A New Business Model: From Distributive to Generative
“… the value of not just wanting to do good, but wanting to do right.”
- First Plenary at the TBN Asia Conference 2025
We’ve all heard it several times, “business for good”, “tech for good”, etc. Is doing good, good enough? We need to do the right thing too.
Moving from a distributive to a generative business model is doing good and doing right. Linear to circular; short-term distributive returns to long-term generative impact; extraction to renewal; going from a model where value is extracted and distributed to a select few, to one where value is created, multiplied and shared with a wider range of stakeholders including employees, communities and environment. Instead of asking, “How much can we take?”, to asking, “How much benefits can we create?”
This level of change can only be produced at a systemic level – when we move as a collective. We’re all interconnected, and we need to be part of an ecosystem where multiple actors can work together to catalyze reinvention of existing systems in a holistic way, empower stakeholders by shifting power dynamics, and leveraging resources for greater impact.
All of us have resources that we can steward – not just financially, but also of influence, time and skills. As a single investor or entity, you may think the power you have is insignificant. But if we all come together to steward our resources collectively towards the pursuit of generative impact, it multiplies and the whole paradigm of business will begin to change. Everything revolves around supply and demand. Demand follows supply, and the power of choice in demand lies in our hands as consumers. This is enormous power to shape the world.
“How can we maximize profit?”, is a question that is asked in every boardroom meeting. Do we sell ourselves to the product or stock that is generating the highest return? That's what this plenary called “nomadic capital”. Or do we dare to instead ask, “How do we maximize impact?” We love the romance of doing good and doing right, because we tend to think of ourselves as good and just people, until we discover the fundamental truth that underscores every action: trade-offs. Beyond profit, are we willing to disrupt current power structures to elevate marginalized voices? There is a cost to everything, including impact. Is it a price that we are willing to pay? Is it a price we can afford not to pay?