By understanding what’s behind interactions, you’ll be able to see further and deeper and move quicker. Giving you a significant edge when navigating any landscape. And perhaps safely land that desirable role, complete that hampered project or advance an initiative.

Diversity scores. So that’s what drives hiring policy. Unfortunately, that’s just the wrong thing to do.

The starting point isn’t hiring. The starting point is an inclusive organization. Or at least a path to inclusivity and some first results. This provides a diverse workforce with a realistic change to flourish.

Positive impact is the next normal. It's a fundamentally different approach to doing business that touches your organization right in its core. In the future, it's even the only way. In the words of Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, now a director at Imagine, "Companies cannot succeed in societies that fail".

Our planet and society need our support to overcome pressing challenges. An increasing number of businesses acknowledges this and chooses to become and to stay a positive force for change. Technology can be helpful to achieve this ambition. In fact, I believe it is one of the key levers for change.

Apart from making a difference, doing good for the planet and society drives a strong business advantage which leads to higher profit and market share. Why’s that?

Stakeholders are key.

We are increasingly exposed to large-scale events that impact our planet and society and that make us aware that our current actions aren’t sustainable.

More and more businesses are now making big statements about their ambition to do good.

A strong purpose proposition requires agility and resilience. Because a positive impact today, can turn into a negative impact tomorrow. Therefore, it’s challenging to stay in the “green zone”. The context changes constantly and when it does, you want to be ready to absorb the shock and recover with ease.

Did your organization communicate their ambition to help our planet and society? You can show that this ambition is core to the organization by being straightforward, visible and consistent about your positive impact. As a result, you will help your stakeholders to understand, trust and strengthen your organization.

The compelling promise of an agile organization understandably shifts focus to a future state of nimbleness. But it’s the present organization that will take you there. So, beware of the present if you want to embrace agility.

Technology is, just like steel or words, neither good nor bad. It is a tool without emotion nor consciousness. Yet, it’s application can be a powerful force for good. But also, technology can destroy value in unforeseeable ways. A conscious approach and critical thinking will help you create positive impact with technology.

Your technology can help you as an accelerator for positive impact. Obviously, in its own right as a tool that can be optimized. And as significant, on a deeper level as an indicator of your organization’s preferences, actions and health. For it’s your organization that has bought, developed, implemented and used technology.

By assessing and improving your technology, you will untap valuable insights on organizational driving forces that reach way beyond the realm of technology.

For your organization to embrace technology as a tool for positive impact, it needs to understand its potential and pitfalls first. You can help and assess how technology shapes your organizational positive impact. The assessment will be more effective if you approach your technology from a positive impact perspective rather than a technology perspective.

Technology is an indispensable tool to deliver and improve on your organizational positive impact. But not necessarily the first tool that comes to most minds. More likely candidates are material use and recycling, supply chain’s footprint, working conditions and CO2 compensation. You can put technology on that same stage. To achieve this, it’s important to reframe technology’s purpose and strengthen organizational alignment.