Leadership

We cannot focus only on the material aspects of poverty- we must address the poverty of spirit that's present in every one of our broken institutions: health systems, economic systems, criminal justice systems, and food systems. If we are going to solve the toughest problems we face as a world right now, we're going to need new operating principles that are compatible with a deeply interconnected world.

Founder of Acumen Fund & social entrepreneur focused on global poverty alleviation

I'm bad at grieving; perhaps that's why I keep going. Some call it resilience, but it's likely just escapism. When you keep moving, the wind moves behind you, and you leave behind who you once were and move towards something new.

Founder of Nasty Gal & Author of "#GIRLBOSS

I think overconfident founders get a lot of flack, but you have to shoot for the stars to really manifest your dreams. I think about things asymmetrically; I connect things that aren't necessarily related, which sometimes creates radical outcomes.

Founder of Nasty Gal & Author of "#GIRLBOSS

In large organizations, a small group of leaders can hold the organization's capacity to change hostage to their own personal willingness to adapt and change – they are the gatekeepers – and even if they have the best will in the world, there simply will not be enough of them to deal with the complexity that we have in the environment around us.

Management theorist & author who revolutionized strategic thinking

We've had hierarchical and bureaucratic structures as far back as we can go in human history. The Chinese civil service goes back to at least 2000BC and militaries have always been structured as hierarchical. Modern bureaucracy is a mash-up of two ideas. Firstly, the command and control structures which have been core to organized human activity for millennia and secondly, the principles of industrial economics.

Management theorist & author who revolutionized strategic thinking

There simply isn't enough creativity and bandwidth at the top to deal with the level of complexity and change in today's world. A century ago, information was expensive to acquire and move- bureaucracy was a logical way of bringing information together. The world simply doesn't work like that anymore.

Management theorist & author who revolutionized strategic thinking

Today's Coronavirus crisis is not a force-majeure, it is a biological phenomenon, the spread of which is an indictment, and commentary on the mediocrity global leadership. It should never have escaped Wuhan, and the fact it has shows a failure of leadership and now the very same people who are responsible for neglecting these issues are being invited to comment on it, and lead our way out.

UN Human Rights Chief & International Justice Advocate

Only a handful of diplomats and governments are prepared to put the global good before the national interest. Seldom is it the case for any diplomat that they put the global good high up on the agenda; in my career I've seen it very rarely. Only 30 of the 193 or so ambassadors at the UN in NY will be devoted to a multilateral context. Most are pursuing bilateral interests in a multilateral context.

UN Human Rights Chief & International Justice Advocate

Power is the ability to affect others and get the outcomes you want – and that's true whether on the individual, national or international level. You can exert power in three ways. You can do it with coercion (sticks), you can do it with payments (carrots) and you can do it with soft power – through attraction.

Harvard Professor & Creator of "Soft Power" Concept

Navigating complexity and uncertainty requires long-term thinking, not long-term planning. Long-term thinking requires accepting, even enjoying, the challenges of unpredictability, builds the flexibility required to navigate it, and rejects simplified narratives that lose the nuance of this reality.

Founder of Kickstarter, crowdfunding platform pioneer

I believe businesses need to move away from having profit as their primary reason for existing, that's why we built Kickstarter as a public benefit corporation and encoded our mission into our fiduciary responsibility. Profit primacy can be replaced by mission primacy.

Founder of Kickstarter, crowdfunding platform pioneer

In 2013, the International Rescue Committee were looking for a new CEO, and at the interview panel I said that I was applying for the job firstly because I thought some of the questions at the intersection of foreign policy and humanitarian aid were some of the most difficult questions in global public policy. How do you get aid into Syria? How do you educate kids in Afghanistan? How do you tackle sexual violence in the Congo? Those are difficult questions, and I like difficult questions.

British Labour Politician & Former Foreign Secretary

In the midst of a global health and economic crisis, in the midst of a racial justice uprising, and in the absence of effective government, business leaders must take a stand on issues that matter to society and to their stakeholders!

Co-Founder of Bridgewater Associates & Pioneer in Radical Transparency

To be the CEO of a company, particularly of a B Corp, you require a set of transformational skills and the ability to think broadly, and over long time horizons. You need to be able to consider the interplay and interdependencies between the business and its various stakeholders.

Co-Founder of Bridgewater Associates & Pioneer in Radical Transparency

We need companies to play by a different set of accountabilities, not just those that are related to performance. It's about creating legal accountability around the creation of value for stakeholders, not just shareholders. That's what changes the conversation in the boardroom.

Co-Founder of Bridgewater Associates & Pioneer in Radical Transparency

Our theory of change is that you need credible, authentic leaders to drive systems change. Certified B Corporations are these leaders. They're setting the example by prioritizing people and the planet over profits. They're playing by a different set of rules! And they are doing so successfully.

Co-Founder of Bridgewater Associates & Pioneer in Radical Transparency