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Business News/ Opinion / Online-views/  Disruptive connectivity
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Disruptive connectivity

Disruptive connectivity

Eric Schmidt. Photo by Bloomberg.Premium

Eric Schmidt. Photo by Bloomberg.

We now live in a global village, as has been demonstrated by events such as the Arab Spring—the grass-roots revolutions and protests in Tunisia, Egypt and other parts of Africa and the Middle East.

A journalist with NBC News, Ayman Mohyeldin, has described how social media, notably Twitter and Facebook, brought true democracy of information to Egyptian demonstrators, helping them to drive positive change. This made me realize that no matter where an individual, government or organization is based, it is now a lot more difficult to build power or wealth without the cooperation of the community.

So what does this mean for businesses and entrepreneurs?

Eric Schmidt. Photo by Bloomberg.

Just as governments that limit people’s rights and freedoms are facing unrest or revolution in many parts of the world, business leaders who exploit their markets or who pursue profits at all costs will see their companies targeted by protesters and their competition taking market share. While business in the 20th century was all about fostering unsustainable growth through depletion of natural resources and delivering profit to your shareholders, this new era is about businesses delivering benefits to their communities and the planet, as well as to shareholders.

Because in this age of disruption, businesses are no longer in control of how they are perceived in the marketplace. Consumers now have the power to shape others’ perceptions of your brand; they can also promote those they prefer. Only businesses that embrace the Capitalism 24,902 approach—ending the pursuit of profit for profit’s sake and making the driving force of our companies that of doing social and environmental good—can thrive in the long run.

Entrepreneurs in the planning and launch phases of their businesses have the opportunity to bake this approach into the culture of their companies. Look at the costs and benefits of your business to your community, the environment and the wider world. Meet community leaders, environmental groups and your potential customers to listen to their concerns and hopes for your company. How can you help? Can you tackle the problems by altering your business plan to meet those needs?

If you are currently looking for ideas for launching a business, this is a good time to leverage connectivity to make a difference. At Virgin, we have been looking at how the mobile phone is driving change, with almost six billion mobile phone users in the world and 90% of the world’s population able to get access to a mobile service.

In Kenya, M-Pesa customers can deposit and withdraw money from a network of agents that includes airtime resellers and retail outlets acting as banking agents; they can transfer funds and also pay bills. Souktel, a company that works mainly in the Middle East, matches people looking for jobs with companies looking for people. Platforms such as Ushahidi (meaning “testimony" in Swahili) have also sprung up to support citizen journalism, helping to broadcast information reported locally in times of crisis. There is a company called txteagle that gives global brands the chance to connect with one billion emerging market customers via text messaging and in return gives free talk time to the customer. A whole new world of activism and advertising!

Whatever type of business you decide to launch, remember that we are all working in a changing environment—a technology that transforms your industry may be just around the corner. But when your employees take great pride in their work and your customers are deeply engaged with your brand, as is common at companies that take the Capitalism 24,902 approach, you will be able to depend on both groups to help you keep an eye on the competition and on developments in the field. Your business will be part of the community—and they’ll be rooting for you.

BY NYT SYNDICATE

©2012/RICHARD BRANSON

Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group and companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Active. He maintains a blog at www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/richardbranson

Your comments and queries on this column, which runs every week, are welcome at feedback@livemint.com.

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Published: 21 May 2012, 10:08 PM IST
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