Katie Couric and Ryan Gellert speak on stage during the SXSW 2023 Conference and Festivals in March … [+]
A year of business lessons by social impact leaders
Over the past year, I have had the privilege of talking to some of the most capable business leaders and social influence in the world. In the face of deep global challenges – political polarization, environmental collapse, racial injustice and expanding economic inequality – these leaders have consistently delivered a unifying message: the future belongs to businesses that solve social problems, not to contribute. In the context of social impact deconstruction in the United States, I saw useful to review what I learned over the past twelve months. Hope you will find what these leaders share as useful and inspiring as I did.
When progress changes, business must lead
We are living during a period of extraordinary social regression. From the return of reproductive rights to the US to dismantling environmental protection and amplification of xenophobia, governments are withdrawing from their responsibilities to protect vulnerable communities and future generations.
As I wrote in “Social Change Under Trump: A Book for Business Leaders” When businesses are facing severe reactions against ENG and some have already withdrawn from previous commitments to social and environmental change, CEO must affirm and live the values of the institution.
“This is the difficult part and this is what separates those who walk in conversations from those who simply speak the conversation,” said Brent Chrite, president of Bentley University. “If you take care of the environment or social justice or inclusion, then show it. This is a critical issue of leadership. “
Business leadership means gender equality
The fight for gender equality in leadership is far away. As I documented in “Equal Leadership: How to Insert More Women into C-SUITE”Only 11.6% of Fortune 500 CEO are women. The solution is a structural adjustment of how the leadership potential is recognized and cultivated.
“At Catalyst, we talk about what you will need to fix systems when nearly 90% of CEOs are men and 70% of C-SUITE are men,” the president and CEO, Catalyst said. “The first thing is a commitment to change – this should not be the objective, but it requires aspiration goals that will create ways to leading for more women.”
(Aside, I would hope to include the perspective of a global human resource leader in this article, but her organization would not allow her to share her opinion that success in this space would happen only when 50% of CEO are women.)
Authentic Social Impact – Beyond Marketing
Today, customers and employees are smarter than ever to signal the corporate virtue. within “Social Impact Leadership: How to Walk the Chat in 2025”I have heard from companies that have influenced their business models, not just their marketing.
“When a company becomes legally responsible for its stakeholders – workers, communities, clients, suppliers and the environment – ‘Walking the talc’ becomes a default. Our work in assessing B Corp’s impact has helped us identify our strengths and blind points and ensure a whole when we look at how we act as a business,” Ryan Gellert said.
Business as a moral choice
In “Choosing Business and Morality: Where do you stay?”, I took the question that every business decision is essentially a moral decision – from what you hire, how you get material, where you invest profits. And, in the current polarized, divisive political context, making the right moral decision, means to stay for the purpose and values that every progressive business supports. Christopher Marquis, Professor Sinyi of Chinese Management, Cambridge Court Business School has revealed that in companies that are for something, the strongest loyalty from the people who support them, compensates for those who alienate them.
“In today’s era, marked by the ubiquitousness of social media and deep political polarization, corporations find themselves in an uncertain position. Avoiding politics is not just an option. Companies now have to navigate this complex and often divisive landscape, balanced their public positions with a different view of their parties.”
Climate action is the survival of the business
within “6 ways of how companies can be prepared for climate disaster”The message was clear: climate risk is the risk of business. Future leaders will be those who build climate durability in each decision.
“We must all take urgent actions, sustainable to restore nature loss and emissions before reaching a checkpoint from which we will not heal,” wrote Kathleen McLaughlin, executive vice president and leading official for Walmart, Inc. and President of the Walmart Foundation.
Preparation of next generation of business leaders
In “Do you need to educate the next generation of leaders with heart?”, I looked at how business schools and corporate training programs should evolve to emphasize empathy, ethics and social responsibility along with profit and performance.
“We need to prepare students for life in the corporate world that have a social conscience such as providing business programs that include philosophy and ethics,” said Barry Craig, president of Huron University. “If we do it right, we end up with ethical students moving the corporate world to social change.”
Social impact and lucrative business are indivisible
Everyone article turned into a central truth: Solving social problems is no longer a distraction from profit – it’s a way to it. From climate innovation to comprehensive product design, companies that focus on their essential strategy are overcoming their competition. within “New Business Mandate: Choose Social Problems, Earn a Profit”I showed that as a first business approach can encourage more CEO to help solve social problems in ways that are also good for their companies. “The days of watching profits and goals from separate lenses are over and the institutions that are still seeing them with separate lenses will suffer,” said Faraz Khan, CEO of Esg Technology and spectreco counseling firms. “Organizations governed by the goal that prioritize communities and the planet is reaping financial rewards.”
Paul Klein is the founder and CEO of Impact, and a Forbes contributor to leadership, social change and corporate responsibility.
For more information about the social impact forum, visit impact.com/forum.