ABSTRACT

The transformative thinking being embraced by leaders throughout the industrialized world has been described in the last several chapters. Businesses have begun to implement practices which were once considered ivory tower fantasies. Clearly, some of the changes have been defensive in nature and, at least initially, motivated by the expectation of positive publicity. Nonetheless, many companies are making momentous shifts in the way they are structured, in the ordering of their priorities and in the behavior they exhibit toward their many constituencies. Who are the individuals at the vanguard of these changes? Which companies have made the most progress in integrating holistic thinking with pragmatic policy initiatives? To answer these questions, we began a search for an organization whose membership is motivated by a combination of idealism and pragmatism, and whose agenda is to promote the common good. Such an organization would likely include the type of companies for which we were looking.