Innovating Values

Why are you in business?
Is it just to make money? For many, this is the honest answer. But if that’s true, you are missing out on one of the great opportunities of business people in our age: the opportunity to innovate values.
I believe all companies need a social mission. Businesses and everyone working for them should be contributing to the development of human society.
Not everyone is thinking this way and the lack of social mission can be very evident in marketing practices. I have seen recently companies in the gaming space that encourage users to buy expensive digital items in order to beat someone in a mobile game. We are not talking about small expenditures of $10 or $20, but high priced items. That means young people may spend hundreds (even thousands) in a month not to get anything of value, but simply to beat someone in a game.
I don’t think the people buying the expensive digital items are very smart, but I also have concerns about the businesses that foster and encourage this behavior. The games do all they can to create a sense of urgency and excitement. They make money. But have they done anything that contributes to society in a positive way?
When we do business at Rakuten, we want to do more than be the best at separating a customer from his cash. We are innovating new values and empowering new lifestyles. We want to improve our bottom line as well as the world we live in. I believe those two goals are well matched.

My book: Marketplace 3.0
Photo: iQoncept/Shutterstock.com

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