In my reading, I seek out stories about companies and executives working to build high-performing companies and a better world. Here I’ve curated recent articles that caught my attention. 

Not all organizations need to be transformed, but sometimes there is no other alternative. If the company does not transform, it will either stagnate or die. NYU Langone Medical Center was in such a situation 12 years ago. Today, they are thriving.  Why?  

Let me provide a high level three point summary of an article I co-authored and sent out last week published in Strategy and Business. For many of you, a short summary is exactly what you are looking for.  

In my last leadership post I published the Davos Compact which CEOs were asked to sign at their most recent conference in January.  I asked for your feedback on the Compact: Would you sign it?  Is it complete enough?  Is it clear?  What don’t you like?  

As a refresher, the underlying premise of the Compact is that both business and society are best served if they have aligned, long-term interests that serve the long-term goals of a community.  Short-term financial gain should not distract a CEO or board from the long-term economic prosperity and social welfare business can bring to their communities and the world at large. 

Simple enough?  Yes, but extremely complicated to execute.  If you’ve been a CEO you know how tough it is to think simultaneously about making money and making a better world.  The pressures are enormous to optimize the economic engine and quarterly financial reports.  Russ Eisenstat, the Executive Director of The Center for Higher Ambition Leadership, calls it “the simultaneous solve.”  It requires a grounded way of thinking, anchored in a moral framework.