For centuries the Roman Catholic Church dominated the world. In time, city states, and subsequently nation states, filled the vacuum caused by the decline of the church’s power in the world. More recently, these were replaced by corporations who have come to influence—even rule—our lives. In each case, as trust and respect for these power centers declined, so did their influence and power. Today the Corporation is at a tipping point. We have the capacity to reclaim the reputation and trust that has been so carelessly squandered, or continue the path of decline. The choice is ours. Recently, the Business Roundtable, an organization of CEOs, modernized its statement of the purpose of a corporation. It’s chairman, Jamie Dimon, who is also Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co., observed what many would see a statement of the obvious: “The American dream is alive, but fraying”. The Business Roundtable Declaration avows that the interests of shareholders are no longer the primary purpose of business, but that the purpose of a corporation is to promote “An Economy That Serves All Americans”. Early in my career I consulted for Johnson & Johnson which had a near-Biblical set of guiding values called “Our Credo” that was ever present (and lived) by everyone in the organization. Crafted in 1943 by Robert Woods Johnson, a member of the company’s founding family, it committed the organization to living a long list of high ideals, which it argued, if met, would in the end, result in increased shareholder value. Note, this was the last imperative, not the first one. Today, the once venerable Johnson & Johnson faces over 100,000 lawsuits. Around the same time in my career I consulted with IBM, who operated with a simple and clear Statement of Beliefs: Respect for the individual; Superlative customer service; and, The pursuit of excellence in all tasks. Today, the Mission Statement of IBM is a ramblng collection of 64 MBA-jargon-laced words in three very long sentences, which I doubt few of the 400,000 employees could recite, let alone live. The real purpose of business is to make the world better—in every way possible. Great organizations have a dream that describes how their work is a sacred endeavor that will create a noble legacy. Our research shows that 80% of employees would give up their day jobs if they had a free choice. One of the reasons is that we have lost our way and lack a higher ideal towards which we are striving—something we share, that unites us, and inspires us. If we get lost during a hike, we use a compass or a GPS. In the corporate world, there is such a device available for us too—it is called a dream. An organization with a dream is unstoppable. A dream for America resulted in the first landing on the moon. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. Dreams are infectious and inspiring. They have the power to move the hearts and minds of those 80% who want to quit today, to make a difference in the world. Let’s do it! Let’s reclaim our lost trust and respect! Let’s change the world! What will your Dream be? Learn more: Read the White Paper here.
Reclaiming Corporate Trust and Respect
by Lance | Sep 29, 2019 | 5 comments
Lance, I couldn’t agree more. Also, Jonathan Macey in his book The Death of Corporate Reputation shows unequivocally how trust has been eroded by our financial institutions and corporations through unethical practices and disregard of the value of trust. With a shift back to a stakeholder perspective, a lot more work will need to be done to redress the sad situation that “leaders” have created. How can a healthy environment of inspiration exist without trust? Your work is so important! BTW, I’ve sent my dissertation to the BRT. I hope someone will respond!
Claude, one person can make a huge difference and change everything – one way or the other. Exhibit #1 = Donald Trump. But Exhibit #2 would be Satya Nadella, who has single-handedly changed the culture of Microsoft and in five short years he has tripled the value of the stock and turned Microsoft into the world’s most valuable company https://www.healthvilla.in/2019/05/world-most-valuable-companies.html (depending, of course, on the day you measure this!) by reshaping the culture and becoming inclusive rather than competitive, caring rather than brutal, measured rather than impulsive, and people-centric and empathetic rather than metrics-driven.
As a raised Roman Catholic who left and who can’t agree more with both of you .. I will think of my chosen words but will say that with hearts and minds inspired like those here, we can, I believe, make a difference. Even when I worked at a large corporation I was able to change the culture of many. Even though I did not change the entire corporate mindset of the incorrect few, it’s called progress, and is powered by the courage to keep going. Love you and this light you shine as always.
Lance – Agreeing with you 100% with this added this added thought: Corporate Dreams are the composite of the dreams of many individuals. When corporate leaders can bring inspiration to their teams with a common dream, success in its many forms can flow. Each of us as leaders have that shared responsibility to empower the dreams. Namaste my friend!
Well said, David!