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It’s after midnight as I sit in my office chair, chewing the tip of my glasses. I’m wearing a ratty t-shirt with a tear across the sleeve, but this writing is for work. I want to help others understand their day better so they’ll think of me when they have a business challenge I can help solve.
Upstairs in the bedrooms my beautiful wife and three sons sleep soundly.
My eyes are drooping, but I’m still here. Still writing. Because I want the best for my family.
There is much new about the problems we face today. Yet the reason we struggle—to make life better for our families—is shared with others throughout history. For centuries, humans have worked late into the evening so spouses and children could thrive.
It turns out, the core challenge we face is also shared across history. Our challenge today is to find new and creative ways to collaborate more effectively.
We have amazing digital technology at our disposal. And we’ve used such capabilities to create 47,000 foods for every supermarket. But do those foods nourish us? Not really.
America has some of the best trained and most capable healthcare professionals in the world. And yet Americans also have the shortest lifespan in the developed world, and it’s recently been getting shorter.
These are basic, fundamental failures. In fact, more than 60% of the American economy, including every industry I analyzed features such basic, fundamental failures.
You see, technology only creates potential. People solve problems, and we solve them most effectively when we work together.
We must find the best ways to coordinate and collaborate in a society featuring the most cutting-edge technology.
Throughout history we’ve struggled with this greatest challenge. For example, during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, technology transformed human life. Yet while a faucet or phone works as well in Mozambique as downtown Philadelphia, 71% of the world’s population still lives on less than $10 a day.
You see, it was only our American forefathers, together with those in Europe and Japan, who mastered modern business approaches. When supported by effective government and cultural norms, it was our organizations that applied industrial technology in ways that deliver value for society. In many parts of the world, the businesses, governments, and cultures failed in this task.
So now it’s our turn to provide a new lens for a post-Covid, digital technology world. To find new approaches to coordinate and collaborate more effectively.
And by doing so, to create more, and more meaningful profit. You see, there’s a silver lining to our social problems. Even conservative estimates of value destroyed by the industry failures I just spoke about reach into the trillions of dollars. And those are trillions of reasons for people like you to show your leadership, courage, and insight. And to apply the tools you can innovate for yourselves and for your organizations.
Your social responsibility is to deliver that value.
Where is your next opportunity to solve a challenging problem through effective collaboration? And to create more value by doing so.
Safeguard your future today, while positioning yourself to thrive for our children tomorrow.
Rod
Dr. Rod Wallace is an economist, consultant, and speaker who helps businesses make more money by solving society’s problems. A Fulbright Fellow, he has led multi-organization billion-dollar initiatives worldwide and partnered with a Silicon Valley pioneer to explore the impact of Artificial Intelligence on society.
Rod speaks about how to integrate social responsibility into business to maximize profit and purpose. He highlights digital technology’s impact on society and the strategies and tools with which business can solve our big, systemic problems.
Contact Rod at info@RodWallacePhD.com.