Businesses should look at the overlap between what their companies or brands are good at and what consumers or customers are looking for.

At a basic level, a company should draw a Venn diagram that in one circle asks, “What is a genuine and credible role for the brand or business?” and in the other circle asks, “What are the real issues that consumers care about?” The area a company should look to play in is at the intersection of these circles. A strong word of caution: A lot of greenwashing and nicewashing has occurred because companies have just looked at the “What do consumers care about?” circle and concluded, “Consumers want business to be greener or more responsible, so we’ll say that we are.” Others have made the mistake of focusing on something that, although important to the company and a genuine and credible role for it, was of little or no interest to consumers. Finding a genuine credible role for a brand that will have a positive contribution to both the world and its own profitability is the way forward.

The next step is to find the overarching idea that can be used as a strategic compass, not only to communicate these actions externally but also to galvanize the organization itself. This idea must: - Lie at the intersection of the two biggest trends impacting business today: social responsibility and social media - Allow social responsibility to sit at the heart of business strategy, not in a silo - Be a rallying cry for the entire company - Embrace all stakeholders inside and outside the organization - Be based in transparency and authenticity - Position the company to deliver long-term, sustainable profit growth and/or savings

Social Business Ideas™ are ideas that are inherently social, because they are good for society as a whole, not just for the company. And they are business ideas because they are designed to drive profitable growth or make major savings. Above all, the idea must align the goals of doing well and doing good. We call such an idea the Social Business Idea™.