My law firm turned 20 years old on January 3rd. Throughout its history, the firm’s turnover rate for attorneys has been meager and we’ve had an average retention rate of more than 95% per year. This high retention rate has assisted in attracting the best candidates, and clients enjoy having the stability of working with the same attorneys, not to mention profitability. There are several reasons behind this retention.

While proper renumeration is a major factor, It’s imperative to note that this is different than other revenue sharing programs where the entire company shares in the profits of the firm. In such a system, Harry can make as much money as Sally, despite Sally working much harder and doing superior work. Our method focuses on the individual and makes every individual their own company; how much their profit depends on how hard and smart they work as well as how effective they are at making sure the clients are happy.  

Let’s take a restaurant, for example. Each server is assigned several tables. With the amount of information we have today, we can measure how long parties sit for a meal, as well as the biggest moneymaker — how much alcohol they order. Each server should know at the end of every shift how many tables they served, the amount of profit — net and gross– made, and the average time a party sat during a meal. If the server receives an additional piece of the profits when they hit specific goals or numbers, the food will be coming out faster, the tables cleaned off more quickly, and be better salesmen when they push their favorite wines. Of course, this can backfire rapidly with an overeager server, but most restaurants know how to run an excellent establishment.

This model works well for attorneys, accountants who bill for time, and anyone on a commission-based business. I can also see it working at restaurants, spas, hairdressers, and moving companies.    

The Merit-Based Compensation Program — Revenue Sharing

The program is straightforward. Every attorney at the firm receives one-third of the billed time for a given client. The other two-thirds go to expenses (one-third) and profits (one-third). Attorneys receive additional compensation for bringing in business, receiving up to fifty-three percent of their billable time if they brought in the client and worked on the case. That means that the attorney would receive 33 percent of the monies for working on the case and an additional 10 or 20 percent of any funds earned for bringing in a client. Our revenue sharing program is not based on bringing in business. 

When an attorney at any level brings in business, he or she receives a percentage of what he or she brings in on top of the below compensation program. It should be stressed that attorneys are not required to bring in business, and we do not have a minimum billable hourly requirement. Attorneys have the luxury of striving to make as much money as they can or have a more relaxed career by billing fewer hours.

Individualized Revenue Sharing Is Not for Everyone

No attorney has ever gone more than a week or two without having assignments — so long as the other attorneys thought their work product was at the firm’s high standards. Some attorneys are more sought out for work than others. Eventually, these stars stop accepting assignments from other attorneys and control their caseloads — because if our firm attorneys notice their talents, so do the clients.

When an attorney has not been producing quality work, however, they will have trouble finding assignments to work on as attorneys do not seek them out as collaborators. In these scenarios, which has only occurred two or three times in my career, we try to move the attorney in a different department or type of real estate law or litigation within the firm.  

When Professionals Do Not Meet Their Numbers

In twenty years, I believe we have only reduced an attorney’s salary once or twice, and we do not do so strictly on the math—when we see an attorney not making their numbers, we immediately work with that attorney to understand the difficulty. Usually, there is a personal issue or a substance abuse problem. We do not give up on our attorneys, and we are willing to work with them because we believe that they will eventually make their numbers. Reducing a salary is a significant morale buster, and you must assume your attorney will be tuning up their resume.

Creating a System Where the Attorneys Trust the Protocol

Our attorneys have trust in the system. First, we have an outside accountant do quarterly reports on their numbers four times a year after each calendar quarter ends. Second, the attorneys can review their reports and numbers and have full access to the accountant for any questions. The number one issue that arises and mostly for younger attorneys is when I determine that the time spent on the matter exceeds the average amount of time for the typical assignment. I always bring the attorney in to discuss the issue before cutting time, but I have the final say as not only do we need to produce the finest product, but we need to do it cost-effectively.  

Raises and Bonuses

The good news for employers is no one ever asks me for an increase. Their raise is the amount or close to the amount of the money they made above their salary in their yearly report. However, a constant discussion is whether to increase an attorney’s hourly rate. Sometimes we need to tell the attorney to raise their rates, while other attorneys want to raise their hourly rates faster than the market can handle. When an attorney bills more than one-third of their salary and the money has been collected, the excess funds become the attorney’s bonus — payable either quarterly or more typically at the end of the year.

Collections

This revenue sharing system makes every attorney technically a partner. As such, they have an incentive to make sure the hours they billed are paid for by the clients. They are given monthly reports to see which clients have not paid their bills, and we expect the attorneys to work on the collections process. This participation could include making calls themselves or working with the accounting department to remain apprised on their progress. As a rule, we do not keep clients who do not pay their bills and are quick to withdraw from a matter or case if a bill is unpaid.   

Because we set up a system where an attorney’s salary and income center on billing and collections, we have to work with them to make sure the bills are paid and stop working on cases where the bills are not being satisfied. Besides, we sue clients who have not paid their bills for several months. This allows us to show the attorneys their hard work will not go to waste. All of the above has allowed us to have an excellent collection rate. 

