The Chief Executives of the world’s largest public companies will shortly receive a letter from the largest investment company in the world - BlackRock. You'll find that letter here.
And instead of demanding greater returns (profits) on their investments BlackRock is demanding something quite different - the need to 'give back' to society.
The demand from Laurence D. Fink, founder and chief executive of the investment firm BlackRock, is they need to contribute to society as well as make profits if they want to receive the support of BlackRock.
Now that is a major milestone in the evolution of modern organisations and a clear indication of what the future of work looks like.
And will those organisations listen? Well considering that BlackRock has an "outsize influence on whether directors are voted on and off boards" we suspect so.
We will all now increasingly see a stronger focus on the purpose of the organisations we work for, and how they not only make good money (because they need to) but also how they play an active role in creating societies we all want to live in.
How well placed is your organisation to have conversations around what giving back means in your context?
"Shortcomings in organizational culture are one of the main barriers to company sucess in the digital age"
This McKinsey article says it all as organisations rush to make themselves more agile, innovative and customer focused in a commercial world where traditional markets are disappearing or being snatched by new competitors.
The new reality is that nothing is a 'given' anymore and the biggest priority for all organisations is to rapidly build a culture that is fit for their purpose. If you want to know 'how' to do this, then get in touch with one of our team. We welcome the opportunity to discuss how you can build a culture that can thrive in the digital age.