At the annual DealBook conference in New York, leaders at the “Groundbreakers Lunch” discussed the appropriate role of business in shaping policy and driving social change.
What is the best piece of advice you wish could have been imparted to your 8-year-old self?
Wes Moore: C.E.O., Robin Hood
When I was 8 years old, I wish someone had told me my anger was justified. I watched my father die in front of me five years before. I was living in the Bronx with my grandparents and my mom and sisters. I was struggling, I was angry, and I should not have thought there was something wrong with that. It made it harder for me to find a constructive outlet for my emotions and disaffectedness because I did not believe that they were valid. People tried to save me, but I wish they would have stopped to just hear me.
Hadi Partovi: C.E.O., Code.org
I wish somebody had told me that personal relationships are as important as grades. Like every student, I worked as hard as possible to get the best grades I could. I wish I had also spent the time to stay in touch with everybody I met along the way. I only learned this in my 20s.
Maeve DuVally: Managing director, corporate communications, Goldman Sachs
Do not suffer in silence. There are many kind people in the world who can help if you only ask; and, even if people don’t immediately help, you will be better off just by sharing your fears with another.
Payal Kadakia: Executive chairman, founder, ClassPass
Being different is what makes you special. I was one of the only Indians in my town. My parents were immigrants; I looked different and came from such a different background. I sought to explore my heritage through Indian dance, which I began taking at age 3. I thought that Indian dance and music were amazing, but many of my classmates thought it was weird. When times were toughest, it would have been nice to know that celebrating my differences and holding fast to my passions would eventually lead me to create a product that has enriched millions of lives.
Craig Newmark: Founder, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Craigslist
I was lucky to receive valuable advice as a kid, and it has guided my worldview ever since. My Sunday school teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Levin, taught me to treat people kindly and to know when enough is enough. This informed my belief that I need to take less and give more, and put my money where my mouth is. That’s why I opted to monetize my company minimally, and their lessons definitely influenced my philanthropy.
Chris Licht: Executive producer, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”
Don’t worry so much about what other people think of you. Middle school sucks, but then things get progressively better. In a few years, you will become bizarrely obsessed with “Late Night With David Letterman.” Lean into that. And, most importantly, your parents are right ... about everything.
Emily Weiss: C.E.O., founder, Glossier
I wish I had known that there are so many different paths to success. When I was 8 years old, I was creative and ambitious, but if someone had told me I’d one day lead a business, I wouldn’t have believed them. We subscribe to these very rigid archetypes of what a C.E.O. should look like, and what life experiences are required to get to that position. So we either opt into those assumptions and start checking the required boxes, or we opt out and think, “this just isn’t for me.” I studied art, not business, and yet here I am. One of the best things we can do for younger generations is to show them that there’s no one path to leadership, no one type of leader.
What is the hardest thing about what you do that is misunderstood by others?
Abigail Disney: Filmmaker, activist, Fork Films, Level Forward
I’m close to losing my mind from the way people characterize what I am talking about as “socialism.” Once that word enters the mix it becomes impossible to have a reasonable dialogue about anything. There is nothing socialist about paying a fair wage, fighting discrimination in the workplace, or taking massive steps to address environmental threats. All I am fighting for is a moderated form of capitalism, one which is policed and polices itself, to attend to the health and well-being of the society in which it functions. I think of it as patriotic economics. None of what I am talking about is that difficult to understand. Pay people better. Fight for your workers’ interests. It’s not rocket science (unless you work for Elon Musk, of course).
Anu Duggal: Founding partner, Female Founders Fund
Many people assume that investing in women as a strategy is philanthropic or “impact investing.” What they don’t realize is female leaders have been historically undervalued by the market, so this is actually an alpha strategy.
Darren Walker: President, Ford Foundation
Many debate whether philanthropy is undemocratic by its nature — whether it too often benefits the pet causes of the wealthy rather than systemic change on behalf of the many. At its best, however, philanthropy is interested in undoing — to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — the circumstances which make philanthropy necessary.
Harpreet Rai: C.E.O., Oura Ring
Being a C.E.O. is a lonely place. Ultimately, the buck stops with me and there’s a lot of criticism that will always be there. Someone will be unhappy at every point in the journey, but that’s fine.
Scott Harrison: Founder and C.E.O., charity:water
People assume that the hardest thing is figuring out how to solve the water crisis — when in reality, we know how to solve the water crisis. The challenge is not finding solutions, but getting people to understand just how simple this issue is and how easy it is to help. Many don’t realize that clean water can transform every aspect of a person’s life — beyond improving health, it’s the building block for education, women’s empowerment and economic development. And it’s a completely solvable problem. If we all rallied around this cause, we could end the water crisis in our lifetime.
