25 years since Band Aid

I watched an interview with Midge Ure this morning on BBC news, talking about Band Aid and how the money they raised has helped farmers in Ethiopia. As a result of their aid, famers have been able to diversify their crops and look at new ways of sustaining food supplies even when drought hits.

There's a lot to say about the Ethiopian famine and Band Aid. One of the things that really impresses me is the way that this mass fund-raising effort caused a seismic shift in the way that we view others and our role in helping them. The en masse effort that went into raising money showed that giving isn't just done by terribly rich people in fur coats handing out pennies to the poor. It's something that needs to be done by everyone and is in fact a socially responsible thing to do.

As Midge Ure states, charity doesn't have to be about patronage and shouldn't be a way of exerting control or superiority over others. Giving, when handled well, concerns itself with enabling - acting as a conduit to better things. I believe Ure when he says that the Ethiopians he's met are incredibly hard-working people who want to do things for themselves - but they've been blighted by the unfortunate combination of traditionalist methods and climate change. The money raised can't change the latter, but it has gone a long way to addressing the fundamental way that Ethiopian farmers do things.

I think both of these points have relevance in business. Farming is of course a form of business and should tell us a lot about the way that we do things. More often than not it's only when things get into a difficult or unmanageable state that we start to ask ourselves: 'what went wrong?'; 'what happened?'. If only we had looked at the basic structures and principles that we base our business on at the outset, we could have avoided this situation. By that I mean, creating a platform that allows for change, evolution and growth and not restricting ourselves to the here and now. And don't be afraid to ask for help - venture capital and other fund-raising firms do offer support to businesses, to enable themselves to achieve growth.


In terms of social responsibility, most businesses could learn something from this too. Think about what impact your business behaviours have on employees and the community; spare a thought for lower energy consumption and recycling; encourage employees to take part in and even fund their time away on charity-based activities. But remember that charity starts at home - be good to your people and the rest will follow.