A NEW START FOR THE WORLD?
In these uncertain times, we need future visionary leaders who can see their vision through, says Anna Sofat. perhaps the tide is FINALLY turning . . .
How many of us hold up a mirror and find ourselves wanting? When I started Addidi, I wanted to focus on individual women. If I could help just one person become happier and more balanced, I thought, that would add positively to the world.
But do we genuinely care? Or are we only doing it for the feel-good glow of more followers and likes? How often do we really call out things we don’t agree with? Recent events in society have forced us to question ourselves and our privilege. Even corporations are beginning to look inwards and ask how they can tackle racial and socio-economic inequality.
Some businesses were ahead of the curve. In the US, the Business Roundtable announced last year that it was no longer putting shareholders first – a brave statement that contradicts the ‘me first’ legacy of economist Milton Friedman. Then there’s Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, who in 2018 sent a letter to the world’s top business leaders, stating: “To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.” Quite the about-face from a CEO who just four years earlier had claimed activism harmed job creation.
Others, meanwhile, have argued for people over profit for years: “Money motivates neither the best people, nor the best in people,” said Dee Hock, founder and former CEO of Visa. “It can move the body and influence the mind, but it cannot touch the heart or move the spirit. That is reserved for belief, principle and morality.”
And then there are the likes of Donald Trump. The outgoing US president twisted (and continues to twist) almost everything to suit his own agenda, which is rarely for the benefit of others. When he was first elected in 2016, I saw parallels to the 1930s. As Hitler rose to power, he tapped into people’s fears. Populists know that fear rouses strong emotions, which leads people to act irrationally.
When there is fear we look backwards. Life is beautiful and fragile, but instead of making the most of it, across the world we are closing our doors. I long for a leader whose bold vision brings people together.
Unlike Trump, the qualities of his predecessor Barack Obama – his fairness and empathy – led him to compromise in government. When he tried to negotiate with the senate, it didn’t always work. And when you have two sides at loggerheads, it’s difficult to make effective progress. In many ways, Obama wasn’t ruthless enough to push through for the greater good. He frustrated people because he sold the big vision but couldn’t deliver it. And by compromising, you create resentment.
That doesn’t mean we can’t agree on things as a society. Australia managed to reform its gun laws in 1996. The US is still mired in guns because the country can’t agree on a policy. So, as we move forward, we must hold up that mirror and ask: What can I do? For a start, we should focus on the positives in our life.
Of course, as I write, there are real, positive signs of green shoots. On Saturday 7 November, in the biggest-ever US election, Obama’s former Vice President Joe Biden was confirmed as the 46th US President elect, standing on a platform of decency and kindness, and essentially everything Trump isn’t. Further, Biden’s Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris (of Indian heritage, like me), is the first ever woman of colour to take such a role in US political history. They have an uphill battle on their hands to undo the terrible damage Trumpism has wrought. But it’s a good place to start.
After the second world war, we came together to make the world a better place, founding the NHS and the United Nations. Back then, Germany and Japan had weapons constraints placed on them, yet this did not hinder their progress as civilised nations. Today, in the same way we take climate polluters and big oil to task, we must scrutinise the arms trade and ask who benefits from it.
The pandemic has shown how fragile we are, but it has also revealed what can be possible when we pull together. We need that strength of vision to truly become a global village rather than a fenced-off, angry world.
We would do well to heed the words of former Unilever CEO Paul Polman: “We have to bring this world back to sanity and put the greater good ahead of self-interest.” Or, to put it more simply, as Harris said in her victory speech, “Now is when the real work begins.”