Climate change, public health and social inequality are not just society's problems to fix — they're also the problems CEOs and executives should be addressing, according to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business Review.
The podcast featured Rosabeth Moss Kanter, PhD, a professor at Harvard Business School in Boston, being interviewed by Curt Nickisch, senior editor at HBR. In Dr. Moss Kanter's opinion, while some CEOs may view problems like climate change and social inequality as peripheral to their operations, these problems actually affect their companies' ability to do business. Societal problems can also spark innovations that benefit business, she said.
CEOs and executives who think this way are "advanced leaders," as Dr. Moss Kanter dubs them. They see a need and leverage their organization to fill the gap. She pointed to CVS Health as an example of a company that has taken a big issue — public health — and turned it into new business lines. While CVS' leaders could have siloed the company in the pharmaceutical industry, it instead embarked on a transformation into a healthcare company, allowing it to brainstorm community health projects and initiatives that have created new revenue streams like clinics.
"We need people who see the larger consequences of their actions," Dr. Moss Kanter said. "That's outside the building thinking. … Outside the building thinking is the only way you get innovation because inside an industry, inside a way of doing things, the temptation is to always repeat what you're already doing and not really challenge your own assumptions."
To listen to the podcast and view a script of it, click here.
More articles on leadership and management:
What healthcare boards can take from baseball's sign-stealing scandal
Healthcare awareness calendar: 2020 highlights
Healthcare CEOs: This decade's 10 most important change drivers