5 Ways Business Leaders Influence Their Communities

World Economic Forum Managing Director Sarita Nayar

Following the global upheaval of COVID-19, the far-reaching effects of the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the growing challenges related to climate change, the next 12 months will be characterized by unpredictability, requiring agile decision-making and The need for action will increase. .

Business leaders must not only manage the day-to-day challenges and risks to their operations in their industry, but also the impact from several ongoing crises such as the cost of living crisis, global economic slowdown, and rising energy prices. must be dealt with. and climate disasters. And these are just the main challenges. Post-pandemic shifts in business models as well as changing customer preferences and expectations drive strategic demand.

Our work at the Forum is about impact, as it has been throughout our 53-year history. We strive to make a difference for the betterment of the world through everything we do. This includes thousands of concrete projects and collaborations. Breakthroughs that have brought the likes of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. Many historic initiatives, including the Davos Declaration signed by Greece and Turkey in 1988, have brought the two countries back from the brink of war.

“Impact” is a word that is often used. Is it possible to distill the essence of impact beyond dictionary definitions and corporate theories, as in business impact analysis? It can be said that there is

ambition for action

At least two transformations have taken place in the last few years. We are suddenly faced with multiple challenges that cannot be deprioritized. They all require immediate and simultaneous attention. I realized that many of the challenges facing humanity are interconnected and many are global. The Forum sets ambitious goals and works with stakeholders to turn them into action.

A good example of this is the 2030 Water Resources Group. Launched at the 2008 Annual Meeting, the project has gone from an ambitious idea to get the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on track, to involving more than 1,000 partners and into water programs around the world. has grown into an equally ambitious platform facilitating nearly $1 billion in funding. Currently focused on accelerator projects, facilitating his $400+ million funding into schemes benefiting over 7 million people.

An ambitious long-term vision provides a strong foundation for business strategy in these challenging times. The volatility and what often feels like constant crisis management is a distraction. Sticking to ambitious goals becomes something of a guiding principle. The greater our ambition, the greater our impact. It helps to create an economic model.

It takes ambitious ideas and transformations to bring about change on a mammoth scale, and in the windows that are needed and rapidly closing. History will reward those who show moral courage, make great and difficult decisions, and pursue radical paths.

Actively listen to changemakers

It also reveals that only by pooling resources, skills, knowledge and collective wisdom can we bring about change and make an impact at the scale required. The Forum has long recognized the power of bringing together many disparate elements, reflected in its core multi-stakeholder philosophy.

Events like our annual meeting show this most clearly, using our convening power to attract truly diverse groups of people to discuss current issues and share ideas. Businessmen, youth activists, academics, tech entrepreneurs, artists, philanthropists, and politicians all have a desire to change things for the better.

The Annual Meeting is the source of many ideas and serves as the center of action. The forum’s day-to-day operations focus on creating and supporting a number of high-level groups. We have hubs around the world in the form of regional and platform-specific centers, as well as the Global Shapers Community, a network of approximately 8,000 people involved. In addition, we have a dedicated innovation platform, UpLink. It provides a space designed to match SDGs solutions with the funding to make them happen. Inventors and entrepreneurs regularly post solutions to set sustainability challenges, determine what companies are most viable to do, and help the best with funding and resources. All of these actions are designed to give voice to ideas otherwise unheard of.

partnership is essential

The sheer scale and number of challenges facing today’s leaders has increased the cost of solutions to address them. It is not uncommon to read that trillions of dollars are needed to decarbonize the economy and finance adaptation measures to climate change. Clearly, this level of funding is beyond the capabilities of any single entity, state, corporation, or other.

Partly reflecting this, more and more organizations are integrating work with external partners into their day-to-day operations. In the past, the idea of ​​working with another business may have raised fears of insider misconduct, but today’s partnership model, as it has progressed through the centuries, is ultimately a competitive advantage. You will prove your sexuality.

Partnerships not only increase resource efficiency, they build competence, engagement and, most importantly, trust. This allows us to create models that can be replicated, thereby facilitating transformation.

The Forum has long argued that partnerships are fundamental to progress. Since our inception, we have worked extensively with business, government and civil society. The European Management Forum (our original name) is the first non-governmental organization to initiate a partnership with China’s Economic Development Commission. Today, we partner with many diverse groups on a daily basis. Recently, Google hosted 13 grant-funded platforms. These have formed partnerships to accelerate his progress towards the SDGs, each specializing in different areas such as nature-based solutions and carbon footprint reduction. Their aim is for collective action through partnerships to have a greater impact.