We Work for Our Employees — as Do the Benefits

“We work for our employees,” is my creed. The employees work crazy hours, working like today is the most important workday of their life—every day. I have never seen any social media site on any employee’s computer. When morale is high in an office, employees usually maintain their positivity. I do everything I can to give back to my employees and try to make them happy without getting in the way of productivity. 

Walking into our office, everyone has their own office, and paralegal stations are as large as many other company’s employee’s offices. We provide food any time, all of the time, and it is always healthy. We pay for 80 percent of gym memberships to any gym preferred. Employees who arrive by nine and leave after eight receive dinner and a car home. We call our health insurance plan the Rolls Royce of plans; we self-insure dental insurance and eye-care insurance. We have holiday parties, happy hours, and the employee’s control when they want to go out as a group on the company’s dime. 

But it may be the benefits never discussed in writing before that truly separate us. Employees have had severe illnesses, including cancer and heart attacks, and we stand by them with our pocketbooks and support. Unfortunately, I had to rent a bus to the funeral of one of our employee’s husbands who was shot in the head at a mall in New Jersey. We put out an award for the capture of the murderer. We had also paid for physiatrists and even car services when an employee was scared to take public transportation. We do not have mandatory retirement as we believe with age comes more wisdom.

In confession, being cost-conscious when it comes to helping employees has never been our forte; we do need to do a better job of monitoring our expenses for some of these activities. And it may be impossible to weigh the benefits of a happy employee against what you pay or judge which benefit they appreciate.

I do not expect most businesses to copy the above. But I do believe that by providing my firm’s operational plan, companies can achieve lower turnover and maximum profitability in the future. 

One of NYC’s top lawyers explains how he transcended barriers to build an exceptional firm.

John Peter Zenger shaped my decision on that common childhood question: “What do you want to be when you grow up? ” 

Being a lawyer was the profession for my childhood self — until it was not. In my seventh grade English class, I was immediately captured by the idea that one person could use words to help others when I read a book on how Andrew Hamilton convinced a jury in 1735 to acquit Zenger, a publisher of seditious libel. My dreams shattered when I was told that law school was costly and reserved only for rich people who could afford tuition. By the time I entered high school, I had unwillingly given up my interest in law for my second passion, journalism. 

Only years later, during college, did I learn that you could use loans to pay for law school. I was working at a Catskills country club at the time, and it was there that I met a lawyer for the first time. None of the parents in the towns I had grown up in had been lawyers. I immediately investigated and, despite the obstacles I had perceived during my childhood, decided to become a lawyer. 

Fast-forward twelve years, and I started my own law firm. Starting your own business requires both self-confidence and the willingness to take a leap of faith, and a believe that your skills will lead you to success. Below, I’ve listed a few of the most important lessons from my earliest years in business. 

Secure an Uncommon Name 

Never before in the history of business has naming your company become so important. Because you will be selling a product, you want to use a memorable, easily-found name that has not already been taken. Customers must be able to find you on the Internet, as well; test your chosen name by Googling it. 

If you find a unique name and choose to move forward, you will need to legally incorporate your company in the state in which you do business. Have your website domain name tested and secured, as well. All social media platforms should be connected to ensure your name will be distinguishable and unique from your competitors.

Impress, but Save on Rent 

There are two primary reasons that companies go out of business: rent and salaries.  

When opening a new company, you want to try to avoid renting the most magnificent office available. My company, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., started with one small office and a secretarial station. At the time, I bartered doing work for the landlord in exchange for the rent-free use of a shared receptionist and a conference room.  

Looks do matter, and they make an impression that affects customer decisions. I have one client who used to run workshops out of her apartment. Although she had a beautiful apartment, reviewers would frequently mention that the business was run out of the apartment in their complaints, and more than one customer cited the location during a refund demand. The apartment is no longer used for classes.

Nowadays, businesses that are wooing customers at their offices can now use advertised shared spaces or find an existing business with extra space to launch their business at a minimal cost.

Hire the Best Employees and Know When to Hire More

Every customer service company lives or dies based on the employees it hires. Most of these companies also increase revenue and become more profitable as the company continues to recruit high performers. Early on, I would spend many hours interviewing and searching for ways to better recruit candidates. I also developed a five-page questionnaire, still used today, to increase my hiring aptitude.

Besides rent, salary constitutes most companies’ highest costs. It was an investment I was unwilling to make at first — almost to the cost of my firm’s wellbeing. It took a near devastating loss and a judge’s kindness for me to make the right decision. One morning, I had 18 court cases to handle, most of them short appearances. I ran to three courthouses and at least ten courtrooms before 1 pm, trying to give every case the best possible effort. But still, I was running out of time; I looked at the clock and realized I had 10 minutes to make it to Judge Maria Milin’s courtroom. I beat the clock, but I had already defaulted. I must have looked depressed because Judge Milin called me to the bench where she kindly offered me advice.  

