Where Will This Year Take You?
This article is part of Finding the Words, a newsletter that delivers practical insights on the day’s issues.
"Despite rising optimism about the global economy, business leaders are less optimistic about their revenue prospects and more aware of the need for fundamental reinvention of their business."
Those are the words of Bob Moritz, Global Chair of PwC, related to PwC's Annual Global CEO Survey, released last month at Davos. The survey’s top takeaway? Nearly half of CEOs believe that if their company continues running on its current path, it won’t be viable ten years from now.
While corporate CEOs may have been the audience, a call for reinvention is being heard across all sectors. But as threats to our businesses, democracy, public health, and workforces converge, is reinvention enough?
As I consider the challenges we’re hearing across clients this year, one theme emerges: reinvention is required for the future—just as courageous action is required right now.
Taking action seems more complicated than in years past, though. As we dive into 2024, leaders are facing greater threats and barriers to change, particularly to advancing social change: from policies and lawsuits that threaten DEI practices, technological innovations that threaten workforces, political elections that threaten democracy, and extreme weather that threaten our existence.
Where, then, to begin with a reinvention?
To give you a place to start, I’ll suggest another leader’s words, those of Ashton Lattimore, Editor-in-Chief of Prism, an independent, nonprofit newsroom led by and for people of color.
Ashton’s words are from nearly two years ago and are more relevant than ever. Commenting on the state of current events, Ashton said on the Mission Forward podcast:
“I see cause for alarm and cause for optimism. We know from history that when you have great leaps forward, there's always a backlash, a push, a pendulum swing backward. And just as we've come through these moments before, we can harness the energy of this moment and do the same now.”
And then she said this:
“If you want to know what kind of person you would've been during the Civil Rights movement or slavery, what would you have been doing? Look at what you're doing right now. Because that's the kind of moment we are collectively in as a country.”
Reinvention starts right now, with the actions you take and the practices you keep. And while you can’t control many forces around you, you can decide what side of history you’ll be on.
Will you do right by your public commitments to DEI or walk them back? Will you lead through your values or your bottom line? Will you stand by while the world changes, or will you be the change?
In just a few weeks, we will kick off Season 9 of the Mission Forward podcast with a host of thought leaders who will share their take on this consequential year and how they navigate the issues ahead. And I hope you’ll come along. Because there’s too much ahead to navigate alone.
Bottom line: If you’re interested in long-term impact and viability, pay attention to the actions and practices you keep today. Because they'll guide where your organization goes from here.
Ready for more? Listen to this article on the Mission Forward podcast.
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