Secret Leaders with Dan Murray-Serter & Chris Donnelly

Alain de Botton & Anne-Marie Huby: How to do good, better

Nov 17, 2020

In this live episode, hosted by Alex Depledge, Anne-Marie Huby and Alain de Botton discuss the benefits of building for-profit companies for social good, the role of government in social good, and the challenges faced by charities. They also explore the anxiety around capitalism and the importance of identifying market gaps for new businesses to make a positive impact. Thought-provoking topics include reimagining the honor system in business and the different behaviors and motivations of investors and founders.

01:08:05

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Episode guests

Anne-Marie Huby

Alain de Botton

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

For-profit companies have the potential to prioritize social missions alongside profits, showing that there is an appetite for investing in companies that prioritize social good.

The design phase of a business idea is crucial, as it allows entrepreneurs to create businesses that are driven by creativity, psychology, and the aspiration to meet customers' needs in a meaningful way.

The ideal balance for achieving social good lies in a centrist approach that combines the strengths of both private enterprise and government, leveraging the insights and creativity of businesses while acknowledging the role of state-provided social goods.

Deep dives

The Potential of For-Profit Companies for Social Good

For-profit companies have the potential to do good and make a positive impact on society. They can prioritize social missions alongside profits, showing that there is an appetite for investing in companies that prioritize social good. This balancing act between profit and social impact requires companies to work doubly hard by executing well and designing their ideas creatively to meet the needs of customers. Good capitalism involves selling products or services that fulfill customers' needs and contribute to their thriving, while bad capitalism sells unnecessary or harmful products. The goal is to move capitalism up Maslow's pyramid of needs, focusing on meeting advanced psychological needs and providing solutions to problems that people face in their daily lives.

Introduction

3min

Building JustGiving

17min

Pet Peeves, Bad Internet, and the Importance of People in Business

3min

The Anxiety Around Capitalism and Identifying Market Gaps

18min

The Role of Government and Private Enterprise in Social Good

11min

Security Certifications, Startup Track Record, and Saving Money on SaaS and Cloud Spend

3min

Reimagining the Honor System in Business

8min

Different Behaviors of Investors and Founders

4min

With host Dan Murray laid up in hospital, this special live episode is hosted by none other than the feisty, joyous force of nature, Resi founder, Alex Depledge.

“We have a foundation at Resi that does pro bono work for architecture. People look at me a little bit sceptical, like, what's the motivation? You can't really earn a profit and do good at the same time. So why is building a for profit company better for society than building a charity?”

Alex, alongside special guests Anne-Marie Huby of Just Giving and Alain de Botton of School of Life, discuss social enterprise, building for profit companies for good, and the question of whether this does or doesn't make more of an impact on society than charities.

“When you think of the size of the charity sector, which in this country is commendably big, but you look at the wider overall economy, it stands to reason that if we want to live in a more fulfilling, equal, decent society, we're going to have to attend to what companies do.”

Both of our guests, Anne-Marie and Alain, share their motivations for why they chose to create their businesses as for profits, rather than as charities, and spoiler alert, it’s not all about financial gain.

“A business that wants to achieve good and make money has a double role, a business that merely wants to make money has a single mission. It's much harder to be a so-called good capitalist, because you're trying to hit two targets. You’ve got to work doubly hard.”

Inspirational and insightful, this is another cracking, not-to-be-missed live episode.

We chat about:

Churches don't have the monopoly on doing good
Good capitalism v bad capitalism
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
The core issues with building charities
How can we make capitalism work
The effective altruism movement

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Secret Leaders with Dan Murray-Serter & Chris Donnelly

Alain de Botton & Anne-Marie Huby: How to do good, better

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

The Potential of For-Profit Companies for Social Good

The Role of Creativity in Good Capitalism

The Relationship Between Profit and Social Impact

The importance of trade-offs in business

The need for reevaluating the honor system in capitalism

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts