The re-election of Donald Trump and theglobal rise of populism have dramaticallychanged the picture for business leaderstoday. Far from the world they envisaged oftumbling trade barriers, they face a new waveof trade protectionism on top of the falloutfrom an enormously costly pandemic,destructive wars, natural disasters, andfestering inequality.
And now, corporate leaders are shyingaway from their earlier embrace ofprogressive environmental and social policies,such as ESG (environmental, social, andgovernance issues) and DEI (diversity, equity,and inclusion).
Does this mean that the drive for corporatesustainability has crashed and burned?
Author Helle Bank Jorgensen, who advises corporate boards around the world on how to deal with turbulent times, says the answer is a resounding No. Corporations still face urgent demands from regulators, politicians, customers, and other stakeholders to clean up their environmental behavior and treat people fairly. This gives board members the complicated task of steering organizations that are facingconflicting demands from many quarters.
To deal with these unprecedented challenges, businesses and their boards need adaptand transform. With insights from some of the world' s top executives and board leaders, this book shows how boards should operate to deal with these unprecedented challenges:
• What will be the purpose of the board of the future?
• Who should be around the boardroom table, and what skills should they have?
• What will shareholders, employees, suppliers, customers, and society expect of theboard- and how is a board supposed to deal with these expectations?
• How should board members use their influence within the company and in society atlarge?
• How should they harness the potential of evolving technologies like artificialintelligence?
• How can boards work better?
Corporations have tremendous power to improve the world in ways that governmentscannot, and if boards equip themselves to deal with these turbulent times, they can play a key role to make the world a better place for all of us.
