Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Next Generation Workforce and Workplace

We help individuals, organizations, and communities think innovatively about the next generation workforce and workplace. Read these forward-thinking stories and best practices from our work and lives.

  • If You Want to Make a Difference, Start a Business Not a Charity

    If You Want to Make a Difference, Start a Business Not a Charity

    “An idea hit me: Why not create a for-profit business to help provide shoes for these children? Why not come up with a solution that guaranteed a constant flow of shoes rather than being dependent on kind people making donations? In other words, maybe the solution was entrepreneurship not charity.” Blake Mycoskie, TOMS Shoes

    Although Blake and his TOMS shoes have spurred the whole concept of one-for-one business models, he isn’t alone nor the first to consider how business can be a cause.

    With decreasing government funding for charitable causes (and I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing) and so many charities competing for individual’s attention, people who want to make a difference may be better off being entrepreneurs rather than social workers or not-for-profit managers. Blake’s quote tells us why: sustainability. Want to help, then you have to have a continuous flow of revenue to do so.

    There are three key ways we see businesses aligning with this idea:

    1. The TOMS Model.- One-for-one models.   Buy something, something is given. Simple as that. It’s done with shoes, water, eyeglasses, blankets, meals, vaccines, even condoms. The list goes on. However, in the wake of business as a cause through one-to-one initiatives, there is speculation that these models may actual hurt in the long run by sabotaging local economies.

    2. The Microsoft Model- Make a lot of money so you can give a lot of money.   It’s simple, make a lot of money so that you can give away a lot of money (and time) to support needs. What do you think Bill and Melinda Gates spend most of their time doing now?   It isn’t designing computer software. It is working to meet the needs across the globe through their foundation.   Many for-profit companies, large and small, operate charitable foundations, while others give a certain percentage of their earnings to charity.

    3. The Patagonia Model- Promote a social cause through your company message, product(s) and profits. With a desire to reduce consumption and waste the impacts our environment Patagonia started this campaign (see image below- subscribers click through) What happened? Profits are up. They sell fewer jackets that cost more, and should last forever, and by doing this they build a loyal brand of followers who are interested in the same thing they are, conservation.

     

    In all of these cases, the purpose is dual: the profit and what the profit can do for the purpose.

    In reality though, capitalism or free enterprise systems (with certain controls) where there is the incentive of profit to be made, is THE economic system that actually may be the single best way to reduce poverty in this world and fight the ills that result from it. History has shown that the to be best method for bringing a society, and therefore individuals, out of poverty is to give a person the opportunity to work for something worth working for- namely a profit (and this may be why the TOMS model may actually be hurting local economies). Because what does that profit produce? Self-sufficiency and independence. Then, some people will keep all they earn for him or herself, but most, as we can see by many models, find a way to give much of it back for the greater good.

    So what should you or your organization do if you want to start or focus a business on capitalism with a conscience?

    1. Identify your greater purpose. What is it that you want to impact and how is your business or how can you position a business to uniquely meet that purpose? Is it tackling poverty, world health issues, conservation, education, entrepreneurship? Define specifically what is you want to impact and get it on paper. You can’t move on to your how of impact until you define your what and why.

    2. Learn.  

    a. Learn by reading about these different models and determine what the best fit for your organization.   For the one-to-one model, read Blake’s Start Something That Matters as well as the pieces that show how this model may actually hurt- such as When Helping Hurts. For the Microsoft model, read Bill Gate Sr.’s, book Showing Up For Life. For a local model, read our Give Back Piece on Valley Rubber, LLC. For a piece on several models like Patagonia, read This FastCompany article.

    b. Learn through education. Like Casey Gerald said in his graduation speech from Harvard Business School, if you want to find a method for helping the most today, then go to business school. You may not need to actually go to business school, but you do need to know how to design a business model that meets a market need through your product or service.

    3. Create or revise your business plan so that it meets both the market need and the greater purpose you have in mind. For some great resources to do a business plan, visit score.org.

