As the year begins, we reflect on bets placed in 2024, where we made progress, and the need to think openly about what is possible in this moment. We can’t stand still.
In December, we spent a half-day with a dozen experts who advise or sit on corporate boards. We were testing how to deploy our focus on leadership development in the business sector with a specific target in mind: board directors. The ideas flowed freely, fueled by extraordinary changes in the business ecosystem and growing demands on business leaders across industries.
Then the group confronted a sobering thought. The complexity and breadth of business challenges that would benefit from board inquiry or oversight may be beyond the capacity of a “normal” board. New board structures, capacities, inputs and ways of working are needed to manage both the risks and opportunities unfolding in this moment. We woke up the next day to news of the assassination of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare—a stunning, and sobering, marker in an intense year with business under the spotlight.
What will be needed from business leaders in 2025?
Global events and national tensions demand directors stay flexible but also lean in to support the executives on long-term goals and execution against commitments – many of which come to fruition in the year ahead. The end game is business decisions that advance the long-term health of society.
Progress requires a clear understanding of the business, including risks to the human and natural systems on which the company is dependent. Take the example of Costco—which displayed both courage and confidence in its response to a shareholder proposal to pull back from so-called DEI policies:
“Our board has considered this proposal and believes that our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect & inclusion is appropriate & necessary.”
Amen.
The Aspen Institute Business & Society Program will approach 2025 by supporting leaders working for change, and by listening to and learning from those on the frontlines of business. Here is just some of what lies ahead:
- Cultivate leaders amidst massive disruption. The Aspen Leaders Forum, First Movers and Economic Mobility Fellowships, and the Private Capital Forum support leaders and change agents to engage strategies, competencies and networks that build resilience.
- Explore business’ role in supporting democracy. Our own research illuminates the unique role that business can play to support democratic norms and institutions. We will build a framework for choices that reside within business.
- Invest in economic opportunity within the workforce. We are building a learning lab to share best business practices that address inequality and support economic mobility. Corporations, from globally significant employers to middle market actors, have important levers to pull and choices to make to restore trust in business.
- Leverage influential companies to drive change at scale. Companies can’t address the most significant challenges one firm at a time; collaboration within and across industries, and sectors, is key to addressing complex topics from climate change to labor issues.
Are there practices and protocols—on boards, within the executive and through collaborations—that inspire you and deploy the capacity of the business sector to address issues of real consequence? We’d love to hear from you!
This blog post was originally published on LinkedIn. Follow Judy Samuelson for more insights on business and society.