I’ve made prior references to Intended Impact and Theory of
Change in my blog postings, and as I build my consulting practice and skills I
am finding that these concepts are more important—and resonant—than ever. Let
me start by saying, again, that everything I’ve done professionally points to
some intuitive understanding of these ideas. However, my being able to
articulate them and help others discover their meaning I owe in large part to
my colleagues at The Bridgespan Group
and especially to a Bridgespan-authored article to which I refer over and over
again, “Zeroing
In On Impact.”
Bridgespan applies the ideas of Intended Impact (loosely,
the change we wish to see in the world) and Theory of Change (our contribution
to the change, the aspects or activities for which we hold ourselves
accountable) to the nonprofit sector, which is difficult and challenging work.
But the building blocks for accomplishing this work tend to be available;
mission-driven work is values-based, and with or without support (and spirited
debate) people who are engaged in mission-driven work are generally able to
articulate where they want to go and how they want to get there. In fact, one
of the most rewarding things about being a strategist-marketer is that I have
the great pleasure of helping nonprofits see their II/ToC work applied to the
ways in which they communicate.
(Let me be clear here: that’s not the end of the story. Structuring the financial, operational and other ways in which they get there is a highly complex and demanding process. It’s just not today’s topic.)
(Let me be clear here: that’s not the end of the story. Structuring the financial, operational and other ways in which they get there is a highly complex and demanding process. It’s just not today’s topic.)
But I work in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, and
I’m interested in how these ideas hold up in the business world too. Here’s
what I have found: Intended Impact tends to be especially near to the hearts of
entrepreneurs, who are inspired by something or someone to bring an idea to
life. In addition, certain fields and practices inspire evangelism and create
communities of practice; I am thinking, for example, of the Open Source
movement which has a clear intended impact.
The reality is that most of us have not been in on the
ground floor of the businesses in which we work, and more than a few of us have
not been driven to what we do but rather find our way into our work by
happenstance. Thus I find that my business colleagues typically have a more
difficult time describing an intended impact. Given the very distinction made
in describing the sectors—nonprofit and for-profit—it’s no wonder that we have
an easier time describing not what we want to see as a result of their labors, but what we want to get: Profit. Shareholder value. Market
share. Recognition.
This makes perfect sense, because these are the values on
which businesses are measured. Which is not bad, after all … it just feels
incomplete. Doesn’t it?
For the answer, I turn time and time again to Lotus
Development Corporation, now IBM Collaboration Software, where I worked as a
consultant and employee for a decade. Lotus had a vision (Intended Impact)
around enabling new and better ways of working, supporting communication and
collaboration across organizational and geographic boundaries. Its activities (Theory
of Change) involved creating and delivering software and services that made it
possible for that vision to be realized. And during the best of times, it did
so very profitably.
Lotus had a culture, somewhat legendary, that was
progressive and outward-facing. I among others have theorized many times, and a
couple of times in this blog, that one of the reasons the company was able to
recruit excellent people (ahem), and that they remain a cohesive group with an
active alumni network to this day, is that the vision was so compelling and
that the ways in which users of the products brought it to life were so
inspiring.
It’s easy to see in this example that an expression of
social good brought significant benefit. But sometimes, maybe often, it’s
harder to get there. How do we express the social good of food products with no
nutritional content; of legal but habit-inducing substances; of exploitive
gaming and publishing?
As a marketer I struggle with this question. Years ago a
friend and colleague needed to relocate to New York for personal reasons, and
was offered a good job in an advertising agency. Her first assignment was to a
tobacco account. She was caught in a conflict between her values and her
livelihood, but ultimately was pragmatic. She had to make a living and this
was, at least for the moment, what was available to her. She resolved to do the
best that she could, and ultimately hoped to be transferred to a business with
which she would feel more comfortable.
I think we must be realistic and pragmatic as my friend was.
We may not like it every day of the week—or in fact, we may like it very
much—but certain products and services with no readily apparent redeeming value
are in fact forms of entertainment. Junk food clearly is the center of many
congenial gatherings, as is alcohol.
And, sometimes these products, harmful as they may be, are
helpful to minority populations whose challenges we don’t consider. The risks
of nicotine use are well documented and well known, but I learned from the
National Alliance on Mental Illness that in addition to being a social norm among
people with mental illnesses, smoking has at least the short-term effect of
enhancing concentration and cognition. (Nevertheless, NAMI and other
organizations work very hard to encourage people with addictions to give them
up.)
Meaning that this topic is more complex than I thought it
was when I began to write this blog entry … but what isn’t? In summary,
intended impact and theory of change can be as relevant to the corporate world
as they are to the nonprofit sector. More than that, these reflections suggest
that having and communicating an explicit intended impact may have very
beneficial effects.
The answers may sometimes be more elusive, and may challenge
us and our values, but they are there.