CONCLUDING REMARKS
We’ve tried to build an argument throughout this book that in this emerging environment for business, the primary focus for brands should be on building social capital. This is for a number of reasons, the most striking being:
1. A focus on social capital is a focus on the root cause of so many of the problems we face today (rather than a focus on sustainability, which is, we feel, a symptom of collapsed social capital), so a better way to find long-term, durable solutions.
2. A focus on social capital – even out of the context of sustainability as many currently define it – is good for all of us, in terms of health, wellbeing and happiness.
3. A focus on social capital is good for the brand, since it nourishes the very thing that determines the environment in which it exists and hopefully thrives. It should be the ultimate long-term objective for any firm, via its brands, in an increasingly hyper-connected and values-aware world which we call the Era of Social Capital Rising.
4. A focus on social capital ensures the firm and its brands are looking at the optimal combination of generating long-term public value and private value.
5. A focus on social capital should play directly to the unique strengths of well-managed and progressive brands, creating innovative, imaginative and engaging ideas from which collaboration, long-term solutions, appreciation, closeness and loyalty all spring.
The value in nurturing networks – and diverse networks at that – crops ...
