Ideas change everything

The business benefits of doing good

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Wendy Woods |

TED@BCG Milan

• October 2017

"The only way we're going to make substantial progress on the challenging problems of our time is for business to drive the solutions," says social impact strategist Wendy Woods. In a data-packed talk, Woods shares a fresh way to assess the impact all parts of business can have on all parts of society, and then adjust them to not only do less harm but actually improve things. Learn more about how executives can move beyond corporate social responsibility to "total societal impact" -- for the benefit of both a company's bottom line and society at large.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

"The only way we're going to make substantial progress on the challenging problems of our time is for business to drive the solutions," says social impact strategist Wendy Woods. In a data-packed talk, Woods shares a fresh way to assess the impact all parts of business can have on all parts of society, and then adjust them to not only do less harm but actually improve things. Learn more about how executives can move beyond corporate social responsibility to "total societal impact" -- for the benefit of both a company's bottom line and society at large.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Learn more about the Centre for Public Impact, a BCG foundation working to develop a framework that sets out how government can improve the results it achieves for citizens.

About the speaker

Social impact strategist

See speaker profile

Wendy Woods is a Managing Director and Senior Partner of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Vice Chairman of BCG's Social Impact practice, which she helped create.

Learn more

"Collective cooperation in the social sector"

Wendy Woods reveals the powerful impact of collective cooperation in the social sector at TED@BCG 2013.

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute

Learn more about the Centre for Public Impact, a BCG foundation working to develop a framework that sets out how government can improve the results it achieves for citizens.