Richard Barrett on the New Leadership Agenda
Here´s a selection from long-standing EBBF member Richard Barrett’s upcoming book, “The New Leadership Agenda”, which succinctly outlines the turning point business (and humanity) has reached, the choices we face, and the principles that must guide us in the coming decades. (See more information at the Barrett Value Center.)
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Never before in history has the leadership of human affairs been more critical than it is now. The decisions made in the next two decades will determine the future of humanity. The well-being of billions of people and the viability of our planet’s life support systems are at stake. The situation is more complex than ever before because the crises we are facing are global, but the systems of governance we have for dealing with them are primarily national.
The difficulties we are experiencing stem from two sources: a) an exaggerated belief in the concept of national sovereignty (the self-interest of nations), and b) global institutions that are dominated and compromised by the self-interest of the most powerful nations.
Even though many governments and international institutions recognize the interdependence and interconnectedness of our financial and life support systems, our politicians are so wrapped up in the self-interest of their nations, the communities that they represent, and the companies and interest groups that fund their re-election campaigns, that they are unable to implement policies which would benefit the global common good. Additionally, the most powerful nations are continually manipulating our global institutions to their own political ends.
At the same time, our global corporations, some of which are economically more powerful than the majority of nations, are also pursuing their own self-interests in search of greater financial returns for their owners or investors. For them the environment and ecosystems are regarded as externalities and the well being of the masses is of little concern. Investment strategies follow the path of least cost and least resistance – which almost always results in sacrificing the good of the whole for the self-interest of the few.
It is time to recognize that policies and strategies that promote self-interest will not solve the problems of existence we are now facing. We need our political and business leaders to set aside their narrow self-interests and embrace a collaborative approach that supports the well-being of humanity and the planet as a whole.
Political leaders must give up their parochial self-interest and their exaggerated, false belief in national sovereignty. Business leaders must recognize that business is wholly owned subsidiary of society and the planet, and must stop seeking to be the best in the world, and start seeking to be the best for the world. If we lose our environment and our life support systems, we will lose our economy. If the pain of the masses reaches critical proportions, particularly in the rich nations, then the greed and self-interest of our financial and business leaders will no longer be tolerated.
What is being called forth, is a global paradigm shift – a shift from a world focused on self-interest, to a world focused on the common good. In the future, we will only succeed individually if everyone in our global society succeeds. We simply cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.
The following statement by Willis Harman, co-founder of the World Business Academy, rings more true each year.
“Business has become the most powerful institution on the planet. The dominant institution in any society needs to take responsibility for the whole. But business has not had such a tradition. This is a new role, not well understood or accepted. So business has to adopt a tradition it has never had throughout the entire history of capitalism: to share responsibility for the whole. Every decision that is made, every action that is taken, must be viewed in the light of that responsibility.”
He then speaks about three necessary qualities for business and leaders that want to thrive in this new context. Here to download the full summary and read about them.
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