Stakeholder-Centered Strategy - Intentional Futures

As the world emerges from COVID-19, global challenges are at the forefront of business leaders’ minds. Many are left grappling with myriad issues and expanded expectations of their companies. From climate change, DEI and social justice, to economic inequality, worker safety and related issues, leaders are looking for guidance in addressing key questions as they lead their businesses into a future propelled by change and opportunity:

Which issues should we lean into and how can doing so drive innovation for our business?
How do we deliver on the aspirations and public commitments we’re making while boosting performance and driving long-term profitability?
How can we operationalize our purpose across the entire organization and the stakeholder ecosystem in which we operate?
How can we attract and retain top talent, customers and partners in this new environment?
What standards should we hold ourselves accountable to now, and how do those standards influence our interactions with employees, customers, partners and others?

Addressing these challenges requires an expanded business approach to establish alignment around key priorities, drive collaborative decisions, and measure a company’s progress through a broader lens.

But how do you put purpose into practice?

Enter Stakeholder-Centered Strategy (SCS)—an operational methodology transforming how businesses create long-term value. Based on the concept of stakeholder capitalism, which was introduced decades ago by the World Economic Forum, SCS provides constructs to help leaders navigate the complexities of this new world, leveraging their stakeholder ecosystem for collaborative innovation and sustainable value. Relatively dormant until recently, stakeholder capitalism resurfaced in 2019 and gained momentum during the pandemic, as companies grappled with an expanded mandate to take a stand on societal issues, support the planet, and address economic inequality. The past year is proof that purpose-driven organizations are in the best position to overcome great challenges and thrive by activating their values in service of their stakeholders. These ideas go far beyond surviving the next pandemic-like disruption. They represent a new and better way for businesses, non-profits and foundations to lead into the future.

Stakeholder-Centered Strategy is an approach we use to equip organizations with the knowledge, tools and capabilities they need to operationalize their purpose in ways that create long-term value for themselves and their unique stakeholder ecosystem. It aligns purpose, performance, and profit in five ways:

Mapping your stakeholder ecosystem, identifying who stakeholders are, understanding what they value most, and exploring where value is/isn’t being created
Assessing your organizational purpose and how well your decisions and actions align to it
Identifying opportunities for shared value creation—for the organization, society and environment
Driving collaborative innovation through ideas, processes and practices that create shared value
Anchoring measurement around shared success through metrics, governance, and operational methods that align your organization’s needs with the needs of your stakeholders

Curious? Send a message to debi@intentionalfutures.com or michael@intentionalfutures.com to learn more.

Contact

info@intentionalfutures.com 1 (206) 607-6977

Address

1501 E Madison, Suite 500

Seattle, WA 98122-4473