From Endless Growth to Equitable Prosperity
A New Playbook for Thriving within Planetary and Social Boundaries
This long-form essay explores a deeply personal journey through the internal dissonance I experienced after decades spent driving relentless growth, profitability, and conventional markers of corporate success. It challenges the prevailing narrative of endless growth at all costs. Highlighting fundamental flaws and unsustainable consequences inherent in our current economic model—consequences that include environmental degradation, social inequity, and widespread burnout.
Through reflection and research, this piece introduces alternative frameworks—primarily Doughnut Economics and the Quadruple Bottom Line—which redefine success to prioritise purpose, people, and planet alongside profit. Real-world examples from pioneering organisations like Patagonia, Ecosia, Amsterdam's city government, Grameen Bank, and SEWA illustrate how sustainable, equitable, and regenerative business models not only exist but thrive.
This was originally written as a way to find congruence and clarity for myself—to make sense of the gap between the systems I helped build and the values I hold dear. If you’re feeling that same tension, this might help. It’s for leaders, coaches, operators, and anyone else wrestling with the space between what they do and what they believe. If you’re looking for hope, clarity, or simply a different set of questions to ask—this might be a place to start.
(Reading time est. 30-40 minutes)
Table of Contents
Chapter I: “Am I Killing It, or Is It Killing Me?”
Chapter II: “Facing the Monsters Hiding in Plain Sight: The Breakdown Before the Breakthrough”
Chapter III: “Waking Up to Doughnut Economics: Breaking Through”
Chapter IV: “Proof in Action: Five Real-World Cases Integrating Doughnut Economics, the Product Operating Model, and Speed of Trust”
Case A: “When a Clothing Brand Shows Us the Future: Patagonia’s Impact”
Case B: “A Search Engine with Roots: Ecosia’s Reforestation Mission”
Case C: “A City That Dares to Rethink Everything: Amsterdam’s Doughnut Experiment”
Case D: “Microfinance for Social Transformation: Grameen Bank ”
Case E: “Empowering Women at the Grassroots: SEWA ”
Chapter V: “Addressing Common Objections (and Why We Need Radical Thinking)”
Chapter VI: “Finding Hope—and a Way Out of the Old System”
Chapter VII: Closing Thoughts
Chapter I: “Am I Killing It, or Is It Killing Me?”
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
— Jiddu Krishnamurti (Philosopher & Spiritual Teacher)
If you had asked me a couple of years ago what my definition of “success” was, I’d have rattled off a list of metrics that would make any investor salivate: hyper revenue and profitability growth, dominant market share, exponential user acquisition, ruthless cost efficiencies. I’d pepper in words like “innovation” and “agility” for good measure, but let’s be honest: the unspoken bottom line was always profit and growth. And I was good at it. REALLY good at it. Over two decades as a product builder, startup ceo and chief digital officer, I’d built and scaled companies to successful exits and unicorn status, beating competitors to market, driving up shareholder value, and smashing traditional capitalist economic benchmarks for success.
Yet, even as I checked off milestone after milestone, a restlessness grew. A proverbial “glitch in the matrix”.
Sometimes, it felt like a whisper: “Something doesn’t feel right. Am I really winning? Am I helping or hurting?” Other times, it roared, especially when I consistently saw mass layoffs at profitable companies [1] or environmental disasters directly tied to overproduction and waste [2] or staggering wealth disparities—rich investors walking away with record returns while employees scrambled to make rent [3].
And something inside me twisted.
I began to wonder if I’d devoted my life’s work to fuelling an economic game that’s fundamentally flawed. Or maybe, it is operating exactly as designed (tailored to benefit the few at the cost of the many). As the whisper grew louder, I found myself in an existential crisis that rattled me more than any missed target ever did. After spending the vast majority of my career driving growth and profitability, I stepped back about a year ago to coach other tech executives—and in that time, I realised we might be building a ladder that’s leaning against the wrong wall.
If the only “victory” we value is maximising shareholder returns and the only “bottom line” is profit, we have a massive blind spot: the human, societal, and environmental costs at stake. No matter how sophisticated our business models are, how agile we become, or how quickly AI accelerates “advancement,” we’re still pumping resources into an endless growth machine that neither acknowledges the repercussions nor knows how—or when—to slow down. Worse yet, what we label as “growth” too often devours more resources and unravels more of our social fabric than it replenishes. It’s like a treadmill that keeps accelerating: we congratulate ourselves on running faster, but we’re burning through our energy heading towards inevitable collapse.
Recognizing that was the first step in my crisis: realising that the very “achievements” I’d chased might actually be fueling a deeper, systemic problem.
Chapter II: “Facing the Monsters Hiding in Plain Sight: The Breakdown Before the Breakthrough”
“There are two ways to be fooled: one is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
— Søren Kierkegaard (Philosopher & Theologian)
“The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”
— Nathaniel Branden (Psychotherapist, Writer & Philosopher)
I notice the cracks whenever I sit in boardrooms, listening to executives strategise, weigh costs, and talk about people like they’re pieces on a monopoly board. These leaders and companies are out-performing by every conventional economic measure. Yet behind the scenes, teams burn out, short-sighted decisions are made to hit next quarter’s numbers, and the broader impact on communities and ecosystems never enters the conversation. Companies boast record profits while deliberately minimising increments and bonuses for the very employees who fuel those gains [4]. Much of the AI hype revolves around reducing headcount and squeezing more profit per worker—an unrelenting quest for efficiency at any cost [5].
Ethical considerations around these strategic and competitive choices range from willful ignorance to maliciously dismantling existing safeguards [6,7]. For instance, AI’s ecological footprint isn’t a “health metric” considered or treated as a critical cost or constraint. Yet the server farms powering AI models consume staggering amounts of electricity and water far exceeding typical digital infrastructure [8]. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are crossing the ethical line by building water-hungry data centres in parts of the world already facing water scarcity [8.5]. New chips and GPUs become obsolete almost as soon as they’re launched—and we have a hidden layer of e-waste piling up [9]. Even if AI transforms industries overnight, we must acknowledge the trade-off: progress financed at the planet’s expense can’t last forever.
On the “people and culture” front, corporate “well-being” programs feel like pumping milk-producing cows with antibiotics for higher yields—only to discard them when they can’t produce anymore. At the same time, corporate and political machines gaslight employees by insisting they simply ‘work harder’ or ‘stay relevant,’ framing any pushback as a personal failing rather than a systemic issue. All the while, a massive redistribution of wealth quietly occurs—a pyramid scheme funnelling ever more riches to a small, already-privileged “broligarchy” while the majority foot the bill through exhaustion and lower quality of life.
