Walking Toward the Light
As damaging as last year was, I envision a future where we look back on 2020 as the catalyst of enormous change. We’ve been forced to reevaluate virtually every structure of human life and civilization: public health, the economy, social justice, the role of goverment…. But as any business leader worth their salt knows, times of crisis are also periods of great opportunity.
The fact that so many things seem to be falling apart at once is an indication of the rot in our foundation. It didn’t just happen overnight — the decay has been corroding our systems for years in the form of ever-increasing concentrations of wealth, denial of the human actions that lead to climate change, and the mesmerizing effect of political theater in extremis.
Business leaders should pay particular attention to the first two of these indicators: wealth inequality and environmental degradation. As David Brower said, “There’s no business to be done on a dead planet.” I’ll add to that: “Business cannot long survive on the deadened spirit of employees.” Just as King Cotton in the American South was deposed by the decay in its foundation — its reliance on slave labor — we’re now starting to see the crumbling house of cards that is the Friedmanesque notion of shareholder primacy and profit maximization.
It’s time for business leaders to recognize that profit is merely an outcome, not a goal. A business that focuses on delivering worthwhile products/services from empowered employees in a way that does the least harm to the enviroment and contributes to community has the best long-term prospects for profitability. This is what Harris suggests when he encourages leaders to “take action to improve conditions for employees, customers, communities, the environment...” because this action will ultimately result in benefits to shareholders too.
Let’s use 2020 as a time to change the calculus of business toward profitability defined as health and prosperity for all.
