3 Key Features of a Generative Business

I read a material on The Benefits of Giving Away What Your Company Knows by CV Harquail. Using Buffer as a case study, Harquail discussed how businesses can benefit from sharing what they know with others. According to her, generative businesses are "designing their business practices, their relationships, and their business models so that the work they do to grow their own businesses helps their stakeholders grow too."

When you view old methods in a new way, it helps your business to adjust to the changing circumstances.

 Generative organisations or businesses are simply those businesses that are able to create or bring into being something new, or to give rise to new possibilities. For instance new ideas, new processes etc. The create opportunities for others while they grow.

Below are the key features of a generative business as discussed by C.V. Harquail.

1. They design their work processes to power their own growth while sharing what they know, creating opportunities for other businesses to learn, experiment, or challenge themselves.
2. They build an ecosystem of mutually supportive relationships with and between their stakeholders, so the group as a whole can benefit from interactions across the network.
3. They create financial value as well as social value, which includes non-financial positive outcomes such as purpose, meaning, community, expression, and learning.

As good as this sounds, how small businesses will benefit from being generative is still not very clear especially when they have to deal with survival. In Nigeria for instance, small businesses are very secretive, and may not want to share any knowledge that will help other stakeholders especially competitors. How do you know what amount of information to give away is one question yet to be answered. 
In spite of that, this is a principle small businesses should imbibe as they grow. By helping others grow, you gain new ideas and achieve better results. 

Something is “generative” when it’s able to originate or produce something, or to give rise to new possibilities.

• Generative ideas produce new ideas,
• Generative process produces new ways of doing things or new outcomes,
• Generative learning enhances our ability to create,
• Generative relationships build new capabilities in both partners, and
• Generative leadership helps others see opportunity in their actions.

Generative practices are important because they make new things possible. They have the capacity for ‘more’ built right in.
- See more at: http://authenticorganizations.com/harquail/2013/12/11/whats-a-generative-organization/#sthash.SbkIoejd.dpuf

Something is “generative” when it’s able to originate or produce something, or to give rise to new possibilities.

• Generative ideas produce new ideas,
• Generative process produces new ways of doing things or new outcomes,
• Generative learning enhances our ability to create,
• Generative relationships build new capabilities in both partners, and
• Generative leadership helps others see opportunity in their actions.

Generative practices are important because they make new things possible. They have the capacity for ‘more’ built right in.
- See more at: http://authenticorganizations.com/harquail/2013/12/11/whats-a-generative-organization/#sthash.SbkIoejd.dpuf