When a government is structured to serve the interests of the wealthiest elite and their corporate empires, it ceases to function as a true democracy. What remains is a plutocracy draped in the comforting theatre of democratic process—a system where the appearance of choice masks the consolidation of power. Policy becomes profit-driven, elections become distractions, and the public is left to participate in a ritual that no longer reflects its will.
On LinkedIn, I see endless conversations about how product managers, engineers and designers must keep pace or risk losing their jobs while ignoring the bigger picture. We obsess and argue over which model, framework or new AI platform will drive growth, with only a few mentions of societal or planetary impact. We’re a group of people trapped in a burning building, passionately and intellectually debating the colour of the wallpaper, too fixated on trivial details to notice the flames closing in around us. In that state of ignorance, we don’t even realise how ignorant we are—so the cycle continues unchecked.
Reflecting on all this, I recognised just how limited our worldview has become—the status quo ignorantly fixated on profit as the only thing that matters. .
It painfully dawned on me that as I continue to coach leaders and executives to chase “exponential growth at all costs,” I am deeply complicit in the very system I now question. For a while, I felt a deep dissonance—like the kid in The Emperor’s New Clothes, except instead of pointing out the obvious, I was stuck wondering if I was the idiot for not seeing what everyone else insisted was there. I felt alone in questioning a system everyone around me seemed to accept as normal. My entire career had been about delivering strong business results, and I wondered if I was naïve to think organisations might abandon a purely profit-first mindset for something more radical. But that’s the thing about a crisis of conscience: once I glimpsed the truth, I couldn’t unsee it.
I knew the current system was broken—but what next? What did an alternative even look like? If I had to reject the infinite-growth model, what could take its place?
Despite the creeping hopelessness, I couldn’t accept that this was all there could be. I held to the principle that within every challenge lies a transformative opportunity and fundamentally believed humanity's brilliant capabilities could serve a better purpose—one rooted in genuine sustainability and societal regeneration. That conviction led me to seek more viable alternatives, ultimately leading to my discovery of Doughnut Economics.
Chapter III: “Waking Up to Doughnut Economics: Breaking Through”
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
— R. Buckminster Fuller (Futurist, coined the term “Spaceship Earth” to highlight the need for collaborative management of Earth’s finite resources)
“The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”
— Audre Lorde (Poet, Writer, Feminist & Civil Rights Activist)
“Today’s economy is divisive and degenerative by default. Tomorrow’s economy must be distributive and regenerative by design.”
— Kate Raworth (Economist & Author of Doughnut Economics)
The breakthrough came when I discovered Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth. My initial reaction was sceptical—surely this was meant for policymakers, academics, or mission-driven nonprofits, not the competitive world of tech startups, Fortune 500 boardrooms, or the hyper-growth culture of Silicon Valley. It felt, at first glance, like a philosophical framework out of sync with the metrics I’d been taught to optimise. But the more I read, the more it confronted something I hadn’t been able to articulate: that our economic model isn’t just unsustainable—it’s misaligned with the very things we claim to value.
The classic economic model is dangerously incomplete. It treats the environment and society as mere resources to be consumed, rather than foundations to be nurtured. GDP growth and quarterly earnings become the ultimate goals, while the hidden costs of ecological damage and social erosion go unaccounted for. In practice, we’ve morphed into a system where the planet and its people serve the economy, rather than the other way around.
Doughnut Economics doesn’t reject business. It doesn’t demonise profit. It challenges the idea that profit must come at the expense of everything else.
Raworth proposes a more grounded, regenerative vision of economic health: one where the goal is to create a “safe and just space” for humanity—a sweet spot where everyone’s basic needs are met, but we don’t overshoot the planet’s physical limits [10]. The inner ring of the doughnut represents the social foundation: food, housing, education, equality, and healthcare. The outer ring marks the ecological ceiling: climate stability, biodiversity, clean air, and safe water. Between these two boundaries lies the space where human and planetary well-being can coexist. Growth, in this model, isn’t endless extraction—it’s thriving within limits.
It was the first economic framework I’d encountered that felt whole. It didn’t reduce the complexity of life to a single KPI. It asked better questions: What are we growing? Why? For whom? And at what cost? Those questions landed hard because I’d spent years transforming and optimising for growth without asking whether the outcomes were actually collectively desirable, let alone sustainable.
That framework led me to revisit another model that had always resonated with me but often felt pushed to the sidelines in commercial settings: the Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL) [11]. Like Doughnut Economics, the QBL rejects one-dimensional metrics. It expands the traditional bottom line of profit to include people (social impact), planet (environmental sustainability), and purpose (ethical governance and intent). It’s a reminder that organisations aren’t just economic engines—they’re social and ecological actors with the power to either regenerate or extract.
What struck me most about both frameworks was their practicality. This wasn’t ideological wish-casting. It was critical thinking applied to economic systems—a blueprint for businesses that operate with moral clarity and strategic intelligence, where constraints aren’t limitations but creative boundaries.
Both frameworks recognise that truly sustainable business must operate within limits that protect human dignity and ecological health. And taken to their logical end, these aren’t just compliance boxes or risk-mitigation tools. They are the main objective. Human dignity and collective well-being aren’t liabilities to manage around. They’re what matter most.
That shift—from asking “How do we multiply revenue forever?” to “How do we ensure everyone thrives without destroying our planet?”—felt like someone had opened a window in a room I didn’t know I was suffocating in. I didn’t need to abandon the skills I’d built in product strategy, leadership, or execution. I needed to repurpose them—redirecting the same discipline and craft toward a system rooted in durability, dignity, and shared value.
Doughnut Economics and the QBL gave me language for something I had felt but hadn’t yet framed. They offered a coherent, ethical, and pragmatic way to rethink how success is defined—and what it means to build well. With that clarity, I began looking for organisations already integrating these ideas with tools I knew from my own experience: like SVPG’s Product Operating Model and Stephen M.R. Covey’s Speed of Trust. What I found wasn’t theory. It was evidence. Leaders, companies, and communities were already building this way—and proving that sustainability and profit aren’t at odds. They’re interdependent.
Chapter IV: “Proof in Action: Five Real-World Cases Integrating Doughnut Economics, the Product Operating Model, and Speed of Trust”
These models are not new—numerous leaders and organisations have long balanced life-affirming targets and ethical commitments with sustainable profits. The problem is that we predominantly venerate and promote the wrong kind of “success stories” and unethical leaders, where hyper-growth eclipses human and ecological well-being. In this section, you’ll see real examples of organisations and communities actively integrating Doughnut Economics with proven frameworks like the Product Operating Model and the Speed of Trust. They remind us that sustainable innovation isn’t a pipe dream, but a reality with a proven track record.
