Playing the Long Game

What now?

In her CEO Daily column post election Diane Brady of Fortune writes, “Business leaders woke up this morning to the reality that a sizable percentage of their customers and employees are shell-shocked and deeply upset. That would have been true, no matter who won.”

Brady quotes Nikhil Deogun , CEO of the Americas at Brunswick , who offers this advice:

“This week, the best CEOs will do two things: keep a sharp focus on employee wellbeing and continue to serve the clients and customers that depend on them. Critically, they will be patient, waiting for clear information before acting, and never losing sight of their core business mission. Amid sound and fury (on either side), play the long game.”

What might the long game look like now?

I am not sure of much in this moment, but I AM confident that our colleagues, Fellows and allies - working to align business decisions with the public good - will stay at it. They will continue to keep the company on track on commitments to curb emissions and respect employees, and attempt to better understand the systems and people and networks on which the company is dependent. They are playing the long game.

What does that mean for companies? For one, waste management giant WM will continue to grow its massive investment in converting organic waste into energy rather than dumping it into landfills, and retailers like 沃尔玛 with brands to protect will continue to thread the needle between the low prices customers demand, a supply chain that respects the constraints imposed by nature, and the clear and growing need for employment that is both secure and helps people build a future.

Behind these commitments are the people on the inside who are redefining what a quality product and business resilience look like.

Whether these change agents and guardians of business innovation and brand find their jobs even more difficult than before the election remains to be seen. But the problems we face as a country will not dissipate. We will still face the reality that the US produces more carbon per capita than most countries around the world, and that our workforce is not confident about their future or the opportunities that will be available to their children.

The signals are confusing, but business still has crucially important levers to pull. The best business leaders also understand the connections between their mission and the ability to attract and retain employees in all positions and at all levels. Inequality is growing. Financial precarity is real. The climate is warming. This is not a moment to pull back, but to lean in.

I believe this moment can lead to a kind of reckoning in the C-suite and boardrooms about how to best secure the license to operate, through transparency, not influence peddling, and about who gets what. It may not be a public conversation, but chief executives have work to do. Directors who care about the health of society and the LONG TERM health of the enterprise, will need allies and courage to pose different questions.

Shareholder-first thinking will not go away, but there are choices to make, and better protocols and decision rules to live by. Executives need to prioritize long-term investments and build the enterprise for the future if they are to remain relevant.

Deploying the company's reach and capacity when it comes to the big challenges of climate, inequality and well-being will still matter to investors who have the CEO's back, and to employees who show up every day to make and sell the product. To continue to earn their trust will still require clear intentions and commitments, but also be backed up a long-term orientation to governance protocols and questions in the board room .

In our work, we are at our best when we listen well and with empathy to our colleagues in business as they strive to align business decisions with the long-term health of society. Moving forward, the many organizations that operate in this domain will also be looking for innovations in the boardroom, and transparency in the relationships with trade groups that set priorities in Washington. Employees will seek authenticity from their leaders and clarity about how commitments translate to incentives and actions. Examples of the many executives who are building the partnerships on which business depends, and that can grow into better business models, will be useful and inspire others.

The system we have built is producing the results we have now—growing inequality, natural systems under stress, the overwhelming signs of a warming climate. Still, none of us can clearly predict the future but we can work to shape it. And while it’s true that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, as the saying goes, the second best time is right now.

Persistence is everything.

For as business executives and innovators, this is the moment—to reset priorities, renew critical relationships and invest in the long-term health of the enterprise, and the critical systems on which it depends.

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