It is a truly powerful phenomenon when a brand makes a stand for what it believes in.

There is an overwhelming amount of information available to us all on the web each day, not to mention what is shared with us by our family, friends, fans, and followers. This necessitates the need to filter through all that information and to decide for ourselves where to put our attention.

We now see numerous examples of brands working together to address issues such as environmental degradations, climate control, pollution, poverty and disease.

The leverage and influence social media gives citizens are rapidly spreading into the business world.

Millions of people are falling out of the middle class into the ranks of the poor.

Radical transparency has an enormous impact on our personal lives. We can no longer share thoughts, quips, photos or personal opinions anywhere on the web without being mindful that they may turn up where we least expect it (notably job interviews, divorce proceedings or public media).

Today's consumers are eager to become loyal fans of companies that respect purposeful capitalism. They are not opposed to companies making a profit; indeed, they may even be investors in these companies - but at the core, they want more empathic, enlightened corporations that seek a balance between profit and purpose.