RIP GDP?

What do we value the most? A healthy bank balance? A clean river? Being able to borrow milk from your neighbours?

What we value as individuals varies immensely, so in some ways it’s surprising that so many of the benchmarks and targets we set ourselves in society and business are focussed on monetary measures of wealth and growth.

But things are on the move.

On Tuesday, the OECD launched their alternative measure of wellbeing – ‘Your Better Life Index’ – which encourages you to explore how countries compare, not just on traditional factors such as jobs and income, but also community, work-life balance and life satisfaction. Rather than proclaiming any one country top of the table, the countries rise and fall as you decide what wellbeing means to you.

And that’s not all. Back in November last year, David Cameron announced plans by the government to measure the nation’s happiness and introduced the notion of ‘general well-being’ (GWB) as an alternative to the traditional GDP. Along with initiatives such as Mappiness, Action for Happiness, and organisations such as the new economics foundation, it’s coming at us from all sides.

So how should businesses respond?

As the backbone of the economy, businesses have been the key driver of GDP and other traditional measures of progress. But with growing momentum behind new measures of ‘progress’, there’s a clear opportunity for business leadership in this space. And with evidence demonstrating strong links between greater well-being and economic prosperity, this is also more than just an altruistic goal. I’m looking forward to some real trailblazers demonstrating creative thinking in creating value and success beyond numbers.