Jason Ticus of Winning Workplaces is a very bright guy. We’ve had the privilege to get to know him since last fall, when his organization graciously named Jump a Top Small Workplace in the pages of the Wall Street Journal. The group is just about to name this year’s winners at its annual conference in Chicago (Dev’s a featured speaker), which means Jason and his colleagues have been spending the last several months observing some of the country’s most inspiring small companies firsthand. This morning, Jason reflected on those experiences in a blog post that speculates about the future of business. He drew on some ideas from Wired to Care for the piece:

“The secret, Patnaik says, lies in fostering an innate sense of empathy in your organization, and being willing to stir from your fortress of an antiquated business models and stay more directly in touch with your customer and fellow co-worker.  ’When that happens, the effects of empathy can be profound. Companies prosper. Communities thrive. And we all have a better day at work.’”

Jason asserts that the future of business is “small, nimble, and interconnected.” We agree entirely with the last two, but think that big companies are just as important as the amazing small companies WW honors each year. Large corporations are capable of doing amazing things for society. Has anyone done more in the last three years to improve the environment than Wal-Mart? Or for dental health worldwide in the last century than Colgate and Crest? The problem is, they too often aren’t connected enough to make decisions that have a broader social benefit. If organizations become nimble and interconnected with the rest of the world, they will trend toward activities that make the world a better place — and make a whole lot of money in the process.

We’re in a reset period for the economy. A lot is up for grabs and much is uncertain. But this much, at least, we can say with some confidence. If you want to grow, find out what people really need, and give it to them.