SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

THE BUSINESS OF DOING GOOD

BY THULI MADONSELA

When the architects of our democracy drafted the Constitution, I think they had in mind a society similar to that which exists in Massachusetts. One where the government makes a concerted effort to create an enabling environment; one that is predicated on social justice, where people believe that cruelty is wrong and kindness is the ethos.

I won’t pretend it’s a perfect system, but what I love about it is that the people who live there have a conscious desire to do good and make other people feel good about themselves. It is a society of conscious good-doers constantly looking to eliminate social injustice.

Our Constitution – one of the best in the world – with its particular focus on equality, human dignity and freedom, has all the ingredients of a society similar to the one in Massachusetts. However, we face the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment, all of which need to be addressed in ways that resonate with the spirit of our Constitution.

In addressing the issue of unemployment in South Africa, human solidarity is going to be extremely important. An emerging industry in the US is social entrepreneurship.

In South Africa, we need to find a way to provide services to communities; this means that government and companies offload some of their corporate social investments to genuine social enterprises. This, in turn, becomes another source of employment and adds value to humanity.

Social entrepreneurship at Harvard is no longer seen as something reserved only for bored housewives or good-hearted rich people. It’s seen as a niche area for alternative employment in which value can be added to society. You get a sense of feeling good for doing good and, at the same time, you’re improving employment, poverty and inequality.

THE BUSINESS OF PROSPERITY

CREATING GROWTH THAT BENEFITS ALL SOUTH AFRICANS

BY BONANG MOHALE

In his 2018 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to set South Africa on a new growth path towards inclusive development. “As we pursue higher levels of economic growth and investment, we need to take additional measures to reduce poverty and meet the needs of the unemployed. This year, we will be initiating measures to set the country on a new path of growth, employment and transformation,” he said.

This statement is a direct challenge to the conventional belief that we have achieved progress thanks to growth. The evidence is much more nuanced. As a matter of fact, Tabea Kabinde, Chairperson of the Employment Equity Commission, launched a devastating report in June 2018 that demonstrates a deterioration in the representation of blacks in positions of leadership from 14.4% in 2017 to 14.3% in 2018. This, at a time that the country and Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) are calling for the redoubling of efforts, is not only disappointing but sad, tragic and regrettable. Statistics like these defeat nation-building and prolong the journey towards social cohesion.

Countries that succeeded in achieving high levels of human development, from Scandinavia to South Korea, did so because of purposeful restrictions on the growth-at-all-costs model. They pursued income and wealth redistribution, protected families and communities, guaranteed a good work–life balance and invested heavily in social welfare.

The simple fact of massive inequality compels us to rethink the conventional growth path. But what does inclusive growth mean? Obviously, the idea that the ‘pie’ can grow indefinitely is alluring. It means everybody can have a share without limiting anybody’s greed, which is the underlying driving force of modern societies. A rising tide lifts all boats: while the rich get richer, the poor are also expected to benefit from what trickles down.

The reality, however, is that very little trickles down from the wealthy to the poor. The reason is that the poor, who struggle to operate in the new ‘growth economy’, where everything has a price and money dominates social relations, are kicked out of the system.

What is needed instead of benign neglect is an agreement that rewarding employment for a full spectrum of people should be a fundamental goal of business and government. Indeed, with that objective as a starting point, it will be necessary to develop ways to increase both the competitiveness and the inclusiveness of the economy.

A new growth path is needed. This includes forms of business that reconcile human needs with production processes, investment models that emancipate people from passive roles as consumers, and systems of social organisation at the local level that reconnect individuals with their communities and their ecosystems.

This will be an important step forward. If we do not help business to transform and address the skewed distributional effects and their structural underpinnings, prosperity for all will remain a mirage. The role of BLSA is to be a conscientious voice of business, responsible citizenry, patriotic capital, thought leadership and partner of choice – doing everything in our power to ensure that this ANC-led government is a capable state.

In our ‘Contract with South Africa’, launched in September 2017, we recommitted to creating jobs and investing in the acceleration of small business development because SMEs create jobs in large numbers. Business cannot flourish when the rest of South Africa is failing. Business cannot stand as an island of prosperity in a sea of poverty. Equally, business should be at the nexus of socioeconomic development.

Instructively, no country has seen prosperity where business is pushed to the sideline. Thus, the role of business extends to constructively engaging with all key stakeholders including government, labour, communities and civil societies. Business success is positively linked to social cohesion.

LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

CREATING AN INSPIRING CULTURE BREEDS BUSINESS GREATNESS

BY RAN NEU-NER

As a 25-year-old, multidegreed founder of a fastgrowing and highly profitable business, it never occurred to me that I might be my own worst enemy.

I was highly driven, competitive (especially with myself), obsessed with winning and high on success.

I knew every detail of every part of my business and made sure that no move was made without my approval.

And, if the staff couldn’t do something the way I wanted it, I believed that I could do it faster and better.

Pitches won, staff hired and, of course, money in the bank were the only metrics that mattered. It seemed to be a winning formula. The harder we worked, the higher we scored on each metric. The Creative Counsel was the industry disruptor and quickly became the biggest advertising agency in South Africa; in fact, at one point we had over 50% market share in our industry.

We built a business with a highperformance culture. We worked harder than anyone else, handed over brilliant work at all costs and always delivered more than our clients expected. But what were the real costs of this strategy and the focus on the metrics I had chosen?

As the business grew, cracks began to show. We struggled to retain key staff and had developed a reputation for being a bad employer, which limited the number of high-calibre staff we could attract. At one stage, our staff turnover was 80% in a single year. In my arrogance, I attributed the high turnover to the very thing that made us successful: our highperformance culture.

I used to liken business to football, a game where every player needs to play at 100% for the full 90 minutes of every match. One mistake could cost you the game and if you made mistakes, you simply couldn’t be kept on the field or the team.

After one particularly heated management meeting, I agreed to hire a consultant to take a deep look into our business and assist us with correcting our course. We couldn’t keep losing our staff in batches. We were spending our lives hiring and training new staff all while trying to run a successful business.

Despite committing to a four-week project, the consultant called a meeting with me after just two weeks in the business. His conclusions were clear and direct. There was only one thing wrong with our business: its founder. He wasn’t a leader – he was a manager on steroids. In fact, he was often a micromanager.

After months of engagement with an executive coach, I was humbled and realised the true definition and importance of leadership and the clear line between leadership and management.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GREAT LEADERSHIP

The only role of the leader is to create and inspire the culture of the team and the organisation. Ultimately, the culture of a team or organisation can be gauged by how employees behave in the absence of a leader, particularly in tough times.

If a team can win consistently without the involvement of the leader, the leader has truly succeeded in their role. The absence of the leader in daily tasks alludes to the reliance on a management layer that is empowered and makes decisions in the moment that are aligned with the culture that the leader has inspired.

Every organisation needs a good mix between leaders and managers.

I may have been right in my football analogy after all: the best teams are the ones that perform at their peak for the full 90 minutes. The coach (leader) spends hours in training, drills and scenarios, communicating his/her thought process to the team, thereby creating the culture.

On game day, though, the leader is not on the pitch with the team, but inspiring from the sidelines. The game is in the hands of the captain (manager) and the team. If the leader has played their role, his/her inspiration will be seen in every move the team makes – including when they raise the trophy at the end of the match.

The Creative Counsel began bringing home the trophies, winning every business award that the continent has to offer, including a National Business Award. But the success came only after I was humble enough to accept that I needed the guidance to understand that my role was to inspire through compassion, empathy and example.