The belief that success in business translates directly to social impact is, I would argue, a kind of arrogance. The application of market based models to social problems can be incredibly insightful but it just doesn't work all the time. And so that intellectual model of the marketplace has to become one of many tools instead of the only tool that you use.
From corporate social responsibility to ESG, an increasing number of for-profit organizations are pursuing positive social impact. But to “do well by doing good,” Jacob Harold (cofounder of Candid; former CEO of Guidestar) tells HBR IdeaCast host Curt Nickisch that you need a good
strategy. Otherwise, things can go very wrong.