Alexa von Tobel: Founder, managing partner, Inspired Capital
Saying no to founders. At Inspired Capital, when we consider early stage investments, we look for exceptional founders who are building tech-advantaged, capital-efficient businesses. We often find that two out of three of those things are true — you have a phenomenal founder, but maybe the foundational technology or the market opportunity isn’t there.
Janet Kavandi: Senior vice president, Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems
Most people think that humans have already been to multiple planets and don’t understand the benefits or technical challenges associated with space exploration.
What are you most optimistic about? Negative about?
Athena Countouriotis: President, C.E.O., Turning Point Therapeutics
As a mother, business leader and physician, I try to remain positive in the face of adversity. But I am very troubled by backward steps we have taken in vaccinating children against diseases we thought were eradicated years ago, and in the public health threat posed by gun violence. We are failing to educate our society in both cases and allowing distortion of the facts to affect our progress as a society.
Claire Wardle: Executive Director, First Draft
I’m most negative about the threats posed by information disorder. I think we have two to three years until the majority of people no longer know what information or evidence to trust. If this problem is left unsolved, information disorder will have a catastrophic impact on the way people think about climate, vaccinations, democratic institutions and each other.
Tim Wu: Julius Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology, Columbia University
I am optimistic about the long-term prospects for democracy, the technology industries and Western capitalism. But I am pessimistic about the short term.
Manuela M. Veloso: Head, J.P. Morgan A.I. Research
I am optimistic that A.I. can assist people in a variety of dimensions that can impact significant benefits for humanity. I am negative about the use that people may make of AI.
Rachel Carlson: Co-founder, C.E.O., Guild Education
Like most entrepreneurs, I am a wildly optimistic person. My optimism is most rooted in my deeply held belief about our individual and collective ability to solve problems and change systems to improve the human experience. My only pessimism sits in my concerns about some of our outdated systems, including our justice and prison system, or the distribution of economic opportunity in the U.S., but I see the glass half full in our ability to change those systems for the better.
Sana Amanat: Vice President of Content and Character Development, Marvel Comics
I’m most optimistic about the next generation of change-makers I’m seeing emerge. Young people with clear conviction of heart who are thinking of their communities and understanding the impact of doing the good work today. I believe they’re smarter and more empathetic than ever before, and I can’t wait to see what they make of their abilities.
Ayah Bdeir: Founder, littleBits
I am optimistic about the next generation. I’ve spent so much time with 8- to 12-year-olds and see their resolve, their activism, their empathy, their desire for social and economic equity. I believe in them being able to invent the world they want to live in. I am negative about the vision and direction of certain social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. They are incredibly powerful platforms for positive change, but the choice their leadership is making to prioritize money over ethics is putting democracy and mental health at risk.
Do you believe business leaders need to restore the public’s faith in capitalism, and if so, what is the single most important thing they should do?
Joe DeSimone: Co-founder, C.E.O., Carbon
I do. To accomplish this, leaders must be grounded by humanistic values and must speak up and clearly articulate what’s important to them, their employees and stakeholders. Nothing is more grounding for me than thinking about the responsibility I and my leadership team have to all of our employees, to realize that many retirement funds, which make up most of the investments in our V.C.s, are counting on Carbon to be successful in our mission to improve the health and well-being of society. Human lives are front and center to our perspective.
Garrett Lord: Co-founder, C.E.O., Handshake
I believe business leaders across industries need to take a proactive approach to restore the public’s faith in capitalism. The deep-rooted inequities in access to opportunity, and the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a few, have resulted in a trust deficit that urgently needs to be addressed and resolved. The single most important thing that business leaders can do to help restore the public’s faith in capitalism is to move away from a single-minded focus on shareholder returns and “wealth creation” to focus on “value creation,” building businesses that add value to and improve the lives of all stakeholders: shareholders, employees and customers.
Lindsay Kaplan: Co-founder, Chief
Business should be regulated, and human rights like health insurance and parental leave need to be government-mandated so companies can focus on their missions. I think skepticism of capitalism is warranted, especially as many leaders have recently been called out for abusing their power to reap personal financial gains. One of the most important things leaders can do is ensure their businesses scale in alignment with — rather than opposed to — their employee demand for fair, equitable and progressive health benefits, parental leave, compensation, workplace safety and time off.
Gabriel Weinberg: C.E.O., founder, DuckDuckGo
Business leaders need to earn trust by actually having values when conducting business.
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November 12, 2019 at 04:54AM
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Business Leaders on Capitalism, Challenges and Their 8-Year-Old Selves - The New York Times
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