Case A: “When a Clothing Brand Shows Us the Future: Patagonia’s Impact”
“The accepted model of capitalism that necessitates endless growth is unsustainable. We have to reinvent how we do business so that profits come from serving the planet, not from exploiting it.”
“Profit is what happens when you do everything else right.”
— Yvon Chouinard (Rockclimber, Environmentalist & Founder/Former CEO of Patagonia)
Once I started searching, a few forward-thinking mainstream companies and leaders stood out for adopting elements of Doughnut Economics without calling it that.
Patagonia is a prime example. Founded in 1973 by Yvon Chouinard, known as the “accidental businessman”, Patagonia was a purpose-built apparel business committed to sustainability, pioneering initiatives advocating for renewable energy and environmental stewardship. They’re known for famously discouraging mindless consumption with campaigns like “Don’t Buy This Jacket.” [12] Patagonia continues to thrive financially while operating within the doughnut “safe zone”.
Financial and Impact Numbers [12, 13, 14, 15, 16]
Company Value: Estimated at $3 billion.
Annual Revenue: Over $1 billion, having quadrupled in the past decade.
Planet as a Shareholder: $212 million contributed to environmental causes since 1985 through “1% for the Planet”.
B Corp Score: Achieved 166 in 2023, far exceeding the B Corp median of 50.9.
Sustainable Materials: 98% of product lines use recycled materials.
Reduced Waste Campaigns: The “Don’t Buy This Jacket” initiative paradoxically led to a 30% revenue increase in 2012, despite discouraging consumption.
Renewable Energy: 100% of electricity in U.S. facilities is sourced from renewables.
Patagonia’s story underscores how aligning profit goals with environmental stewardship can foster brand loyalty, financial growth, and social impact—ultimately redefining what it means to “win” in business.
How They Embody Doughnut Principles
Patagonia integrates social and ecological concerns into its core mission, effectively operating within the “safe and just space.” Their mission statement states, “We’re in the business to save our home planet”, and their brand vision is to “Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”.
This vision reflects its commitment to high-quality, durable products, minimising environmental impact, and leveraging its business as a force for positive change in addressing global environmental challenges. They source recycled or organic materials, ensure fair wages, and invest in various environmental causes. By effectively treating the planet as a major shareholder receiving a 10% “dividend” of their profits, they align revenue with a higher purpose—ensuring accountability to more than just traditional investors.
Applying the Product Operating Model
Even though Patagonia is an apparel company, it leverages many of the same practices often seen in tech—continuous testing, direct customer feedback loops, and rapid iteration. Rather than simply churning out new product lines, Patagonia empowers cross-functional teams to tackle tangible sustainability problems, whether that’s reducing microplastics in their materials or extending garment lifespans so fewer goods end up in landfills.
From a Product Operating Model (outcomes over output) standpoint, Patagonia’s teams define outcomes well beyond sales numbers. Goals like lowering carbon emissions or improving worker safety sit side by side with revenue targets. As a result, “growth” for Patagonia isn’t just an unexamined race to produce more; it’s about advancing environmental stewardship and fair labor practices while still maintaining a healthy bottom line. It’s not just outcomes over output, but ironically the outcome IS LESS output.
Applying the Speed of Trust Principles
Patagonia’s approach to stakeholder relationships embodies many of the behaviours outlined in Stephen M.R. Covey’s Speed of Trust. They build credibility through transparent reporting on their supply chain and environmental impact, aligning character (integrity, intent) with competence (quality products, fair wages, sustainable materials). By consistently honouring their commitments—like pledging a percentage of sales to environmental causes—and openly sharing both successes and failures, Patagonia earns unwavering trust from customers, employees, and NGOs. This trust, in turn, accelerates collaboration and innovation; people want to work with them because they believe in the brand’s sincerity and purpose.
Case B: “A Search Engine with Roots: Ecosia’s Reforestation Mission”
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
— Chinese Proverb
Christian Kroll is the founder and CEO of Ecosia—a search engine launched in 2009 with a bold, almost rebellious mission: channeling its profits into planting trees and tackling climate change. He was shaped by his time in Nepal and South America, where he saw firsthand how deforestation and deep social inequities often go hand in hand. Determined to blend financial viability with real-world impact, Kroll set out to prove that business can be both profitable and regenerative.
He founded Ecosia with ecological impact in its DNA. Headquartered in Berlin, Ecosia operates like any other search engine—except it funnels the bulk of its profits into planting trees around the globe. Since its founding, Ecosia has pursued a singular mission: to restore degraded lands and combat climate change through large-scale reforestation, while remaining transparent and socially responsible. By prioritizing ecological regeneration in conjunction with business sustainability, they have successfully planted more than 226 million trees and dedicated more than US$95 million in profit to climate action.
Financial and Impact Numbers [17, 18]:
Profit with Planet as a Shareholder: Over $95 million in profits dedicated to climate action since its founding in 2009.
Ecological Impact: More than 226 million trees planted globally, restoring degraded lands in Brazil, Madagascar, and Indonesia.
Carbon-negative operations: Ecosia removes more CO₂ than it emits through its search engine infrastructure. It powers its operations with solar energy generated from its own solar plants, producing twice the amount of energy required to run all searches. This surplus renewable energy displaces fossil fuels on the grid, making their operations carbon-negative
Ecosia demonstrates how ecological regeneration can be embedded into a business model while maintaining profitability and user trust.
How They Embrace Doughnut Principles
From day one, Ecosia baked ecological stewardship into its business model. By dedicating at least 80% of its profits to tree-planting projects in places like Brazil, Madagascar, and Indonesia, it ensures that increased revenue directly translates into positive environmental impact. In Doughnut Economics terms, they’re continually working within the planet’s “ecological ceiling,” aiming to restore rather than exploit natural ecosystems. As a Certified B Corporation, Ecosia also upholds strong social values—like fair treatment of employees—and reports transparently so users understand exactly where their ad-click dollars go.
Applying the Product Operating Model
Though smaller than giants like Google or Bing, Ecosia still iterates and refines its product through the same principles of agile, outcome-focused development:
Small, frequent releases: They regularly update their search features and user interface, gathering immediate feedback to optimize performance and user satisfaction.
Empowered teams: Engineers, product managers, designers, and marketers collaborate to improve the platform’s functionality, but with a mission-aligned goal of maximising tree-planting revenue.
Outcome-based metrics: Success at Ecosia isn’t measured just by ad clicks or profit margins—it’s also measured by the number of trees planted and the tangible environmental benefits.
By intertwining product improvements with planetary well-being, Ecosia exemplifies how applying the Product Operating Model can drive growth and support broader, life-sustaining goals.
