Back in the 90’s and early 00’s, I had a somewhat successful job as a DJ. Sure I had a show on college radio, did the occasional wedding, and worked in a record store, but my passion was for the deep, spiritual house music. While not the most popular or lucrative genre, this music touched my soul - the very core of my being. Through this music, I was able to take my audiences on an emotional journey built on 4:4 rhythms, gospel-tinged melodies, and lyrics of love, pain, hope, despair, rage, sadness, and ultimately redemption. When I wasn’t on the decks, I was on the dance floor. Under the flashing lights and driven by the booming sound system, I wasn’t trying to negotiate with myself which part of myself I was going to present, I wasn’t concerned about what people thought of me. I wasn’t just black, or gay, or young, or highly educated, or poor. I was just getting my entire life. I was entirely free.

In that pre internet world, one of the most effective promotion tools we had was the mix tape, yes, like literally a cassette tape. I recently uploaded some of my old tapes and was re-united with one of my favorite mixes “Water Part I”. This all vinyl set goes from a low pulse to churchy Hammond B3s, high to dark tribal rhythms and back again. Somewhere around the 36th minute, I mix in a track by Blaze feat. Palmer Brown - My Beat. This stripped down spoken word jaunt simmers with Afro funk syncopation. Its swings, it’s got swagger. It begins:

“As we dance to beat that seems out of time
To the one you feel in the metronome of your mind,
Does it offend you, that our rhythm looks strange
Or causes your thinking to be rearranged

Could you understand this beat to which we dance,
More clearly had you been given a chance,
And as you struggle to find the feel with your feet,
Ask yourself can you dance to my beat?”

In this simple question the artist is not concerned about fitting in. The artist knows this beat to which they dance, the sum of their lived experience, has intrinsic value. They are complex and unique. Instead of hiding this uniqueness they revel in their full expression of self.

Fast forward a few decades and my work life has evolved. I still have passion for what I do, but, in an effort to build wealth and prosperity for my family, the tools had to change. I’ve gone from DJ to CEO, what was the dance floor is now my software company, and I’ve traded the mix tapes for an executive board or two. I am able to bring myself in all of my overlapping intersectional identities to everything I do, and have built a company where all are supported in doing the same. I have tied profit to purpose. We are Designed to give a Damn.

These experiences were on my mind as I listened to Michel Porter, Harvard Business School and founder of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), deliver his Keynote address at the ICIC National Conference. In it, Mr. Porter asked how businesses should be involved in social issues and how we raise the bar in business practice.

The need for business to formalize some sort of corporate social value has been a relatively recent trend for larger business as social purpose is increasingly seen as a viable strategy for building competitive advantage. Mr. Porter went on to say investors, such as BlackRock, want to see a company’s demonstrated sense of purpose, their driving force, their reason for existing. These publicly traded businesses must still be beholden to their stockholders, but the importance of other stakeholders (employees, customers, suppliers, communities in which it operates, and the environment ) has to be elevated. He spoke of the worth of Creating Shared Value by addressing societal needs through the business itself with a business model. He went on to say that the most advanced form of capitalism integrates social impact into core strategy.

Mr. Porter then acknowledged that small business is already doing this. Many of us already have tied profit to purpose. We are mission driven, we invest in our staff, we actively seek diversity in all its forms. Some of us are left-of-center politically and value the health and wellbeing of our organizations over only top line revenue. We have been doing our part in moving the arc of our society towards a more inclusive growth trajectory. We realise that there is nothing wrong with building wealth, but there is a responsibility owed to society. Capitalism is not evil unto itself, but profit without purpose is.

Owners of diverse small businesses are, by the nature of the myriad institutionalized oppressions, phobias, and exclusions we personally experience, often more urgently aware of the need to build businesses with an active and measurable social impact. Our continued existence depends on it.

I would go on to argue that we in business leadership with intersectional and overlapping identities have a compounded set of challenges. We have to negotiate conflicts amongst the sometimes seemingly competing priorities of communities to which we belong on a regular basis. Whether those negotiations are internal or public, these battles equip us with a unique perspective.

I firmly believe in the power of intersectional perspectives, when properly supported, to drive Corporate Social Value. That’s why I’m really excited to hear Reniqua Allen speak on “Intersectionality In Business”. I can’t wait to hear her keynote on best practices from regional employers who are working to develop policies that acknowledge all aspects of social identity and bolster inclusion.

So when large business is looking how to do Shared Corporate Value right, look to mission driven small businesses with diverse leadership. Ask yourself, can you really, really dance to our beat?