Ines Garcia transformed her experience as a one-woman agile consultant into a book, Sustainable Happy Profit, to help companies do good effectively.
“Over the last two years I have been researching and speaking with companies that have made important shifts and progress. I believe this book is the most important piece of content I have written to date. I hope to help bridge the gap between the theoretical agreement and the much-needed action. We CAN make a difference," Ines summarizes.
Key Takeaways
✓ Measure and optimize: Pick metrics to track to optimize your social impact program. Having a framework holds your company accountable and helps you improve.
✓ Don’t be overwhelmed! In the age of distraction and overinformation, many people are overwhelmed at the idea of doing good. Putting concrete metrics in a framework can help your team feel more in control of their social impact.
✓ Evaluate your ecosystem: Between your greater community and suppliers, your business has a broader circle of influence than you might think. Think about the impact of these relationships and use your connections to achieve a broader level of change.
Background: Agile Thinking and Scalability
As an agile and Salesforce development consultant, Ines has plenty of experience helping companies operate more efficiently to achieve their goals.
“I don’t like to be put in a box,” Ines says “I like to say that I use an Agile lens to help individuals, teams, organizations to become better at what they do.“
Her company, GetAgile, has been a Pledge 1% member since 2018 and has a long history of giving. She was actively pledging her own time, consulting work as a product, and a percentage of her profits to social good. But she soon realized that her industry knowledge could make an even bigger impact.
“So much of lean development is about improving efficiency and reducing waste,” Ines explains. What if she could apply those same principles to companies’ social good metrics and efforts? Ines concluded that companies can do good and do well.
The Result? A Book and a Scalable Framework
Ines knew that most companies found the idea of giving back overwhelming.
“I needed to make something digestible — a framework that anyone can pick up,” Garcia says.
To start, Ines looks at a company’s impact through the lens of People/Product/Planet. She breaks this down by local/global and social/ecological metrics.
“It’s not just products. A company has an entire ecosystem. How can you extend this responsibility to your employees and suppliers?” she says. Ines accounts for everything from physical to digital footprints.
In order to take action and maintain accountability, Ines recommends breaking efforts down into Assess/Action/Account.
“First you need to know where you are. Then you can take action, measure its effectiveness, and improve,” she explains.
Here’s one example of her framework in action.
To get the full run-down, check out her book Sustainable Happy Profit.
Your turn!
How does your organization measure its social impact? Do you use a framework or track specific metrics? What do you think of this approach overall? Let us know in the comments below!
