VISION & STRATEGY Are You Contributing to the Communities You Serve? Sustainability John A Davis “I wish I had been more thoughtful about our company’s impact on its communities” was a comment I didn’t expect to hear from CEOs I’ve interviewed. Yet that is what many of them shared upon reflection. Leadership research has shown the value of airing one’s vulnerabilities as an expression of authenticity and is important in building trust. Yet it remains unusual to hear CEOs admit regrets and personal shortcomings. While they often enjoyed financial success and earned sizable shareholder returns, many of these leaders came to realise that these results were not the only barometers of career success. As we are witnessing today there are a host of significant challenges businesses face worldwide, with how to become more sustainable foremost among them, no doubt due to growing global concern over our rapidly changing, deteriorating climate. Perhaps this regret has a simpler explanation: CEOs recognise that the climate crisis is a threat to the people in the communities they serve and, consequently, the economic viability of their company as a going concern. Therefore, to strengthen their company’s value proposition it makes good business sense for leaders to include the three commonly recognised pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social; in their strategy-making process.
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