Leaders know it’s best to do business with spirit.

They understand human behaviour is optimized when teams are encouraged to practice rigorous, critical thinking and bring their whole hearts to work too.

November 25 marked six months since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer.

The next day, November 26, Americans celebrated Thanksgiving.

You’ve no doubt heard the phrase, “We’re in this together.”

You may’ve also heard the dubious reply, “Are we though?”

Leaders get it: A just economy is a cornerstone of business, democracy, and civil society as a whole.

They know we need to evolve beyond either/or economies – i.e. either there’s tax and regulation or profit and free enterprise.

In his ground-breaking book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Nobel Prize-winning economist and author Daniel Kahneman asserts humans think and make choices in two ways: one is fast and intuitive and the other is slow and deliberate.

A new era is dawning, bringing renewed hope to many.

Many organizations are moving fast to develop Purpose strategies with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.

This is good because organizations and society as a whole will benefit mightily when corporations and institutions eschew racism and embrace and advance diversity at all levels and from the inside out.

In business, like in other areas of life, we can get stuck in either/or thinking.

Example: “We either increase profit or we do good in the world.”

The world today presents extreme challenges of an existential nature.

To adapt and prosper, organizations need to orient to a new, Higher Purpose (HP) and perpetually seek Continuous Evolution (CE).

Think of CE as the new Continuous Improvement (CI).

Imagine your life in three years. Ten years. Twenty-five years.

What do you see, smell, taste, touch, and hear? Do you feel optimistic and energized, or depressed and fearful?

If you want a world of opportunity, prosperity and positivity, you need to align your decisions with that good feeling – including, and perhaps especially, work decisions.

Check the letters after corporate leaders’ titles and you’ll often find they include, ‘MBA’.

In today’s fraught world, visionary leaders also pursue an MBO – or Most Benevolent Outcome.

As a leader with MBO skills, you seek  outcomes for the good of all involved.

It’s said that fortune favours the bold.

So if you’re troubled by what you see unfolding at home and around the world, it’s time to find and follow a purpose-driven path.

Some still believe the only social responsibility of corporations is to maximize profits.

Others still want to debate the matter.

If you’re stuck with winning over the un-woke, arm yourself with facts and figures* because there’s plenty of proof it pays to do good.

Do you feel drawn to leave a legacy for good? Of course you do. Yay you!

So, is your Board on board? How about your Executive Team? Or maybe it’s your Cabinet or Council?

Sure, this is your journey and not necessarily your entire organization’s (yet), but what you do and say has an impact.

You might be considering your role as a leader in these tumultuous times.

Do you see an opportunity to shift our collective course and up-level our world?

If you do, that makes you a true leader, a star – i.e. one who is willing to chart and courageously pursue a difficult path for the good of others.

If you’re the CEO of a big company or you work closely with one, you know the role of Head Honcho is incredibly complex and demanding. Among the CEO’s critical responsibilities is the need to report consistently to key stakeholders like investors, shareholders, regulators, Indigenous and community partners, employees, and customers. It doesn’t leave much time to educate the public on the company’s contribution to building a just, prosperous, productive society.