Applying the Speed of Trust Principles
Ecosia’s user base often chooses the platform not just for its functionality, but because they trust the company’s stated mission. That trust is built through transparency: Ecosia publishes financial reports and tree-planting updates, ensuring everyone can see exactly how ad revenues are converted into reforestation projects. In Covey’s terms, Ecosia aligns its character (genuine commitment to environmental regeneration) and competence (a reliable, evolving search engine). By demonstrating tangible results—millions of new trees—Ecosia reinforces the trust that underpins its growth. This credibility fosters a virtuous cycle: more users means more trees, which further boosts Ecosia’s reputation as an ethical search alternative.
Case C: “A City That Dares to Rethink Everything: Amsterdam’s Doughnut Experiment”
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead (Cultural Anthropologist)
“Our goal is to be fully circular by 2050. That means we have to change the way we design, produce, and consume. We want to transition from a linear system, where materials are thrown away after use, to a circular system, where everything is reused or regenerated.”
— Marieke van Doorninck (Activist & former Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam for Spatial Development and Responsibility)
Patagonia and Ecosia may be corporate examples, but entire cities have embraced Doughnut Economics principles as well.
Amsterdam’s commitment to Doughnut Economics took off under the guidance of Marieke van Doorninck, who served as Deputy Mayor for Sustainability and Urban Development at the time. She was instrumental in weaving Kate Raworth’s Doughnut model into Amsterdam’s post-COVID recovery strategy—focusing on cultivating a circular economy and ensuring that social well-being went hand in hand with ecological integrity.
Applying Raworth’s model to guide everything from housing policy to climate action. Where many municipalities grapple with big questions—How do we address poverty without straining resources? How do we lower emissions without crippling the local economy?—Amsterdam actively uses the Doughnut Economics framework to find real-world answers.
Amsterdam illustrates how Doughnut Economics and circular economy strategies can drive tangible results [19]. The city aims to reduce new raw-material use by 50% by 2030 and transition to full circularity by 2050, with at least half of all building renovations following circular construction principles by 2025. It’s cutting food waste by 50% and increasing local, sustainably produced food consumption to 25% by 2030. Likewise, consumer goods usage is set to drop by 20% through sharing platforms, second-hand shops, and repair services. Throughout this process, Amsterdam relies on the Circular Monitor to track material flows, prioritise reuse, and reduce waste—demonstrating how an urban centre can balance social needs and ecological limits under a Doughnut Economics framework.
How They Use Doughnut Principles
City officials mapped out the social foundation they want every resident to have—affordable housing, access to healthcare, education—while also defining ecological ceilings, such as strict emissions goals and limits on resource consumption. By measuring both social and environmental performance, they strive to keep policies balanced in the “doughnut” zone: not letting anyone fall short on basic needs, and not letting the city exceed the planet’s capacity to sustain life.
Applying the Product Operating Model
The city employs a “product” mindset in rolling out initiatives. Rather than committing to massive, top-down overhauls, they run pilot programs akin to iterative “releases.” Each program—be it a zero-emission transportation corridor or a community-led housing co-op—is tested on a local scale, with results monitored closely. If outcomes are positive, they expand. If issues arise, they learn and iterate.
This closely parallels the Product Operating Model:
Small, experimental releases: Piloting changes in specific neighborhoods, then adapting and scaling based on feedback.
Empowered teams: Urban planners, citizen groups, businesses, and NGOs collaborate as cross-functional teams.
Outcome-based metrics: Rather than focusing solely on how many policies are passed, they track tangible impact—lower carbon emissions, improved affordability, better access to services.
Applying the Speed of Trust Principles
Amsterdam’s transformation hinges on trust between the local government, businesses, and citizens. By openly sharing data on pollution levels, housing affordability, and pilot project outcomes, the city demonstrates Covey’s principle of transparency. This fosters credibility (competence) and shows genuine intent (character) to serve both social and ecological goals. Public forums and collaborative decision-making processes help build relationship trust, ensuring that residents and stakeholders feel heard and invested in the results. When inevitable setbacks occur, Amsterdam’s willingness to course-correct rather than spin the data reinforces that the city leadership is sincere, further strengthening trust across the community.
Case D: “Microfinance for Social Transformation: Grameen Bank ”
“Poverty does not belong in civilized human society. Its proper place is in a museum.”
“The poor themselves can create a poverty-free world. All we have to do is to free them from the chains that we have put around them.”
— Dr. Muhammad Yunus (Economist, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate & Founder of Grameen Bank)
Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist, social entrepreneur, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, celebrated for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concept of micro-finance. His drive to address poverty crystallised during the 1974 famine in Bangladesh, where he saw entire communities trapped in dire need. Yunus began lending small amounts of money to poor individuals, particularly women, to empower them economically without requiring collateral. That initial experiment grew into the Grameen Bank in 1983, reshaping how we think about financial inclusion and social entrepreneurship worldwide.
Grameen Bank pioneered micro-finance to lift rural communities out of poverty. Unlike traditional banks, which demanded substantial collateral, Grameen offered small loans—primarily to women—based on collective responsibility. Over time, Grameen Bank has evolved into a community-led institution, where the bank’s borrowers themselves hold 95% of its equity, with the remaining shares owned by the government. This majority stake ensures that the people who use Grameen’s services have real ownership and decision-making power.
By extending financial services to those once deemed “unbankable,” Grameen catalyzed grassroots entrepreneurship and social innovation across Bangladesh.
Financial and Impact Numbers [20, 21]:
Cumulative Loan Disbursement: Grameen Bank has disbursed a total of $39.87 billion in loans since its inception in 1983 to approximately 10.69 million borrowers, with 97% of them being women.
Loan Recovery Rate: The loan recovery rate stands at an impressive 96% as of January 2025, demonstrating the effectiveness of its micro-finance model.
Deposits and Financial Strength: The bank holds deposits totaling $1.9 billion (BDT 224,691 million), reflecting its strong financial foundation.
Borrower Ownership: Borrowers own 95% of Grameen Bank’s equity, giving them significant control over the institution’s governance. Only borrowers can purchase shares, ensuring that ownership remains within the community it serves.
Annual Profit and Dividends to Borrowers: Profits generated by Grameen Bank are returned to borrower-shareholders in the form of dividends. This ensures that the financial benefits stay within the communities served by the bank. In recent years, Grameen Bank has reported modest profits, such as $680,000 annually, which are distributed among shareholders after covering operational expenses and growth costs.
Poverty Alleviation: Approximately 54% of borrowers have crossed the poverty line, and another 27% are close to doing so, demonstrating significant progress in poverty reduction.
