Commentary
"Geniuses differ from ordinary men less in the character of their attention than in the nature of the objects upon which it is successively bestowed." – William James
[I'll have an expanded version of this later this week. Please be sure you get Timeless Wisdom updates so you can receive a copy in your inbox.]
Last week, Business Roundtable, a business association made up of CEOs, dropped a bombshell on the industry with a change in their Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.
For decades—really, since 1970, when Milton Friedman penned a commentary in The New York Times Magazine that the social responsibility of a business is to increase profits—businesses have placed their focus on the benefit to shareholders.
Now Business Roundtable says that businesses need to reexamine their priorities. Their new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation says that shareholders are now part of a collective that also includes employees, suppliers, and customers.
It makes inherent sense: if you treat your employees, suppliers, and customers well, it's good for business and the bottom line.
But here's the thing: this assumption was already embedded within Friedman's work; it's just that greed and the prioritization of short-term growth overtook things. It's almost as if businesses focused on the headline rather than the depth of the essay.
Friedman wrote that the responsibility of a corporate executive "is to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to their basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom." [Emphasis mine.]
We've seen bursts of this in the last two decades, with corporate social responsibility efforts, and with recent forays of brands taking social stands on societal and political issues. And B Corporations have proved that businesses can balance business and profits.
Some of these efforts have felt too transactional—riding a wave of popularity rather than being embedded in a company's culture. Perhaps it's time to hire someone to help examine the corporate conscience.
It's something that as a former Classics major and someone who has devoted time to studying history, literature, and philosophy, I have come to embrace in my consulting work. It has given me the ability to understand the consistency of human nature and the cyclical nature of society and culture.
The announcement from Business Roundtable is a return to times past. Let's hope we can take the business knowledge we've gained since then, and apply it in deep and meaningful ways, to make it business wisdom.
| | Curated Stories
"I have gathered a posy of other men's flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is my own." – Montaigne
CMOMG
The role of chief marketing officer (CMO) has always been a bit of a revolving door, with executives having a short tenure. It looks like 2018 had the highest number of CMO turnovers in recent history. (Forbes)
My take: There's too much attention paid to short-term thinking, leaving CMOs in a constant manic state as they chase numbers. Relationships, strategy and customer experience take time, and they need the breathing room to succeed. Perhaps the Business Roundtable change will help.
A Festering Problem Have you ever heard of the Coogan Act? It's officially the California Child Actor's Bill, and it's designed to safeguard a portion of child actors' wages until adulthood. It came about after child star Jackie Coogan (who later went on be play Uncle Fester in The Addams Family on TV) earned millions and upon reaching adulthood, found that his parents spent all of his money. Well, in the age online influencers, there's no applicable law that will cover YouTube child stars, as the Coogan Act was designed for Hollywood. (Hollywood Reporter)
My take: It's almost certain that some unethical parents will repeat history. Human nature being what it is, without safeguards, we'll see the same scenario play out.  House Rules Social media was supposed to liberate us, but for many people it has proved addictive, punishing and toxic. What keeps us hooked? It's just like gambling: the odds are stacked against us, but we see viral stars as akin to lottery winners and keep trying, regardless of the odds. (Guardian)
Related: New research from Fullscreen explores how overindulgence in social and digital media has transformed our relationships with ourselves, other humans, and the world around us. (Agility PR) The Secret's Out Facebook is getting serious about its fight against toxic content. It will remove the option to make Groups "secret" or "closed" in an effort to give moderators the ability to scan for rule-breaking posts. (BuzzFeed News)
My take: A positive move, although given how much conversation happens on Groups now, moderators may have a difficult time keeping up, even with artificial intelligence-backed systems. Oh, the Humanity! Have we fallen out of love with algorithms? If you recall, Facebook did away with its automated trending news feature a couple of years ago. It's returning in a News section that will be hand-curated by humans — real humans! (The New York Times)
My take: Given LinkedIn's success with its Today's News and Views section, it's what people need. Letting people blindly stumble across stories without relevance or context creates chaos. But Facebook will need to answer even more thoroughly as a media organization if it's taking such a hands-on approach to news.
Similarly, Netflix is testing human-driven curation with its "Collections." Experts and Netflix creative teams will curate titles into lists. Collections are different than Netflix's famous algorithm-generated suggestions. (TechCrunch).
My take: Sounds an awful lot like the old Staff Recommendations that each Blockbuster store used to make. Once again, what's past is prologue. | | Content Marketing World discount available
Are you breaking through the content clutter? Are you amazing your audience? Content Marketing World 2019 is returning with new ideas, new speakers, and more. Learn and network with the best. MONTY19 saves $100 | | | For the Curious Mind
"Curiosity is the lust of the mind." – Thomas Hobbes
Learning is supposed to feel uncomfortable. You have to be willing to feel embarrassment, failure, and awkwardness to keep learning. (Harvard Business Review) Relevant quote: "A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." – William James
Do you enjoy rereading a favorite? Or rewatching a movie or TV series? You're in good company, and there's a good reason for that: In defense of reading the same book over and over again. (Vox) Related quote: "When you a re-read a classic you do not see in the book more than you did before. You see more in you than there was before." – Clifton Fadiman
Hopefully in this edition, you've noticed a recurring theme about trends and mistakes that continue to happen. All the more gratifying to find a piece on the modern relevance of the ancient wisdom of Greek philosopher Heraclitus. (Farnam Street) Relevant quote: "Many fail to grasp what they have seen,
and cannot judge what they have learned,
although they tell themselves they know." – Heraclitus
| | Recommended Reading/Listening
"Let me recommend this book." – Arthur Conan Doyle
| | | Hosted by executive editor Lewis H. Lapham, The World in Time consists of stories and insight from today's leading writers and thinkers. Lapham founded the publication Lapham's Quarterly, which embodies the belief that history is the root of all education, scientific and literary as well as political and economic. | | | | This is not your father's list of classics. In these delightful essays in Classics For Pleasure, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Dirda introduces nearly ninety of the world's most entertaining books. Writing with affection as well as authority, Dirda covers masterpieces of fantasy and science fiction, horror and adventure, as well as epics, history, essay, and children's literature. Organized thematically, these are works that have shaped our imaginations. | | | | Just in case you want more links and more stories, I curate everything to The Full Monty on Flipboard. You can also find the Timeless and Timely inspirations that I'm reading or thinking about. | | | |
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