Now Is The Time To Make Employees As Important As Shareholders:

For decades, businesses have deferred to the interests of shareholders above and beyond the interests of all other stakeholders – most especially employees. And according to London Business School finance professor, Alex Edmans, shareholders have long been conditioned to believe that the value any company produces is a fixed pie – and so the only way for them to retain the largest slice of the pie is to ensure the size of the pie all other stakeholders get remains small.  This mindset has meant that shareholders have seen every dollar spent on workers as dollars taken away from them.

But in his new, inspiring & wonderfully researched book, “Grow The Pie, How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose And Profit,” Alex introduces a far more enlightened & innovative mindset – the idea that the size of company pies are not fixed after all.  “And when all members of an organization work together, bound by a common purpose and focused on the long term, they actually create shared value in a way that enlarges the slices of everyone – shareholders, workers, customers, suppliers, the environment, communities and taxpayers.”

It’s by no means surprising that Alex is the one to be introducing a new leadership paradigm, nor that it’s this timely. The COVID-19 crisis has quickly revealed cracks in the business models of many companies. And with all of us having time to reflect on the current effectiveness of workplace leadership, the idea that employees & other stakeholders are a drag on shareholder returns has surely proved indefensible.

As you’ll discover as you listen, Alex is an extraordinary thinker.  A graduate of Oxford University & a Fulbright Scholar while earning PhD in Finance from MIT’s Sloan school, he became one of the youngest professors to ever earn tenure at the Wharton Business School. He’s spoken at Davos and on the TED stage.

In an extraordinarily energetic conversation (thanks to Alex),  Edmans introduces the most current thinking on the future of workplace leadership –  a vision that emphasizes the idea that when employees fare well, shareholders do even better than before. Prepare to be wowed, informed & amazed!  And that’s no overstatement!

We’re also extremely grateful that Alex is launching his new book with us.

The post Alex Edmans: The Choice Between People & Profits Is A False Dichotomy appeared first on Mark C. Crowley.