Business has been dominated by predatory interactions for some time. Prey on your customers when they are vulnerable- because you can. Until recently it has been difficult to argue that this is not the best way to be profitable. But the world has changed…

The predatory paradigm (and greed) are based on a belief of limited resources: “If I want something I am going to have to take it from someone else.” But what happens when resources get even more limited?- like now. What happens when fleecing your customers (because you can) destroys them or puts them out of business. Then you do not have customers anymore. The predatory paradigm is based on taking just enough from you customers to make a profit and keep them dependent on you, but not so much that it prevents them from making more money to harvest in the future.

But now we have a poor economy that is not going away. There are a lack of jobs. Many are financially weak and it is survival. We are not spending. We are paying attention to the details and fine print more than ever. There are stories on the news about banks and corporate greed. We are not the easy mark that we used to be. We might even be changing our lifestyle.

The only way out of this crisis and lack of resources is through innovation (see previous blog). The businesses and corporations that can turn a profit and uplift their customers are going to do the best. That is… the mutual benefit (or win-win) paradigm is more profitable than ever. Books like Good To Great (link) by Jim Colllins and Tribes by Seth Godin (free Tribes Casebook- thanks Seth) explain how this works.

So if you are one of those people that believes in mutual benefit and didn’t have the heart to prey on others’ misfortune to make money- the table has turned in your direction.

In today’s world, the business that can uplift itself, its customers, its employees, its community, and the planet will win every time.