Late-Night Bull Sessions at the GSB
Dave Macway
My favorite memories of business school were those occasional late nights spent with many of us discussing and debating concepts and ideas that were new to me and challenged my biases. I recall a heated discussion in one study group about the role of Corporate Social Responsibility after being assigned Milton Friedman’s classic essay contending that the role of corporations is solely to act in the interest of its owners. This position was contrasted with a broader view of serving all stakeholders – customers, employees, communities, suppliers, as well as owners.
As we are challenged by broad societal issues today, I wonder if we are witnessing a third possibility – call it inclusive capitalism. At the 2019 Business Roundtable, a statement was released calling for the “purpose of a corporation” to no longer be foremost about shareholder value. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and Chairman of the Roundtable, said, “The American dream is alive, but fraying…These modernized principles reflect the business community’s unwavering commitment to continue to push for an economy that serves all Americans.” The statement received signatures from 181 CEOs including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan, Boeing’s Dennis Muilenburg, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, and GM’s Mary Barra.
The COVID-19 pandemic with its associated economic fallout and the long-overdue demand for solving racial injustice in this country are throwing a lot of our old assumptions into question. I wonder if these two crises may be giving us an opportunity to make a step change transformation in the role business could play in addressing social challenges. Imagine if a new, more inclusive capitalism could work toward improving such issues as
- Systemic racism
- Wealth inequality
- Health disparities laid bare by the pandemic
- Obscene rates of incarceration in “the land of the free”
- Mental health crisis of our youth in the age of social media
- Growing job obsolescence through automation and the emergence of A.I.
Can we seize this moment to create an ethos where business and free enterprise lead positive transformation on these issues? To be clear, I’m not suggesting new, restrictive legislation, but a voluntary movement by corporate leaders to leverage the power, scope, and reach of the private sector for the betterment of all, including shareholders. This isn’t zero-sum.
Our careers since business school have given us a front row seat to great advances in standards of living, health care, global poverty reduction, and technology–and no doubt these advances will continue. But averages don’t tell the whole story and many people have been left behind. My hope is that we are experiencing an inflection point that can make capitalism work for all people – as it has for so many of us. Perhaps we, and current GSB students, can have more late-night bull sessions about how to play a part in making this a reality.