Should you work for a big corporation or a social enterprise?

Imagine you are deciding what your next career role might be. Now, imagine both of these are valid and available choices:

1. Join a billion-dollar multinational corporation in an executive role and, make a 1% difference in the positive impact they have for the broader community, or
2. Join a million-dollar budget social enterprise and double that size and impact

Let’s do the rational calculation here around options 1 and 2:

1. 1% of £1bn = £10 million more in impact
2. Doubling $1m = $1m growth

So, option 1 means you will have 10x the impact, so rationally if you are yourself driven by purpose and wanting to make a greater impact, you’ll always choose to join the corporation that you can only make 1% better, rather than the pure and wonderful social enterprise where you can double their impact, right?

I can imagine readers arguing with themselves and with me about this, saying:

• “No! I’d always go to the social enterprise, but then, wait {they will question themselves}, is that really where I can make the most difference?
• “No! This is a false equivalence, not everybody could get that high level corporoate executive role, they aren’t qualified or experienced enough {but then those that are may again question their options and choices}
• “No! I couldn’t stand to work in a large corporation, they only care about enriching the shareholders, no matter the cost. Even if I could help them change 1%, I couldn’t take working there!” {ok, I have no argument to counter that!}

I could go further, but hey, this is a thought experiment, and ultimately the core point I am making (and frequently consider for myself) is whether a role can make a bigger difference in a larger organisation where one may not be able to move the needle that much, or in a smaller one where you can move it a lot more.

For me, increasingly I choose the larger organisation as I know that I am both highly driven by purpose (as many are) as well as qualified and experienced to support those organisations (far fewer people qualify in that way). If you choose to read Leading from Purpose, you will see me point towards the fact that corporations have been almost solely focussed on profit for the past fifty (and more) years, so we cannot expect them to swing right to the other side right away. However, can we expect more of them (and ourselves) and do our part for them to move the “slider” at least some distance towards Purpose, People, Planet? I believe we can and these are the corporations I choose to support. Oh, and yes such corporations do exist and lead from this place. To give but one example, Salesforce already does this with at least 1%.

“The business of business is improving the state of the world.”

Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO, Salesforce

Now, a tool to help you consider this is one I equate to the mixing desk for sound in a recording studio. You will rarely have any dimension set at 0 or 10, but instead find the balance somewhere in the middle. I wrote a piece on this around one and half years ago, using music as a way to talk about dimensions. Oh, and it also features the BEST.GUITAR.SOLO.EVER, I brook no argument on this statement 😉 Read and then enjoy the guitar solo: “Learning from The Beatles – “Mixing” your Leadership“