From Altruism to Mutualism….

The act of doing things for the benefit of others is powerful.

Satisfaction and joy are commonly associated with doing good, as is a sense of fulfillment and having a more positive view of our world and ourselves.

In the nonprofit sector doing good is foundational to mission-based work.

In the private sector, organizations have long embraced their responsibility for doing good through initiatives around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Community Support and in more recent years, ESG, Sustainability and DEI. 

However, doing good has long been identified as an altruistic activity.

And while noble, altruism is often subject to turbulence, which makes altruism a fragile platform upon which to build powerful purpose agendas.

Nonprofits have long struggled with the unevenness of altruistic support.

Yet that support is essential to building the financial infrastructure necessary to build the right organization with the right talent to take on huge challenges that require committing to long-term strategies and programmatic scale.

In the private sector, there remains tension between the investment in being socially, culturally and environmentally responsible while still satisfying fiscal and fiduciary responsibility.

But the reality is we live in a world where our challenges are outstripping the durable and scaled solutions necessary to address them.

This challenge requires a shift. A shift from Altruism to Mutualism.

Mutualism is a simple yet powerful concept. It is based on the discipline of identifying and mapping the tangible benefits that are generated from your purpose agenda across all of your stakeholders, both internally and externally.  

Mutualism does not change your intent. But it does empower your impact.

Mutualism provides a platform for purpose agendas based on collective interest.

And in doing so, dissolves barriers, drives innovation, accelerates problem solving and makes the seemingly impossible possible.

To learn more about how Mutualism can help you re-imagine your purpose agenda, contact us.