"Terms of the social contract", Apr 2017

To stay competitive and maintain their social relevance, businesses need to stay connected to society. Today’s CEO is expected to be capable of juggling the many demands of an increasingly complex and noisy stakeholder universe....Among leading businesses around the world, it has become a priority to show how they create social value alongside financial value....Look at the world’s most dynamic businesses, and a spirit of activism – among leaders themselves, as well as the organizations that they direct – is never far away...CEO of clothing retailer H&M, has campaigned for a minimum wage in Bangladesh;... Dan Schulman, CEO of PayPal, has become a crusader for global financial inclusion; or of how Nils Andersen, former CEO of shipping company Maersk, focused on leading the industry in sustainable use of oil and steel; or how Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, led the company’s efforts to eliminate “conflict minerals” from its supply chain, and called for others in the industry to do the same. The days of the CEO who is neutral on the social issues that surround his business may be over. Increasingly, many leaders are choosing to weigh in on controversial issues, often in areas they may have steered clear of in decades past.