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In
Isdell’s model, business must make four critical connections to
adapt in this era of evolution. These involve connecting with communities,
governments, and civil society, issues of sustainability
and employee values. Values run throughout this system, and Isdell
believes these specific avenues can restore a sense
of connection that became lost as the size and impact of business
grew from the local shopkeeper’s storefront into powerful global
enterprises.
In
connecting with communities, “we must become again – in both
perception and reality – part of the local fabric of everyday life,”
Isdell argues. “After all, globalization without localization creates
alienation. Just as all politics are local, all business is local.”
Because
the challenges of today’s society are so complex, large, and
interrelated, no one entity is able to solve them alone, Isdell says.
In the connected capitalism model, a “triangle of sustainability” – a
partnership between government, business, or civil society – is the
only viable approach to these big challenges. Although these
collaborations are not the easiest way – in fact, they often are the
most difficult, Isdell says – in the end, they are the only effective
way.
Connected
capitalism helps business transcend political barriers. For
example, when business takes on local issues, both the business and the
community benefit. Take Africa, for example. Some companies operating
there have tackled the problem of malaria through distribution
of mosquito nets to prevent spread of the disease. The result has been
a rise in employees’ quality of life at home and productivity at work.
“When we tap into local
needs that are based in a company’s core strategy or ‘line of
sight,’ the country of origin of the business becomes less relevant,”
Isdell says. “It mutes the voices of antiglobalism and anticapitalism.”
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