CEOs’ massive shift in mindset: Greater social impacts are achieved through business, not politics

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

By Pascal Gerken

If there was a call to action launched into the zeitgeist by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last year, it was the purpose-before-profit movement, the notion that companies need to deliver a positive contribution to society to ensure their own long-term growth. This idea has garnered a lot of ink and air time in the past year as CEOs have pledged to do more for stakeholders beyond those holding their shares.

On Wednesday, at this year’s World Economic Forum, I announced the news that global business leaders — present and future — are doing more than paying lip service to this purpose-first approach to capitalism. This is according to the Young Presidents Organization’ recent survey of its membership — 27,000 business leaders in 130 countries — in which CEOs emphatically affirm this massive shift in mindset regarding the role of business leadership in today’s society. The study was conducted Dec. 23, 2018 through Jan. 4, 2019 with more than 2,200 CEOs responding.

Photo courtesy of Pavel Ahmed.

Source: CNBC (link opens in a new window)

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public policy