Even definitions need context. We find clear definitions help with alignment, minimise confusion and enable us to navigate complexity. The definitions below are specific to achieving growth for purpose-driven organisations, be they commercial or not-for-profit.
DEFINITIONS
A–G
Brand (brand) n. a foundation on which we can build value. “A brand is simply trust” (Steve Jobs).
Culture (cul· ture) n. is how we make sense of the world and make decisions. These include the shared beliefs, knowledge, behaviours, values and ways of doing things within a system.
Customer (cus·tom·er) n. an individual/group with a specific need who is willing to purchase a product or service to meet the need.
Foreign aid (for·eign aid) n. foreign aid, along with development, refers to assistance that is provided by one country or organisation to another country, usually in the form of financial, technical, or humanitarian assistance. The primary purpose of foreign aid is to help promote economic development, social welfare, and political stability in recipient countries, and to address humanitarian crises such as natural disasters or conflicts.
Based on the work we’ve done, we see both foreign aid and development as an investment in the providers’
sustainability and response-ability. By ensuring the response-ability and self-determination of neighbouring countries, the providers are investing in their own sustainability.
We feel this mindset shift from ‘altruism-’ to ‘investment-’ sets.
Growth (growth) n. we are hardwired to grow. It is intrinsic to all living things. From a cellular level through to plants, animals, individuals, organisations and communities.
Growth, like change, is inevitable, for both are multidirectional. Growth and change can be both positive or negative, intentional or unintentional.
Therefore, how we grow matters. Growth without wisdom diminishes our intergenerational response-ability to people, the planet and long-term profitability.
At CoPlantation, we develop and help implement the tools and frameworks for growth that prioritise wisdom as the highest expression of knowledge.
h - Q
Impact (im·pact) n. there are many ways we can measure the effect related to growth, be it economic or social. We focus on two lead indicators of impact, profitability and market share.
Relevance: is about being clear on whom you serve and what meaningful problems you are looking to solve for them.
Differentiation is about making your service meaningfully different enough to make customer decision-making easy. The first competing alternative for the customer being complete inaction.
Indigenous economy (in·dig·e·nous econ·o·my) n. A subset of our global economy that is led by indigenous organisations and communities where a holistic systems approach is taken to growth and achieving profitability. Indigenous economies promote sustainable and regenerative resource use, traditional knowledge, and community development, and have conserved and enhanced biodiversity for millennia. Where profitability is never at the expense of other priorities, including people, culture and the planet.
Indigenous economies are based on the sustainable use of resources and the reciprocity of relationships between humans and the natural world. Women play a crucial role in Indigenous economies, as they are often responsible for the production and distribution of goods, as well as the care and management of resources.
Profit to non-Natives means money. Profit to Natives means a good life derived from the land and sea, that's what we are all about, that's what this land claims was all about. . . . The land we hold in trust is our wealth. It is the only wealth we could possibly pass on to our children. Good old Mother Earth with all her bounty and rich culture we have adopted from her treasures is our wealth. Without our homelands, we become true paupers. (Antoinnette Helme)
Innovation (in·no·va·tion) n. is an embedded cultural practice that enables us to create meaningful value. Innovation gives us our response-ability to customer needs, to change, and to managing volatility. It is a mindset to continuous improvement of every step of a value chain.
Marketing (mar·ket·ing) n. the systematic process of creating awareness, leading to the trial, adoption and eventually retention and advocacy of a brand.
Mission (mis·sion) n. a directive of what is needed to realise the vision (present-focused).
Positioning (po·si·tion·ing) n. the articulation of the place we wish to occupy in our customer’s hearts, minds and lives. This tells the customer what meaningful problems we solve (i.e. our relevance) and how we’re meaningfully different from competing alternatives (i.e. our differentiation).
R - s
Regenerative (re·gen·er·a·tive) n. how might we grow and thrive without causing harm to our ecosystem?
As eco-friendly preceded sustainability, regenerative supersedes sustainability as a more intentional expression of our commitment to living in harmony with our environment.
We believe ensuring a regenerative system requires the collaboration of an entire value chain because everything is interconnected, therefore, deeply interdependent.
We incorporate regenerative best practices into our work through a Respect & Repair approach:
RESPECT
Replenish the resources we consume.
Eliminate waste.
Improve the quality of life for all stakeholders through equitable and just practices.
REPAIR
Capture more carbon than we emit.
Restore the biodiversity within our footprint.
Compensate for past imbalance.
Resilience (re·sil·ience) n. we see resilience as our ability to respond to our areas of concern. Specifically, the shocks (economic, social, environmental health) to our system bring volatility and are hard to predict and control.
Self-determination (self-de·ter·mi·na·tion) n. a fundamental human right and the basis for human dignity, freedom, and equality. Self-determination is the ability of individuals or groups to make decisions about their own lives and pursue their own goals without external interference or control.
According to the Australian Humans Rights Commission, Self-determination means that:
We have choice in determining how our lives are governed and our development paths.
We participate in decisions that affect our lives. This includes a right to formal recognition of our group identities.
We have control over our lives and future including our economic, social and cultural development.
