PSFK Conference SF Recap: Aligning Interests

Max Schorr (co-founder and Community Director of GOOD) spoke at a PSFK Conference SF about aligning business with idealism, and how GOOD has applied this approach to building their company and magazine.

We’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot by aligning doing good with altruism. Altruism isn’t fun. Doing good doesn’t have to be altruistic. This makes people who want to do good by being altruistic burnt-out and bitter.

How can we exist in the intersection of pragmatism and idealism?

GOOD core values = transparency, creativity, authenticity, utility, love

Respecting individuals but growing the community.

Align people’s interests to better things (ex. making renewable energy cheaper than coal)

Where is the advertising that contributes to society and had great ROI? Kiva/PayPal partnership, Tom’s Shoes, AmEx People Choose

When it meets everyone’s interest, it works

How do you convince the bean counters and advertisers that this works?

One bottom line (profitability) to the triple bottom line (sustainability, profit, positive impact) back to the one bottom line. Make the triple bottom line matter SO much to the single bottom line that it just an assumed cost of play.