    What cause is closest to your heart and what business(es) are doing something about it? My guess is you buy from them.

  • The World of Work is Rapidly Changing. Are You and Your Organization Adapting?

    The World of Work is Rapidly Changing. Are You and Your Organization Adapting?

    The world, and especially the world of work, is changing at a rapid pace. In fact, from a technological perspective,Moore’s Law postulates that the rate of change is exponential, doubling on itself approximately every 18 months. Many of the things that are driving the changes in work are due to technology, but some are not.

    This month we will be exploring on the blog some of the key changes we are seeing in the world of work and what those changes mean for us, more specifically what they mean for us in terms of possibility and opportunity for the individual and the organization. We’ll provide some advice on what you can do to capitalize on each opportunity.

    Here are the key things we will hit:

    1. Trend 1: Conscious Capitalism. Want to make a difference? Don’t start a charity, start a business.
    2. Trend 2: What happened to the newspaper? How technology is changing the way we market and communicate from guest blogger and marketing guru, Heather Thompson.
    3. Trend 3: It doesn’t matter how and where work gets done. The death of office space, office hours and the employee-employer relationship.
    4. Trend 4: The death of the policy, at least we hope.
    5. Trend 5: The changing world of work changes education slowly but surely.
    6. Trend 6: Really not a trend, but the changing world of work and how it effects the job seeker by guest blogger Stephanie Siebel.

    The world is changing, are you changing with it?

  • Goal Setting for Students

    Goal Setting for Students

    I’ve always been a list maker. I love to make a list at the end of each work day, so I can draw a red line through item after time the following work day. And, by the way, I don’t just do this for work. I do it for everything: grocery list, kid’s activities for the week, Christmas shopping list, cleaning for the week and the list goes on and on. I’m the queen of lists.

    That being said, even though I’m a list maker, I’m still not as organized as I would like to be. But, when I began the process of quarterly goal setting and implemented a weekly tracking process, organization and my life ran much smoother.

    I believe this process can not only be valuable in a person’s career, but is a great tool to help students become more organized and, long term, be ready for college or career. What a great habit to begin as a high school student?

    First things first words written on the chalkboard
    First things first words written on the chalkboard

    To quote Stephen Covey, first things first, developing a mission statement is a great way to get on the right track. Check out Developing a Personal Mission Statement to prevent stress and burnout  and Power of 3 – Mission and Purpose to help you develop a mission statement. Then, you are in a great position to begin your quarterly goal setting. You can begin this most any time of year, but I suggest beginning on January 1 or in the summer before the upcoming school year. Develop 3 or 4 goals for the quarter. Then, document how you will achieve those goals. This will help you as you begin entering action items into you weekly tracking spreadsheet.

    Even if you are very disciplined, it is great to have an accountability partner. So, grab a friend and begin the process together. How great will it be to be entering your senior year of high school and already be on the right track for college or career? You could have your portfolio complete, applications completed to your top college choice, job shadowing experience and even taken the ACT for the fourth time. You will be leaps and bounds ahead of some of your classmates.

    Check out our Goal Setting Worksheet to help you get started.

  • 1 Tip for Stay-at-Home Moms and Dads Ready to Re-enter the Workplace

    In talking with a successful realtor (see her story on Thursday’s blog post!) about her transition back into the workplace after ten plus years out of the pay-for- working world (believe me she WORKED while she was at home, she just didn’t get paid to do it) her advice to those seeking to do the same was simple:

    Figure out where you frequent and pursue work opportunities there.

    Where you frequent could be a physical place or it could be a place in your mind. For example, this stay-at-home mom turned realtor featured on House Hunters found that she loved looking at and thinking about properties and houses and also had a desire to promote the community she loved, which she had done quite frequently through volunteer work with the schools and the hospital in town. She realized that she could continue to promote the community through marketing and selling homes, and in fact, this could potentially be the best way for her to give back and make the most impact to promote her community.