How They Use Doughnut Principles
Social Foundation: By focusing on financial inclusion and empowering women, Grameen Bank addresses core human needs such as housing, education, and nutrition—key aspects of the doughnut’s social foundation.
Ecological Considerations: While the initial thrust is poverty alleviation, Grameen’s loan portfolios increasingly include projects like biogas installations and solar home systems, nudging local communities toward cleaner, sustainable energy solutions.
Commons-Based Design: Ownership lies with borrowers, meaning dividends and decision-making power loop back into the communities themselves. This structure fosters equitable distribution of resources—an essential theme of Doughnut Economics.
Applying the Product Operating Model
Incremental Improvement: Grameen doesn’t just hand out large lump-sum loans. Instead, borrowers receive micro-loans incrementally, repaying weekly or monthly. This iterative approach allows for rapid feedback, enabling the bank to adjust loan terms, interest rates, or support services based on evolving borrower needs.
Empowered Teams: Each local lending group functions like a self-organising, empowered “team.” Members collectively manage repayments, encourage savings, and decide on new loan applicants—mirroring cross-functional collaboration in product development.
Outcome-Based Metrics: Success is gauged not only by repayment rates but also by measurable improvements in poverty levels, women’s empowerment, and overall community well-being—akin to outcome-focused product roadmaps.
Applying the Speed of Trust Principles
Grameen’s strong social mission (character) paired with a robust financial model (competence) builds credibility. Borrowers trust the bank’s fairness, and donors or investors trust the sustainability of the microfinance approach. Group meetings and open records ensure borrowers understand loan terms and interest rates with greater transparency. This clarity cements trust and encourages timely repayments. Women especially benefit from a supportive group dynamic, where peer accountability reduces defaults and fosters mutual respect—exemplifying Covey’s notion that reliable, transparent processes accelerate cooperation.
Case E: “Empowering Women at the Grassroots: SEWA ”
“Poor women are not victims. They are the solution. When we realize that, we can start building an economy of peace.”
“Women’s work is real work. Recognizing that is the first step to making an economy that works for everyone.”
“We don’t seek charity for our members, we seek opportunity. Through SEWA, women take charge of their own futures.”
— Ela Bhatt (Lawyer, Social Worker, Activist & Founder of SEWA)
Ela Bhatt was an Indian lawyer, social worker, and Gandhian activist who, in 1972, founded the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA)—a trade union dedicated to uplifting women in India’s informal sector by fighting for their labour rights, financial independence, and self-reliance. In 1974, she established the SEWA Cooperative Bank to provide micro-finance services to women, and later co-founded Women’s World Banking, a global network advancing financial inclusion. Fierce and grounded in grassroots methods, Bhatt transformed the lives of marginalised women by emphasising collective action, practical skills, and access to credit. Honoured with numerous awards—including the Padma Bhushan, Ramon Magsaysay Award, and the Right Livelihood Award—she is often described as a “gentle revolutionary.” Her legacy continues to inspire gender equality and economic justice movements around the globe.
SEWA was purpose-built to organise poor, self-employed women working in unregulated sectors—think street vendors, home-based artisans, and manual labourers. Over time, SEWA evolved beyond a simple union, incubating community-owned cooperatives and offering its members micro-finance, healthcare, and childcare services. The guiding philosophy is clear: empower women to collectively negotiate better wages, safer work conditions, and greater economic resilience through self-governance.
Financial and Impact Numbers [22, 23] :
Deposits and Credit: SEWA Bank holds $23 million in deposits and has provided $13 million in credit to more than 200,000 women as of recent reports. The bank operates with a 96% loan recovery rate, reflecting the financial discipline and trust among its members.
Membership Reach: SEWA has grown to include over 3.2 million members across 18 Indian states, making it one of India's largest grassroots organisations for informal workers.
Women Empowerment: Over 200,000 women have benefited from SEWA’s financial services, with loans enabling them to start or expand small businesses, improve housing, or invest in education and healthcare for their families. SEWA has trained thousands of women in financial literacy, business management, and technical skills, fostering self-reliance and economic independence.
Social Impact: SEWA combines financial services with social support systems like healthcare, childcare, and legal aid, addressing the multidimensional challenges faced by informal workers. In conflict-affected regions like Kashmir, SEWA has trained over 5,000 women in skills such as tailoring, handicrafts, and food processing, helping them build sustainable livelihoods.
Climate Resilience and Sustainability: SEWA promotes sustainable practices such as organic farming and eco-friendly crafts through its cooperatives, aligning with ecological goals while generating income for members.
How They Use Doughnut Principles
Social Foundation: SEWA focuses squarely on elevating women’s livelihoods—meeting the doughnut’s social foundation by providing credit, skill training, and legal protection. Improved income feeds directly into better food security, healthcare, and education for members’ families.
Ecological & Ethical Lens: Many SEWA cooperatives embrace sustainable practices—such as organic farming or traditional crafts with minimal environmental impact—threading an awareness of ecological boundaries into economic activities.
Commons-Based Model: Organised as a federation of cooperatives and self-help groups, SEWA embodies a bottom-up commons approach: members collectively own their production units and share in the profits.
Applying the Product Operating Model
Iterative Improvement: SEWA’s cooperatives pilot new ideas—be it introducing eco-friendly packaging or rotating crop cycles—in controlled settings. Results are assessed quickly, and successful projects are rolled out more broadly.
Empowered Teams: Each cooperative elects its own leaders, sets goals, and manages budgets. This autonomy mirrors empowered product squads that adapt strategies based on direct user feedback—in SEWA’s case, feedback comes from members on the ground.
Outcome-Based Metrics: While overall revenue is tracked, SEWA also measures impacts on women’s earnings stability, skill advancement, and self-reported well-being. This multi-dimensional outcome focus aligns with the product model’s emphasis on real-world impact over simple output.
Applying the Speed of Trust Principles
SEWA’s longstanding advocacy for women’s rights (character) and its proven track record in financial and capacity-building programs (competence) lend it high legitimacy. Cooperative members regularly meet to discuss finances, resource allocation, and the next phase of development, fostering Covey’s principle of shared understanding and open communication. By centering women’s lived experiences, SEWA builds personal and communal trust. Members see tangible benefits—improved incomes, healthcare access—and become more invested in sustaining collective initiatives.
Why These Innovation-Driven Collectives Matter
Both Grameen Bank and SEWA exemplify how grassroots innovation in finance and labour organising can spark transformative social change. Although they might not explicitly use the terms Doughnut Economics or the Product Operating Model, their real-world achievements illustrate these frameworks in action: they expand economic opportunity (social foundation), avoid exploitative growth patterns (ecological respect), and distribute value and agency through commons-oriented structures.
