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TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP
SOCIETY & CULTURE
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
You have impact, optimize it!
2019-12-16
4 minutes
Clement Moliner-Roy
Social Impact Advisor
Clément Moliner-RoySocial entrepreneurship
You generate impact! Whether you like it or not. Everyone who works closely or remotely for an organization contributes to generating beneficial and harmful impacts. Whether you are an employee or a manager, whether the company is social or traditional, large or small, it is your responsibility to contribute to optimizing the economic, ecological and societal benefits.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Clément is an advisor to impact initiatives at the Desjardins Entrepreneurial Accelerator (AED) at the University of Sherbrooke. His mission is to train as many change agents as possible, namely students with the desire to change the world and the power to develop impact projects.
Since August 2018, he has worked as an advisor for impact initiatives at the Desjardins Entrepreneurial Accelerator (AED) at the Université de Sherbrooke, where he coaches aspiring entrepreneurs who are developing projects with social and environmental impact. With his team, he develops strategies to enable as many students from different disciplines as possible to work together on concrete projects.
Having spent six years studying and working internationally in Wales, the United States, China, Peru and Japan, Clément defines himself as a global citizen. He has worked on several international education innovation projects, including HELIO, a program aimed at opening a new era of Japanese higher education.
Clement Moliner-Roy
ABOUT
Here are some tools and ideas for starting an impact assessment process:
Why measure your impact? Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs have everything to gain from properly defining and measuring their impact. This approach can not only help to align the organization's future actions, but also motivate employees by allowing them to see that their daily work contributes to a larger movement. Sharing the results of these measurements also helps to gain credibility with customers, to shine among partners and to seek financing.
Not to mention that entrepreneurs who articulate their impact well will have advantages in the context of a labor shortage since young people entering the job market are looking for meaning and want to work for impactful companies. According to a Léger survey conducted in Quebec in 2019, 87% of the 2,000 respondents aged between 18 and 34 stressed the importance for them of evolving in an organization that improves society.
How to reduce harmful impacts?
Even the best-intentioned companies unwittingly create negative impacts. International aid NGOs that fight famine in poor countries sometimes make people dependent on their services. Companies that exploit natural resources sometimes generate waste and greenhouse gas emissions. It seems taboo to talk about it, but we have everything to gain by digging deeper. My mentor Jay Friedlander created the Abundant Cycle , a tool that allows entrepreneurs to analyze their operations to discover opportunities to optimize their systems. The tool is accompanied by 14 concrete tactics that leaders can adopt to maximize their impact on people, the planet, and their company’s profits.
Reducing its harmful impacts should not be seen as a burden, says Jay Friedlander, but rather as a way to minimize losses and maximize gains.
How to increase your impact? The practical guide on impact , coordinated by André Fortin, offers several ways to amplify your impact. For example, the notion of continuous improvement: how to ensure that a company does not remain in the status quo, but remains in search of innovation and improvement? Also, the notion of influence which consists of disseminating your know-how and good practices in order to help other organizations.
In my opinion, one of the easiest ways to increase your impact is often to be concerned about the corporate culture and the conditions of your employees. I had the chance to visit Cascades in Kingsey Falls recently and I felt an incredible pride on the part of the employees towards their company. This undoubtedly came from the measures taken by Cascades to improve the quality of life of their employees. Flexible hours, support for community initiatives, the company even hires a horticulture team to beautify the village!
The ideas are launched, you have some tools in hand with the Abundant Cycle and the practical guide on impact , I now challenge you to measure and optimize your impact. After all, the impact you create through your organization is, in a way, the legacy you leave to society.