Stakeholder (stake·hold·er) n. individuals or groups with an interest or "stake" in a particular organisation, project, or issue. This can include a wide range of people, such as:
1. Shareholders or owners of a company or organisation. 1.
2. Customers or clients who use the company's products or services.
3. Employees who work for the company.
4. Suppliers or vendors who provide goods or services to the company.
5. Community members who are impacted by the company's operations or activities.
6. Regulators or government agencies that oversee the company's activities.
7. Advocacy groups or non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that work on related issues or causes.
8. Competitors who are affected by the company's actions.
9. The natural environment and ecosystem impacted by the company's operations.
Stakeholders may have different interests, priorities, and perspectives, and they may be affected differently by the actions or decisions of the company. Identifying and engaging with stakeholders is an important part of the decision-making process for any organisation, as it can help to ensure that all perspectives and interests are taken into account and that decisions are made in the best interest of all stakeholders.
Strategy (strat·e·gy) n. a strategy is a systematic approach taken to win; it’s how you win.
For our work, we build on the definition of strategy by Roger Martin (HBR). We see strategy as an integrative set of choices that positions you within a playing field of your choice in a way that when you win, you also enhance the health and wellbeing of your whole ecosystem.
Subsistence farming (sub·sis·tence farm·ing) n. producing enough crops and livestock to meet the needs of their own family or community, without any surplus left over for sale or trade. Subsistence farming is a core pillar of self-determination.
Subsistence is a word that means . . . my way of life. (Moses Toyuku)
Supply chain (supply chain) n. the goal of a supply chain is to create and deliver a product or service from its initial conception to its ultimate delivery to the end user. The network of organisations, people, activities, information, and resources must focus on efficiency and accuracy to deliver a product or service in full, on time, and to specification.
Sustainability (sus·tain·ability) n. how might we continue to do what we want to do?
Our ability to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It involves the responsible use and management of natural resources such as air, water, and land to ensure their availability for future generations.
In a broader sense, sustainability is also concerned with the social, economic, and environmental aspects of human development. It involves creating a balance between economic growth, social wellbeing, and environmental protection to ensure that current and future generations have access to a high quality of life.
Systems thinking (sys·tems think·ing) n. operating in a way that acknowledges the interconnected and interdependent nature of our actions within the wider ecosystem in which we operate.
T - Z
Tension (ten·sion) n. is our greatest source of innovation. Tension occurs when our priorities are pulled in different directions. Tensions lead to friction which results in conflict.
Value (val·ue) n. we believe the creation of value always comes at a cost. Therefore, a measure of true value is an aggregate of impact across four elements. V = O + I + E + P
Outputs (O) = What are the tangible and intangible impacts of the outputs we are creating; economic, social, environmental, etc.? This includes the waste we produce.
Inputs (I) = What impact are we having on the inputs (resources) we utilise? This includes the care, effort, energy, materials, tools, etc.
Environmental (E) = What is the impact of our activities on the environment: the soil, air, water, biodiversity, etc?
People (P) = What is the impact on people: the shareholders, customers, staff, suppliers, the communities in which we operate, etc.?
Values (val·ues) n. the principles, beliefs, and ideals that guide behaviours and help us make decisions.
Value chain (val·ue chain) n. the word value chain was first used by Michael Porter to describe the process or activities by which a company adds value to an article, including production, marketing, and the provision of after-sales service.
A traditional value chain minimises cost, eliminates waste, and maximises value. This is a proven approach to making more money by creating value.
Value chain 2.0 (val·ue chain) n. the traditional value chain takes a linear approach to how organisations improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase customer value across the series of activities involved in producing and delivering a product or service.
Value chain 2.0 takes a systems approach to the traditional linear model and considers the tangible and intangible value of the environment, people, inputs and outputs when creating value for customers.
A systems approach with a wisdom lens looks to improve the relevance and effectiveness of an organisation’s activities across its
value chain to move the entire system forward, thus making the entire system healthier, stronger and more resilient to change.
Values economy (val·ues econ·o·my) n. as we feel, the societal and environmental impacts of our current economy, which has been built on MUST HAVE and COULD HAVE products and services, we are seeing a prioritisation of SHOULD HAVE solutions. This movement towards values-based decision-making will shape our future economy. Whether these values benefit society and the environment is yet to be determined.
Our goal at CoPlantation is to empower and enable those purpose-driven organisations committed to positive actions to thrive.
Vision (vi·sion) n. a growth aspiration of what we want to become (future-focused).
Wisdom (wis·dom) n. we define the application of wisdom as the courage to use the appropriate knowledge, with compassion, in the context of your playing field.
We apply wisdom in our work by cultivating four interconnected and interdependent disciplines:
Awareness: cultivating an understanding of the context and the interdependencies of the playing field.
Knowledge: accessing the appropriate skills and capabilities to define and solve problems for said context.
Experience: the time and effort needed to validate and grow our awareness and knowledge of the playing field.
Leadership: the willingness to lead others towards shared outcomes.
Underpinning and upholding these disciplines are two values integral to the cultivation and application of wisdom:
Compassion: the willingness to fulfil our duty of care for present and future generations.
Courage: the willingness to embrace the complexity and ambiguity of a systems approach.
In the end, wisdom enables us to understand the true intergenerational impact of our actions, allowing for the collaboration of ideas leading to smarter decisions and greater outcomes for all.
