Abundance is one of our values at Ruby Star Associates – for us it means giving generously of our time, sharing ideas and knowledge openly, being collaborative and investing time and energy in helping people to make important things happen. Our experience and data suggest that this investment is more than worth it, and working in a protectionist, minute-counting or suspicious way doesn’t really float our boat.

This week I was reminded of a slightly different definition of Abundance, the one proposed by Daniel Pink in A Whole New Mind. He talks about abundance in terms of the relative material abundance that we all experience – the massive availability, accessibility and affordability of huge quantities of stuff which is a feature of the modern world. He argues, (as ever, very convincingly, if you aren’t already a fan, check out some of his work… start with Drive) that this abundance has an impact on how we should shape our organisations. In brief, with so much “stuff” out there, in order to differentiate what you do or sell you need to have more than just something which is effective and affordable – you need to appeal to a higher purpose: aesthetics, spirituality, meaning, even joy. Whilst this definition is different from the one we use, the intention is completely aligned.

Like many other businesses we’ve found that through our pro-bono activities, our exploratory conversations and our investment in the missions and ideas of the great people we’ve met, we’ve learnt loads, made great connections and come across some of the most exciting commercial opportunities. It’s all about balance after all… otherwise it’s just a job. No?