Originally published  in Entrepreneur

By Jim Moscou

Any company, from a startup to a conglomerate, that wants to connect with its customer base may want to rethink its reason for being. Truth is, we’re watching companies like never before. While American politics and talk shows split everything into left and right extremes, the majority of us live in the middle. That has left a plethora of interests to serve. Less plastic in the oceans, reasonable gun control, inclusion and acceptance, free speech — who doesn’t want some of that? Not surprisingly, seven in 10 consumers today believe a CEO or company’s actions can make a significant difference in social or political issues, according to a 2019 Gartner study.

But here’s the twist: Purpose is no longer just about a better world. It’s become good data and dollars, too. At the recent Sustainable Brands conference in Detroit, ImpactROI, a consultancy tracking purpose brands’ business impacts, reported findings that anyone with a P&L responsibility should be clamoring to learn more about.

Through analysis and in interviews with CEOs, ImpactROI discovered that when done well, purpose-centric companies see a 6 percent increase in share price; 20 percent increase in sales; 13 percent increase in productivity; 50 percent decrease in employee turnover; and a sweet pop in “market reputation.” Projecting a company’s passion and point of view beyond a socially-responsible supply chain, and making it profitable, is arguably capitalism at its best.

Still, little has been said about the internal company landscape around purpose. Being a true activist company requires a lot more than barbed copywriting and a famous face. The corporate profiles emerging today of brands slinging purpose are starting to take shape. Some of it’s downright inspiring. Some of it no so much.

Read the full article at Entrepreneur.com

Jim Moscou is CSO of School.