What does it take for businesses to truly go “beyond the B”? In part two (click here for part one) of this exploration of the 10 principles of Next Economy enterprises, Kevin Bayuk of LIFT Economy returns to share transformative practices that challenge conventional notions of business success. Together with Ryan Honeyman, Kevin unpacks principles six through ten, offering practical insights and their broader implications.
The Next Economy Principles discussed on this episode include:
- 6) Open source and regionally replicable
- 7) Transparent
- 8) Regenerative operations
- 9) Supports movement building for broader systems change
- 10) Supports personal growth and development
Today’s conversation dives into the power of open-source innovation and regional replication, transparency as a driver of trust and equity, and the necessity of regenerative operations that repair and restore the environment. Kevin also emphasizes the importance of supporting movement building to dismantle domination culture and discusses how workplaces can evolve into spaces for personal growth, fostering resilience and empowering communities.
From rethinking intellectual property to embedding educational opportunities into operations, Kevin challenges listeners to envision businesses that create a regenerative, equitable, and livable future. Whether you’re a dedicated B Corp advocate or simply curious about the Next Economy, this conversation will inspire you to reimagine the role of business in driving systemic change.
Key Points From This Episode:
- An exploration of principles six through ten of the 10 Next Economy principles.
- Ways that intellectual property norms often perpetuate inequity and limit innovation.
- How open-source innovation fosters collaboration and addresses systemic inequities.
- The long-term perspective required for transitioning to the next economy.
- What it means to orient institutions towards a world that benefits all life.
- Regional replication for building community-centered, resilient economic systems.
- Lessons in collaboration from Amicus Solar Cooperative and The Cleveland Model.
- Transparency as a crucial driver of trust and equity within organizations and with stakeholders.
- How regenerative operations actively repair and restore environmental systems.
- Navigating the price parity paradox: balancing ethical principles with market realities.
- The role of businesses in supporting systemic change via advocacy and movement building.
- Committing to personal growth and development to create empowered, resilient workplaces.
- Advice and guidance for how to start going “beyond the B.”
Quotations:
“How do we structure something so that there [are] just rewards for doing diligent work? – The Creative Commons folks and other licensure structures enable outcomes where you can contribute to humanity through intellectual contribution, but still have reciprocity.” — @kevinbayuk [0:11:32]
“What's the purpose of business? Is it to make wealth for some, or is it to solve problems for the benefit of all?” — @kevinbayuk [0:18:04]
“If we had distributed decision making or participatory decision making, we could be making better decisions for the environment.” — @kevinbayuk [0:24:51]
“Transparency is a culture builder. It's a way to say we're in this together. We are honest with each other, intellectually honest.” — @kevinbayuk [0:35:05]
“What if the work environment was actually a crucible for learning and personal growth and development? An extension of one's schooling.” — @kevinbayuk [01:02:21]
“It's difficult or impossible to adopt all these principles all at once. There's a constant analysis of ‘What, what can I do?’ And if your answer is, ‘I can't do anything, then I would argue not being creative or thoughtful.’ If your argument is, ‘I can't do it all.’ I am with you. It's really hard. But I would advocate [that] it’s worth the effort.” — @kevinbayuk [01:09:02]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
- Kevin Bayuk on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbayuk/
- Kevin Bayuk on X: https://x.com/kevinbayuk
- Riverstyx Foundation: https://www.riverstyxfoundation.org/
- B Corps + 10 Principles of Next Economy Enterprises (Part 1, w/Kevin Bayuk): https://go.lifteconomy.com/blog/b-corps-10-principles-of-next-economy-enterprises-part-1-kevin-bayuk
- Solenis: https://www.solenis.com/en/
- The Cleveland Model: https://atlasofthefuture.org/project/the-cleveland-model/
- Amicus Solar Cooperative: https://www.amicussolar.com/
- Namaste Solar: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/namaste-solar/
- The Great Game of Business: https://www.greatgame.com/books/the-great-game-of-business
- An Everyone Culture: https://bookshop.org/p/books/an-everyone-culture-becoming-a-deliberately-developmental-organization-robert-kegan/7343719?ean=9781625278623
- Next Economy MBA: https://go.lifteconomy.com/nextmba
- The Next Economy MBA: Redesigning Business for the Benefit of All Life: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-next-economy-mba-redesigning-business-for-the-benefit-of-all-life/18948897
- Next Economy Living Workshop: https://go.lifteconomy.com/next-economy-living
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