Article authored by Luís Dias, originally published in RH Magazine

Being a successful company is not an argument that ends in itself. It's not simply by delivering financial results and growth year after year that we can say it has created a positive impact on society and on the business fabric around it. That is where true success actually lies... whether for a person or an organization of people (a company, an association, a political party, etc).

Today, unlike the business organizations of the past century, where a person had a very narrow role in the classic Fordist style that helped grow the world in the pre- and post-World War periods, and where one person served one function - the paradigm of 21st-century business organizations has flipped, and today we have a business context that is less cold and more focused on creating a positive impact on the people who work in it and around it.

Today we see companies grappling with new issues such as generational shifts in mindset, anytime-anywhere access to information, competitiveness that is global rather than merely local, and what to do with what is, without a doubt, the most academically and educationally prepared generation ever.

This is where a company can create its positive impact on the society around it. Caring about the well-being of its employees is just one of the areas modern organizations invest in, creating sports groups, offering healthier and more flexible working conditions to balance personal and work life, recognizing difference, and encouraging creativity to produce value and personal achievement, giving another meaning to an employee's presence in the organization.

But it's not only by looking inward that a company can contribute positively to society. Just as important as looking at yourself is knowing the place you occupy among those around you, and an organization must equally have this awareness and seek to have a positive impact. In some way, living up to that old saying about giving back to society what it has given us.

That's why it's so important to contribute to sharing knowledge and experience, not only from a personal standpoint, but essentially from a business and organizational one.  Every year in Portugal, tens of thousands of companies open and close. Curiously, 2019 data shows that around 38 thousand companies have already opened while 16 thousand have closed. Twice as many openings as closures. This clearly demonstrates the entrepreneurial character of the Portuguese people. Even though the market can and should work on its own, this intersection between mature, successful companies and young companies fighting to grow in the market is important. Besides the obvious advantages of learning from those who have already faced similar difficulties, mature companies can also grow and gain new levels of organization and knowledge through new methods, new structures, and new ideas, ensuring their own company keeps constantly evolving.

Topics such as how heavy, outdated organizational structures can modernize and become attractive to new generations; how to innovate and bring innovation to companies with very conservative models; new ways of recognizing and personally developing the members of an organization - these are topics that today must be on the minds of those who manage and lead mature, successful companies, or risk losing ground to competitors, losing employees to more attractive companies, and becoming obsolete.

Belonging to a Portuguese company, KCS IT, which has existed for 11 years and has reached fairly high levels of growth and organizational maturity, it is my privilege to also contribute to this "give it back" by taking part in various mentoring and counseling initiatives for entrepreneurs and start-ups, such as the Montepio Acredita Portugal competition, where we are the main sponsor for the technology companies category with the K Tech award. It has undoubtedly been an extremely rewarding experience, one that lets me bring back to my organization not only new ideas and practices, but also enormous satisfaction in helping those seeking success achieve it.

Being in contact with this new wave of 21st-century entrepreneurs, who see the world differently, who bring new approaches to innovation, who seek to go a little further every day, has been deeply enriching. It has been a journey of learning new technologies, products, and techniques that allow, not only me personally, but also KCS IT, to grow, improve, innovate, and decisively contribute to a constant evolution in how we relate to our own people, to others, and to society.