without negatively impacting the benefits of principle two, personal over professional.



By trusting people, we can remove the need for management and allow people to focus on doing the right thing. Those closest to the information are almost always in the best position to make decisions. Allowing people to decide what to do and then go ahead and do it leads to a greater commitment to delivering upon their decisions.

Removing management also means power stays within teams. Individuals can focus on doing what delivers for the purpose rather than climbing the management ladder to gain the power needed to make decisions.

Trusting people with information and allowing them the opportunity to make their own decisions might bring surprising results. People tend to do what is right, and by giving them the information, they will find new ways to solve problems or find opportunities to achieve the organisations purpose. We can then all benefit from the collective power and creativity of diverse minds not just the thoughts of a few in management positions.

Organisational culture is a huge topic and what I have shared only just scratches the surface. However, these principles can form the basis for a new way of approaching work in organisations that wish to achieve sustainable social change. There is no single template for how to apply these principles to organisations, as individuals it is up to us to embrace them and adapt our ways of working to embody these principles in the unique way that is right for our organisation.

Contact Us

We'd love to help you on your digital journey.

Get in touch
相关博客
体验设计

Four principles of product design: Designing to empower survivors of abuse

Amy Findeiss
Fernanda Alcocer
了解更多
职业心得

Grassroots activism: make that change

JoJo Swords
了解更多
社会改变

What do we mean by 'Solidarity Over Charity'?

Elise Zelechowski
了解更多
  • 产品及服务
  • 合作伙伴
  • 洞见
  • 加入我们
  • 关于我们
  • 联系我们

WeChat

×
QR code to ThoughtWorks China WeChat subscription account

媒体与第三方机构垂询 | 政策声明 | Modern Slavery statement ThoughtWorks| 辅助功能 | © 2021 ThoughtWorks, Inc.