By anchoring power and ownership in local communities—especially among marginalised groups—these models challenge the assumption that top-down corporate structures are the only route to success. Instead, they prove that a more equitable and inclusive system can drive genuine innovation while reinforcing the long-term health of individuals, communities, and ecosystems alike.
At this point, you may be wondering whether these concepts are too idealistic or inferior to traditional profit models. Let’s address some common questions and objections.
Chapter V: “Addressing Common Objections (and Why We Need Radical Thinking)”
“The thinking that got us to where we are is not the thinking that will get us to where we want to be.”
— Albert Einstein (Pacifist, Humanitarian & Renowned Theoretical Physicist)
Change often triggers resistance. It’s natural—especially when it challenges deeply ingrained beliefs about what constitutes success. But as we stand on the brink of ecological and social collapse, widening inequality, and mounting existential threats, we must acknowledge that business as usual simply isn’t working. We must be brave enough to confront common objections and dispel the myths holding us back.
Below, I’ve laid out responses to some of the most prevalent concerns. This is not about convincing you; it’s about inviting curiosity, prompting reflection, and perhaps uncovering your own sense of misalignment, like I did mine. The goal isn’t debate or conflict—it’s clarity. Because only when we confront the limitations of our current thinking can we begin to imagine—and create—a radically better alternative.
“But, isn’t maximising profit really the ultimate measure of success?”
Treating profit as the only measure of success locks us into the very mindset that created many of our current crises. Historically, prioritising profit above all else has driven human rights abuses, environmental destruction, and fragile economic systems built on short-term thinking. Profit matters—but a fixation on infinite growth inevitably devours resources and destabilises communities. Instead, we need a broader, more balanced definition of success—the Quadruple Bottom Line: prioritising purpose, people, planet, and then profit. Because ultimately, if our collective efforts don’t nurture meaningful purpose, healthy communities, and a sustainable planet, what else is the point?
“Shareholders demand immediate returns—how do we justify this shift?”
We start by recognising our true shareholders: humanity and the planet—not the dwindling 5% hoarding global wealth. It’s time to flip the script: instead of people and the planet serving the economy, we need an economic model purpose-built to serve humanity and nurture a thriving planet.
The financial evidence increasingly challenges the notion that sustainability and profitability are at odds. Studies consistently show that companies genuinely prioritising ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) metrics outperform their peers over the long term [24] (1.8x higher valuation multiple than lower ESG score companies), demonstrating greater resilience during market downturns like Covid and the financial crises [25, 26]. Even traditional financial powerhouses like BlackRock now advocate for sustainability as a core investment strategy. Meanwhile, millennial and Gen Z investors, who will control $30 trillion in assets by 2030, consistently prioritise sustainability and ethics, while major institutional investors representing millions of everyday people increasingly demand both decent returns and a liveable future [27].
I’m not advocating for abandoning shareholder interests but expanding our understanding of what creates lasting value. By treating people, communities, and ecological systems as core stakeholders alongside financial investors, companies build more resilient business models capable of generating returns for decades rather than quarters. Forward-thinking businesses recognise that in a world of finite resources and increasing social demands, the most profitable path is one that regenerates rather than depletes. The question isn't whether we can afford to make this shift; it's whether we can afford not to.
“Why frame this as imperative for long-term survival rather than a ‘nice-to-have’?”
Because trying to ‘fix’ catastrophic outcomes (like climate collapse, social degradation and growing wealth disparity) with incremental changes is a losing game. We can’t solve the problem by tinkering with the same paradigms that caused it. Instead, we need a new operating system—one that recognises finite resources, respects human dignity, and fosters genuine collaboration. That’s not just a moral preference; it’s a strategic necessity for any society that intends to endure.
“Isn’t Doughnut Economics too idealistic to be profitable?”
Rather than shoehorning ecological and social concerns into a profit-first mindset, Doughnut Economics and QBL reframes the system so that human and planetary well-being aren’t optional add-ons—they’re core objectives and necessary constraints. Companies like Patagonia and Ecosia have shown that organisations can thrive under these constraints precisely because they build genuine loyalty and resilience. Rather than bending new ideas to fit an old economic system, they operate under a new set of values where profit is important but secondary to a thriving humanity and ecology. It’s also crucial to recognise that these Doughnut-oriented organisations are more common than many realise; our capitalistic media has simply mythologised and propagated “grow-at-all-costs” as the only success story, overlooking more sustainable models right in front of us.
“Won’t focusing on social and ecological goals reduce competitiveness?”
True competitiveness in a finite world demands regenerating resources, maintaining social stability, and securing human well-being. This perspective views businesses as part of a larger ecosystem that serves humanity, not the other way around. By shifting the lens from “winner-takes-all” to “everyone thrives,” organisations often discover efficiencies and innovations they’d never have pursued under a narrow, profit-maximising approach.
“Isn’t AI unstoppable and technology advancement inevitable? Won’t better technology solve these problems in due course?”
AI is the latest stage in the “scale-above-all” mindset. Without questioning why we’re chasing endless efficiency, we’ll only amplify the same destructive patterns. But if we apply a Doughnut lens—letting collective social objectives and ecological boundaries steer innovation—we can pivot from “efficiency at all costs” to “innovation with a truly evolutionary purpose.” That means deliberately designing AI and any new technology to serve human and planetary needs first, not corporate greed.
It also means recognising that technology must follow human principles and empathy—never the other way around. When we put tech before people, we place the cart before the horse. Look at something as utopian as Star Trek: a fictional universe, sure, but it painted a hopeful vision of humanity working together for the collective good. If that future must exist, it’s up to us to decide how AI—and all technology—can help us build a genuinely better world.
Chapter VI: “Finding Hope—and a Way Out of the Old System”
“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency.”
— Rebecca Solnit (Writer, Historian, Activist & her book “Men Explain Things to Me” popularized the term Mansplaining)
None of this is easy—challenging the “growth at all costs” narrative can feel like questioning gravity. You’ll likely face sceptics worried about immediate shareholder returns or those clinging to familiar metrics of success. Yet taking that first step toward a more humane, future-facing definition of growth isn’t just idealistic; it’s strategic.
Two clear reasons I have Hope…
I. The Anarchy of the Next Generation
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
— Native American Proverb
“I want you to act as if your house is on fire, because it is.”
— Greta Thunberg (Climate Activist who inspired millions of young people around the world to demand climate justice)
The younger generation isn’t fooled by the illusions of a purely profit-driven system. They see the mounting social injustices and environmental crises, rising income inequality, and the broken promises of old-guard capitalism—and they’re not staying silent. From the global climate activism of India’s Licypriya Kangujam and Sweden’s Greta Thunberg, to campus protests demanding economic and political boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS), young people are making it clear that the status quo can’t continue. This fervour isn’t confined to rallies and marches; it’s coursing through college campuses and workplaces, too.
