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CONNECT: How Companies Succeed by Engaging Radically with Society

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Book Talk with author Lord John Browne, former CEO of BP
Connect: How Companies Succeed by Engaging Radically with SocietySunday Times Top Ten Bestseller

Monday, April 4, 2016
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Free event. 

Lecture Hall 
at Columbia Journalism School
2950 Broadway (at 116th Street)
New York, NY 10027
 

A rift has existed between business and society for two millennia, despite the central role business has played in civilization. As former BP CEO John BrowneRobin Nuttall and Tommy Stadlen show in their new book CONNECT: How Companies Succeed by Engaging Radically with Society (PublicAffairs; March 8, 2016), select companies (from Hershey to Heinz) have bridged this divide for mutual benefit while those who failed met with disaster (from the East India Company to Enron). We ignore this history at our peril.

As we’ve seen recently from high-profile cautionary tales, organizations will pay significant consequences if they don’t work openly, honestly and proactively with government and society. In order to survive over the long term and gain a competitive advantage, companies must learn how to connect profoundly with the world around them—not only with customers and shareholders but also with employees, local communities, politicians, NGOs, and the environment itself. According to research by McKinsey & Company, the related value at stake is approximately 30% of corporate earnings.

Drawing on John Browne’s own experiences and interviews with global leaders such as Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg and Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd BlankfeinCONNECT outlines four major tenets for achieving “connected leadership.” Companies and executives must:

  • Map their world—analyze stakeholders as precisely as their customers, understand trends and discontinuities, and quantify the value at stake from external relationships;
  • Clearly and powerfully define their company's contribution to society—which must be at the heart of the company’s purpose, not a side operation like CSR;
  • Apply world-class management to traditionally “soft” societal topics;
  • Engage radically—a completely open, proactive and constructive approach to the outside world.

With this new paradigm, leaders can redefine the public’s view of business as a contributor to humanity, and regulation as something that benefits both business and government instead of being feared and fought. The ability to engage radically—aggressively renewing a connection to the external world and all stakeholders with redefined shared goals—will become the defining source of competitive advantage for every company.

“This bold and timely book helps us redefine the way we think about business and serves as a compelling blueprint for the future.” 

Arianna Huffington, Editor in Chief, The Huffington Post


​Speaker Bios

John Browne, chief executive of BP from 1995 to 2007, is now executive chairman of L1 Energy. He is the author of the memoir Beyond Business, the popular science book Seven Elements That Have Changed the World, and The Glass Closet, a commentary on LGBT acceptance and inclusion in business.

Robin Nuttall is a Partner in McKinsey’s London office. He co-leads the firm’s Regulatory and Government Affairs Practice, serving regulators and regulated corporations on strategy and organizational issues across a range of sectors and territories.

Tommy Stadlen is an entrepreneur and the Refounder of Polaroid, leading the iconic medium into the digital age. He is a former McKinsey consultant with global experience advising companies and governments. He previously worked for President Obama and for former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. Tommy is a commentator for media in the US and UK, appearing in the New York TimesTimes of LondonThe Independent and Prospect Magazine. He is a One Young World Ambassador.

When
April 4th, 2016 from  6:00 PM to  8:00 PM
Location
Lecture Hall at Columbia Journalism School
2950 Broadway (at 116th Street)
New York, NY 10027
United States
Contact
Phone: (212) 854-1649