Audacious Leadership

To lead a business, organization or community is to face multiple conflicting pressures, continuous challenges, and the uncertainty of success. So why lead? It can also be one of the best ways to make a difference.

This week’s issue highlights leadership's rewards and challenges, asking how leaders are working to promote innovative, sustainable visions of the future.

What does it take to face down the costs of leadership in order to make bold, audacious change?

Spotlight: Insights on HOW to Integrate Sustainability Across a Company

“Integration of sustainability across a company is becoming critical for long-term business success.” How are leaders throughout the corporate structure finding strategies and practices to drive this change?

This essay ?from Nancy McGaw lays out lessons for current and aspiring leaders.

“During a working group session at the recent Aspen ESG Summit, we sought to learn what internal change agents – especially those with a sustainability mandate – are actually doing to drive this change. What strategies and practices are they finding to be most effective?”

?? Nominations Are Open!

Are you or someone in your network leading innovation that builds impact and business value? Our programs support leaders working to make a positive difference.

We’re now accepting nominations for the 2025 class of?First Mover Fellows ?and the 2025 class of?Economic Mobility Fellows .

News Roundup

1. There Is No Leadership Without Risk ?(The New York Times: Darren Walker )?“We cannot move forward, however unevenly, without courageous visionaries blazing new paths that illuminate the way for all of us to follow.” What do we need from leaders today??(gift link)
2. The 2024 “Corporate Climate Pivot” ?(Gates Notes : Bill Gates ) “More and more companies and investors are gaining a toehold in new global industries. Going into 2025, the big question is: Who will join them?”
3. The Most Important Event You’ve Never Heard of, Explained ?(Vox: Benji Jones ) Opportunities to lead: “Wild animals are spiraling toward extinction. Can a bunch of bureaucrats save them?” And why should we care?
4. Radical Collaboration Is Needed to Boost Climate Funding ?(TIME:?Klaus Schwab , Ray Dalio ) Is the argument to “move past idealism” on climate change persuasive??
5. Can the Tire Industry Be Sustainable? Guayule Farmers Say Yes. (Washington Post: Hannah Ziegler )?Leading on sustainability issues requires the vision to reimagine existing systems in new ways. How is that playing out in the tire industry? (also see CEO perspectives, climate leadership and much more in the Harvard BiGS-CoBS Special Issue on?Climate Change: Strategies for Advancing the Green Transition )
6. Finance’s Role at the Intersection of Climate, Regulation and Investor Capital ?(Nasdaq: Sarah Youngwood , Michael Kobori (he/him) ,?Jessica Fries )?Partnering across silos: How can leaders work across divisions to drive sustainable outcomes? (also see Linda Hill discuss?How to Build Teams of Innovators )

Also on Our Radar

What else caught our attention this week?

• Halloween Could Taste Different This Year Thanks to Soaring Cocoa Prices
• How to tell AI-generated Trump and Harris voices from the real ones
• The Time Off to Vote Movement is Growing, But Obstacles Remain

One for the Road

Thanks for leading, forwarding and following. We’ll see you next week!

— The Business & Society Navigators

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Founded in 1998, the?Aspen Institute Business & Society Program ?works to align business decisions and investments with the long-term health of society—and the planet.