Increasingly, students and employees—even those in the most capitalistic of tech and knowledge industries—are pushing back against unethical business practices, threatening walkouts or even resigning if their companies fail to align with social and ecological values. In many cases, they’re willing to sacrifice short-term career gains, paychecks, and prestige to build a system that values human dignity and planetary well-being above shareholder returns. Their message is stark and urgent: real change won’t come from polite suggestions, but from relentless pressure on corporations, institutions, and governments to deliver more equitable and sustainable outcomes for all.
II. Effective models together with brilliant leaders and examples already exist
Doughnut Economics, the QBL, the Product Operating Model, and Speed of Trust offer a clear path to redefining “growth” away from pure profit-seeking and toward a balanced approach that respects both social foundations and ecological sustainability.
This isn’t just theory: Yvon Chouinard at Patagonia, Christian Kroll at Ecosia, and Marieke van Doorninck in Amsterdam have demonstrated that businesses and cities can thrive without sacrificing people or planet. Meanwhile, Dr. Muhammad Yunus with Grameen Bank and Ela Bhatt with SEWA show how grassroots innovations can uplift entire communities. Taken together, these leaders and their models prove that sustainable, equitable pathways aren’t just possible—they’re already flourishing in the real world.
How Change Can Begin
“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something is worth doing no matter how it turns out.”
— Vaclav Havel (Playwright, Poet, Political Dissident & after the Velvet Revolution became the Last President of Communist Czechoslovakia and First President of the Czech Republic)
We can't overhaul an economic system overnight—but we can no longer delay taking meaningful steps toward change. Every action toward a more just and sustainable world matters. The real failure isn’t in trying and falling short—it’s in not trying at all. Here’s a structured yet actionable approach to start making a difference, inspired by pioneering organisations and communities already leading the way.
Seven Steps to Drive Meaningful Change
1. Acknowledge the Crisis
Just as addiction recovery in a 12-step program begins by unequivocally admitting there’s a problem, acknowledging our economic crisis isn’t weakness—it’s courageous leadership. Most alcoholics initially delude themselves into thinking their drinking is due to external circumstances—a failed marriage, financial hardship, or a troubled childhood. But these are only symptoms. The root cause is the alcoholism itself (Step 1), driven by selfishness and self-centredness (Step 3), as any alcoholic with long-term sobriety knows. Likewise, our society mistakenly blames a lack of productivity, population growth, or even individuals themselves for widespread suffering and environmental collapse. These are distractions. The true underlying issue is our flawed economic system—one that incentivises endless growth, disregards ecological limits, and devalues human wellbeing. Facing this uncomfortable truth head-on is essential for meaningful and lasting change.
2. Elevate the Right Role Models
Champion and celebrate leaders and organisations that genuinely integrate sustainability, ethics and profit—such as Patagonia’s commitment to environmental stewardship or Ecosia’s model of ecological regeneration. Who we celebrate and follow as role models sets the tone for the future.
3. Revisit and Revise the Vision
Make purpose, people, and planet explicit and central in your vision and goals. Amsterdam’s city-wide adoption of Doughnut Economics exemplifies how embedding social and ecological principles can drive transformative policies and community-wide alignment.
4. Adopt an Outcome-Based Model
Success should not be measured solely by profit. The Quadruple Bottom Line—Purpose, People, Planet, and Profit—redefines achievement. Grameen Bank demonstrates this, measuring its success not merely by loan recovery rates but by significant reductions in poverty and measurable improvements in the lives of borrowers.
5. Build Trust with Transparency
Transparency isn’t just good ethics; it’s essential for trust. Patagonia consistently shares openly about their supply chain and environmental impact, fostering deep trust among stakeholders by embracing accountability in both successes and setbacks.
6. Foster Genuine Co-Creation
Break down barriers and encourage cross-sector collaboration to create genuinely innovative solutions. SEWA’s cooperative model, owned and run by informal women workers themselves, illustrates powerful outcomes achieved through inclusive co-creation.
7. Celebrate Small Wins and Continuously Improve
Real change happens incrementally. Publicly acknowledging small successes builds momentum. Amsterdam, Ecosia, Patagonia, Grameen Bank, and SEWA didn’t transform overnight; they iterated, learned from setbacks, and continuously evolved.
Recommendations by Role
For Leaders
Revolutionary leadership begins by facing uncomfortable truths—just as genuine recovery starts by admitting the real root cause in a 12-step program. Our problems aren’t due to productivity failures, individual shortcomings or lack of technology; they’re symptoms of an incentive system rooted in endless extraction, to achieve unsustainable growth, to serve the interests of those seeking to consolidate wealth and power. Recognise this openly, starting in your own house: prioritise the wellbeing of your employees, pay them fair wages, and empower them as true shareholders—following examples like SEWA and Grameen Bank, whose strength lies in collective ownership and purpose-driven leadership. Rewrite your organisation’s vision to explicitly prioritise purpose, people, and planet—not as optional additions, but essential foundations for enduring success.
As clear evidence, during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies that prioritised employee retention and welfare generally outperformed those opting for mass layoffs. Businesses that maintained their workforce, such as Patagonia, Microsoft, and Unilever, benefited from faster recovery, stronger innovation, and greater adaptability once demand rebounded. By protecting employee morale, institutional knowledge, and internal capabilities, these companies fostered deeper employee loyalty and improved productivity, directly enhancing long-term financial performance. Conversely, firms that chose aggressive layoffs faced significant reputational damage, difficulties rehiring, and slower post-pandemic recoveries. In short, choosing people over immediate cost-cutting proved to be not only ethically sound but strategically beneficial, underscoring the long-term value of prioritising people’s well-being, fair wages, and shared ownership.
Shift your success metrics beyond profit alone, embracing the Quadruple Bottom Line: Purpose, People, Planet, then Profit. Adopt transparent accountability as Patagonia has, openly sharing both successes and setbacks on their sustainability journey. Foster genuine co-creation—break down silos, and encourage your teams to collaborate widely, as demonstrated by Amsterdam’s Doughnut Economics initiative. Critically use powerful tools like AI not merely for short-term profitability, but with deep ethical awareness, intentionally designing and leveraging technology to achieve evolutionary goals that serve humanity and protect the planet. Celebrate incremental progress and transparently acknowledge setbacks, cultivating a culture of continuous learning and improvement. By redefining true success and aligning your strategies and technologies with ethical constraints and real purpose, your leadership can spark the transformative shift our world urgently needs.
