Intended Consequences

A company's mindset—its intent to do good, avoid harmful consequences, and innovate responsibly—is not enough. That mindset must be supported by a business model, a mechanism that leaders must intentionally and proactively build along with the company from the ground up, one that incentivizes and rewards the organization for fulfilling its intentions. Companies need a new set of KCIs, or key consequence indicators, that measure factors such as its impact on customers’ energy consumption, whether its product is being used equally across socioeconomic groups, or if it is actually solving the social problem it is addressing. Not only is this the right thing to do—increasingly, it is what customers, employees, and shareholders demand of business. In this inspiring guide, Hemant Taneja lays out the argument for why a new model of company building and leadership is necessary—and how it can lead to better performance; explores why social-good businesses are some of the greatest opportunities today, detailing examples of billion-dollar startups that are addressing inequality, climate change, systemic societal problems, and chronic disease—all while generating profit and positive shareholder returns; and presents a topic-by-topic road map that addresses business models, artificial intelligence, ethical growth, culture, governance, and good citizenship.