Business leaders have tremendous power to influence our society, how it
operates, whether it is fair, and the extent to which it impacts the
environment. And yet, we do not recognize or call out the responsibility
that comes with that power. This book is meant to challenge future
business leaders to think differently about their career, its purpose,
and its value as a calling or vocation, one that is in service to
society. Its message is for current and prospective business students,
business leaders thinking anew about the role of business in society,
and the business educators that train all these people.
We face great challenges as a society today, from environmental problems
like climate change and habitat destruction, to social problems like
income inequality, unemployment, lack of a living wage, and poor access
to affordable health care and education. Solutions to these challenges
must come from the market (as comprised of corporations, the government,
and nongovernmental organizations, as well as the many stakeholders in
market transaction, such as the consumers, suppliers, buyers, insurance
companies, and banks), the most powerful institution on earth, and from
business, which is the most powerful entity within it. Though government
is an important and vital arbiter of the market, business is the force
that transcends national boundaries, possessing resources that exceed
those of many nations. Business is responsible for producing the
buildings that we live and work in, the food we eat, the clothes we
wear, the forms of mobility we employ, and the energy that propels us.
This does not mean that only business can generate solutions or that
there is no role for government, but with its unmatched powers of
ideation, production, and distribution, business is positioned to bring
the change we need at the scale we need it. Without business, the
solutions will remain elusive. Indeed, if there are no solutions coming
from the market, there will be no solutions. And without visionary and
service-oriented leaders, business will never even try to find them.
