Many entrepreneurs, business professionals, and senior leaders have now spent the last decade connecting with people on Linkedin and other social networking platforms. All those in management and leadership roles are responsible for building and directing teams to achieve an action, complete a task or fulfill a commitment in a specific way. — Enabling teams that work is no longer about wielding autocratic power. Those entrepreneurs, business professionals, and senior leaders who communicate a higher purpose; nurture a following, and support their relationships earn influence and relationship capital. …

Corporate capitalism is the label used in social science and economics to describe a capitalist marketplace noted for its preeminence of hierarchical and bureaucratic corporations. Relationship Capitalism is more about recognizing and rewarding “human cooperation” between peers. Peers rewarding peers and teams with relationship capital — A number of other thought leaders shared their perspectives at the Global Peter Drucker Forum in Vienna, Austria a few years ago:

The rate of return on assets of US firms is only one-quarter of what it was in 1965. Business organizations are fewer and less able to seize the economic benefits of their actions. In a technology-enabled world in which innovation is key, it’s with great heartbreak that only 11 percent of employees are passionate about their work. It is also a major performance problem for businesses that depend on employee passion for imagination and innovation. There is no effective leadership today with a corner office mentality.

With digital business, competitive advantage is sustained and driven by human capital. Extensive research over the last thirty years has proven that managing talent well creates value for organizations. Yet talent management is ineffective in many companies as it is grounded in 20th-century paradigms that are not aligned with today’s business imperatives. — Because of these outdated 20th-century management practices noted in the Booz & Company quote, an effective business leadership mindset is more important than ever. …

Our digital and social world is commoditizing products and services in the minds of our prospects and customers. In order to distinguish individuals, teams, and business offerings today, companies need more than great products or services. It requires ethical behavior. — Why? Because the formerly separate worlds of business and personal have fused. Everything is personal. And in personal relationships, it is about responsibility. Business must practice the golden rule. Where trust and reciprocity are expected in not just what you say, but in how you behave.

The latest research indicates that employees have low-trust in their managers and senior leadership. A past AP poll showed that trust has been steadily dropping since 1970. 66% of Americans do not trust other Americans. It would seem that empathy and compassion are seriously lacking in many of our business relationships. We are at an important inflection point. — For most business organizations to survive and thrive, they must innovate. Innovation requires a business culture of purpose, values, and relationship capital. Many leaders have had the false belief that their organization’s culture was not a lever that they could effectively manage for higher levels of performance.

There are is a lot of talk and technology investment taking place with respect to social platforms, collaboration, and analytics. Senior business leaders and their organizations are always seeking sustainable competitive advantage. Strategy and technology while important, do not buy much time today in our real-time digital marketplace. The industrial era business models of hierarchy and autocratic power seem tired with respect to executing and delivering on the vision.

Our digital and social world is commoditizing products and services in the minds of our prospects and customers like never before. In order to distinguish individuals, teams, and businesses today, we need more than just great products or services to stand out from the competition. The way forward is to go well beyond the transaction and build social relationships of commitment. — Why? Because the former separate worlds of business and personal have fused. Everything is personal. And in personal relationships, it is about responsibility. Creating a sustainable business success today requires building a social network of commitment between peers of customers, employees, industry influencers, and partners.

It’s common knowledge that Benjamin Franklin provided great support and counsel in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence and was sent as a diplomat to France to ask for assistance during the Revolutionary War. He was a skilled man across a wide variety of disciplines such as scientist, inventor, printer, newspaper writer, as well as politician. He is credited with starting America’s first fire department and public library. Ben Franklin’s face is still on the $100 bill. Less commonly known, perhaps, is that Franklin tried to live by the maxims that seem so simplistic in today’s complex digital and social world.