    In considering where you frequent look around and consider the jobs that may be available there.

    1. Where do you volunteer your time regularly? The animal shelter, library, volunteer centers, churches, etc. all have full and part-time positions that you may be suited for.
    2. Are you drawn towards volunteering frequently at your child(ren)’s school? Teaching or a role in education may be an option to consider. Teach.org has more information on how to get certified to teach state by state.
    3. Love to shop? Where is your favorite place to shop? People get paid to work there! Ask about job opportunities that may be a fit for you at your favorite store.
    4. Have a hobby? There are probably people in the market for what you make or the skills you have. Check out this post on where you can tap into the “free agent” society for your goods and skills: Are you a free agent by nature? All of the following are platforms to do this:

    Etsy

    Udemy

    Google Helpouts

    Freelance.com

  • 3 Steps for Growing Future Leaders with a Job Shadowing or Internship Program

    3 Steps for Growing Future Leaders with a Job Shadowing or Internship Program

    Do you want to grow tomorrow’s talent today? Some of the best companies know the value of an internship program to their talent management strategy. And current research shows that 40% of interns return to the organization they interned with for full-time employment   If you’re a college student, participating in an internship(s) is one of the best methods for ensuring job offers come your way before you graduate.   In fact, choosing a college based on their relationships with top employers and their established, quality internship programs should be a key factor in vetting a college.

    If your organization is considering how to best maintain a talent pipeline, establishing a job shadowing and internship or Co-Op program is a great way to groom and vet talent.  If you’re a university career center professional, establishing relationships with employers, launching successful internship programs is a critical factor in your success.  Starting small and growing a program may be the best route instead of trying to do everything at once.

    Step 1:  If you are an organization, start a job shadowing program through a simple bring your kid(s) to work day once or twice a year.  This can be as simple as having announcing to your staff the day that this will occur and encouraging them to bring their kid(s) to work to observe what they do all day.

    If you want to make the program more robust, consider surveying the students about what they want to be when they grow up and working to match the students interests with people in those roles instead having them simply shadow mom or dad.   Better yet, provide career assessments to students and use that to help match students to talent in your organization.

    Step 2:  Form a partnership business and school partnership to establish a job shadowing day for high school students and an internship or Co-Op program for college students.   Start with one at a time. Work to understand goals of each entity and then design and establish the program meet mutual goals.

    Step 3: This step really goes hand-in-hand with Step 2, but establishing a structured program that best fits the needs of both parties is important.  The structure needs to involve requirements to be a part of the program, application procedures, a calendar for the program and individuals within your company that agree to mentor an intern. Some things to consider when you structure a program are:

    • Model your program after some of the best out there
    • Focus on critical skill development areas where your organization is lacking or will be lacking in talent.  Worried about engineering, computer science or nursing positions, for example, then partner with those departments for your program.  It does not have to be a program that is open to all.  If you’re a college professional, you probably want to establish internships in the “fuzzier” program majors like the liberal arts.  Placement for these majors is more difficult, so establishing relationships with employers who want to take students from these majors is wise.
    • Provide training to those that are acting as mentors to students and allow them time to focus on development of that intern, which may mean removing some responsibilities from them in order to do so.
    • Focus on soft skill development through teambuilding, communication and problem solving activities and assignments.
    • Focus on exposure to a variety of people and experiences throughout the program, including fellow interns.
    • Focus on promoting the company as an employer of choice through exposing interns to the benefits of working with your company.  This may involve education about what “benefits” really are beyond what is traditionally focused on like salary and healthcare.
    • Design a way for high performers to get job offers before their internship experience is over- don’t loose them.   College professionals should help employers structure this, which will help with first destination rates for the school.
    • For college professionals, be careful about the partnerships you create around the issue of paid vs. non-paid internships.   Based on the current legal environment, we recommend you partner only with those who offer paid opportunities given that the definition of a non-paid intern is established, but gray at best.