For Individual Contributors
As an individual contributor, your power lies in your willingness to speak uncomfortable truths and challenge entrenched systems—even if it means standing alone. Follow the bold example of employees at Microsoft, Google, and Amazon who courageously stood against unethical AI practices, military contracts, and unfair labour conditions, risking—and sometimes losing—their own jobs to uphold what’s right.
Refuse to silently comply when your organisation chases profit at the expense of human dignity or planetary health. Demand transparency in pay, sourcing, and environmental impacts; confront greenwashing and token gestures, and call out injustice wherever it appears. Build alliances across teams to amplify your voice and fuel collective action, because real change is rarely comfortable or convenient. Celebrate each act of defiance, however small, knowing you’re planting seeds for systemic change. You might not win every battle, but every rebellion sparks a conversation that can’t be ignored. We must be willing to plant trees whose shade we may never sit in, so that future generations can.
For Citizens
As a citizen, your greatest power is your voice—and the courage to use it loudly and unapologetically. Challenge local governments and businesses relentlessly, demanding radical transparency in spending, environmental impact, and social justice commitments. Draw inspiration from Amsterdam’s empowered citizens who co-created city policies through active participation, proving that grassroots activism can truly reshape governance. Reject passive consumerism—your wallet is a powerful tool, so wield it fiercely by supporting ethical businesses like Ecosia or Patagonia and local enterprises genuinely invested in their communities. Boycott and publicly call out companies and governments that fuel environmental harm or deepen social inequality. Amplify and celebrate community-driven wins like local sustainability projects or cooperative models inspired by SEWA and Grameen, creating momentum for wider adoption. Your advocacy isn’t just symbolic—it’s a powerful act of resistance against systems that benefit from your silence and inaction.
We’ve been told that corporations are too big to challenge—that profit always wins. But history tells a different story. Time and again, when people act collectively and vote with their wallets, even billion-dollar enterprises are forced to blink.
Global security firm G4S, once deeply embedded in prison systems and military infrastructure, faced relentless campaigns over human rights abuses [28]. Universities, NGOs, and labor unions divested en masse, and G4S ultimately sold off its most controversial operations. Nestlé, long criticised for water privatisation and exploitative practices, has endured sustained boycotts, transforming from a household staple into a symbol of corporate dystopia [29]. Even brands as seemingly unshakable as Starbucks and McDonald’s have suffered steep financial losses across the Middle East and Southeast Asia, after public backlash over their perceived complicity in injustice—forcing franchisees to distance themselves and, in some cases, step down entirely [30].
Meanwhile, Tesla, once a darling of ethical innovation, is now contending with growing resistance over labour violations, racial discrimination lawsuits, and its CEO’s increasingly erratic and politicised behaviour (one of the Broligarchs). Once seen as a symbol of the future, the company is rapidly alienating the very consumer base that elevated it—proof that even the most “visionary” brands are vulnerable when their values collapse under scrutiny [31].
These aren’t anomalies. They’re proof points—each one a reminder that people are increasingly unwilling to subsidise systems that exploit, exclude, or destroy. And when that unwillingness becomes coordinated, it evolves into something potent enough to disrupt even the most entrenched giants.
For Coaches
As coaches, our impact begins exactly where our clients are—not where we think they should be. We’re not here to drag them up a mountain of abstract ideals; we’re here to walk beside them while they try to figure out if they’re even on the right mountain.
When leaders come to us struggling with what seem like operational challenges—misfiring teams, unclear strategy, product chaos—we listen. Closely. Then we gently guide them toward the deeper issue: a misalignment between how they work (competence) and why they work (intent).
That’s where the synergy between the Product Operating Model, Doughnut Economics, and the Quadruple Bottom Line (QBL) becomes transformational. The Product Operating Model helps sharpen how teams execute—focusing on outcomes over outputs, empowering cross-functional collaboration, and driving continuous improvement. It’s the competence layer: necessary, measurable, and tactical.
But competence without character is how we got into this mess. To shift the “why,” we introduce frameworks like Doughnut Economics and QBL—not as idealistic fluff, but as pragmatic lenses to reorient decision-making. These models challenge clients to prioritize people, purpose, and planet alongside profit. They upgrade intent. They bring integrity and ethics into the strategy room—not as a guest, but as a permanent stakeholder.
We model this balance ourselves: honesty with empathy, accountability without shame. We admit where we’ve failed to see the system clearly, and in doing so, create space for our clients to do the same. From there, we foster real co-creation. A reframed KPI here. A purpose reboot there. Micro-shifts that ripple through culture, strategy, and impact.
Because real leadership isn’t just about building efficient teams. It’s about making sure the things those teams are building actually matter.
These perspectives illustrate how anyone—from corporate decision-makers and frontline employees to everyday citizens and professional coaches—can contribute to a more just, sustainable, and Doughnut-aligned future.
Chapter VII: Closing Thoughts
If our ultimate concern is the survival and flourishing of people—and the ecosystems that make life possible—then continuing down the path of reckless, extractive growth isn’t ambition. It’s a blueprint for self-destruction.
But the alternative is not stagnation. It’s transformation.
By realigning our business strategies, leadership philosophies, and organisational goals with Doughnut Economics, we unlock a deeper kind of innovation—one rooted in green solutions, circular economies, and community-led design. One where businesses thrive because the world around them does too.
Ultimately, it’s about harnessing the same human brilliance, energy, and systems-thinking that once propelled us to chase profit at all costs—and redirecting it toward building real, enduring value. Whether you’re a CEO, a policymaker, a product builder, a citizen, or a coach, you have a role in shaping what comes next.
Choose to build inside the doughnut—where no one is left behind, and no boundary is breached—and we begin to redefine what success truly means. You don’t need to overhaul the system overnight. Just pick a place to begin: switch your search engine to Ecosia. Spend your money with brands that reflect your values. Advocate for ethical investments. Ask better questions in your next team meeting: challenge the outcomes being measured—are they aligned with purpose, people, planet, and profit, or just profit alone?
Challenge assumptions.
Refuse the default.
That’s how revolutions begin—quietly, one choice at a time.
The future isn’t waiting for permission to change.
It’s already happening.
And yes, it’s a leap of faith. But if Patagonia can redefine consumption, if Ecosia can reforest the planet one search at a time, if Amsterdam can rewire city policy, if Grameen Bank can scale microfinance for millions, and if SEWA can turn informal labour into an economic force—then your home, your company, your community might be next.
We have the tools. We have the map.
All that’s needed is the will to redefine what “winning” really means—and the courage to act on it.
“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”
— Arundathi Roy (Author, Essayist & Activist known for her extensive advocacy for environmental and human rights issues and critique of globalisation, neo-colonialism, and social injustices)
