The Redemptive Business: A Playbook for Leaders

“We write for enterprising leaders in small- to medium-sized, privately-held companies who see business as an endeavor with moral significance and cultural power. You know your work in business means something, and you want your organization to be a force for good. That’s a tall order in a highly competitive arena full of ethically questionable norms, scarce resources, competitive pressures, and shifting cultural expectations. Still, you are drawn to the entrepreneurial journey, in part because it holds so much promise: though you have to work within this system with all its strengths and flaws, you hope to build something new, beautiful, and lasting.”

This Playbook is for founders, funders, and teams building businesses that seek to operate not only ethically but even redemptively—with deep interest in their cultural impact, generous care for their teams and partners, and leadership marked by uncommonly humble ambition.

Based on our work with hundreds of business founders and funders, we have identified six core commitment areas of the redemptive business, each with several actionable organizational practices. These can (and regularly are) implemented in organizations without a particular public faith commitment, but they are rooted in a distinctly Christian view of human beings and our shared purpose in the world, which are summed up in the term “redemptive.”

Despite the complex tradeoffs and pressures involved in building a business, we know from experience that redemptive business is not only possible but real, sustainable, and applicable to any industry—not only to “social enterprise.” We have walked with so many organizations using the power of business and markets to contribute to genuine human flourishing, while working against the exploitation of all stakeholders—teams, investors, partners, customers, and even competitors.