“Adam, I have been watching you,” she said. “I am not going to default you. I am adjourning the case to another day. You have more cases than one attorney can handle. I think it is time for you to hire an associate.” It took a near loss of a case and Judge Milin’s remarkable kindness to convince me to spend the money and hire another litigator.  

Hiring is one of the most challenging decisions for any new company. I have represented thousands of companies and found that everyone, no matter how big or small, has always reflected the essence and morale of the founders. I still believe my very best employees are the ones that have been with me the longest because I have spent the most time with them, and they are molded in the company’s image. Thankfully, many of them have passed on their training to the next generation. 

Having a manual with a thesis statement and long-term employees to pass on learning has kept morale high and allowed my business to provide a high caliber of customer service. 

If You Aren’t Making Mistakes, You Aren’t Trying Hard Enough

Americans root for underdogs; if you are starting your own business, welcome to the club. However, no matter how much love you receive from friends and family, everyone will eventually choose the best, most cost-effective option.  

I lost friends early in my career when they did not choose me as their real estate attorney. I could not forgive them. Looking back, I accept that I was wrong and regret my actions. In one particular case that I can remember, I was 29 years old and on a shortlist with a friend’s parent’s attorney, who had been recommended by several people and had a proven record. My competitor was the clear pick, but there is no telling a dreamer that he or she is not the best option. 

The truth is, I made many mistakes, and as I tell my employees all the time — if you are not making mistakes, you are not trying hard enough. 

I hustled. I never left the house without business cards. I created a newsletter that I sent to everyone I knew by snail mail. I recruited top attorneys to lecture with me. I started writing for whoever would print my material — all in my free time. I would work from when I woke up to when I went to sleep. I have worked on major holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day; working six days a week became a standard work schedule.

If my lifelong pursuit of a legal career has taught me anything, it would be that the only actual barriers to success that we face are the ones that we allow others to impose upon us. If you want to build a business or achieve a long-shot dream, you need to work hard and accept your mistakes. If you fail to do so, you will never achieve the success you envision. 

We live in a time when long-established companies all around the world are finding that keeping up with the rapid pace of change is too much to handle. Retail giants are collapsing because we all shop online, airlines and travel businesses are finding that our evolving lifestyles have left them behind and the leaders of almost every other type of company you can think of is desperately playing catch-up with tech upstarts that are changing the ball game on a weekly basis.

All of this is why it is so remarkable that there are businesses out there that date back well over a hundred years. Think Coca-Cola, which has been around 130 years and remains a market-leading soft drink all over the globe. But the reality is that Coke is still a relative baby compared to some of the world’s oldest countries. So which are the oldest companies from (almost) every country on the planet?

Here are the 10 top oldest companies in the world that are still open for business:

1. Oldest companies in Europe

Compared to America, European societies have a lot of history, so it’s no surprise that there are some seriously old businesses to be found there and sometimes found in the most unlikely places. St Peter’s Abbey in Salzburg, Austria is the home of Europe’s oldest business that’s still going – St. Peter Stifts Kulinarium, an inn that first opened way back in 803, making it the oldest restaurant in the continent that still serves customers today, just like it did when the likes of Christopher Columbus and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ate there in centuries long past.

Having longevity in your business means being able to adapt to circumstances, even if your business is only a few decades old. For Monnaie de Paris, founded in 864 as France’s mint, there have been many changes to adapt to even in the last 100 years, which have seen it producing Francs and now Euros but also German currency during the occupation in World War II.

2. Oldest companies in North America

We may think of North America as a relatively young continent, but its oldest companies still date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. In Mexico it’s another mint, the La Casa de Moneda de México, which is still producing currency today having been founded in 1534. It’s a highly influential mint too, with its original coins having inspired not only the US dollar, but also currencies as geographically distant as the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan. 

Up in the USA, the oldest company still going today is the Shirley Plantation, started in 1638 by Edward Hill, which is not only still a working plantation today – as well as a tourist attraction of course – but is also managed by his descendents all these centuries later. Every business founder dreams of their children following in their footsteps, but who could imagine that kind of legacy?

3. Oldest Companies in South America

As in North America, South America’s oldest company that’s still going today is a mint. There’s clearly a lesson there in terms of future-proofing your business. While we may be moving towards a contactless payment future, cash remains an important part of our daily lives all around the world, so finding a niche that is going to keep your business relevant for centuries rather than as a passing fad has to be the goal of any prospective business leader.

4. Oldest Companies in Asia

All of these companies mentioned so far may be very, very old, but still don’t come close to Asia’s oldest business. Kongo Gumi was founded in 578 by a Korean temple builder invited to Japan by the royal family to help build Buddhist temples. It was very much a niche skill at the time in that country and helped establish a family business that stayed in the family all the way up to the 21st Century when it was finally bought by a construction conglomerate.

Established almost five centuries later but still older than most of the companies around today is Ma Yu Ching’s Bucket Chicken House, a chicken takeaway restaurant in Kaifeng China, which dates back to 1153. Hopefully the chickens it serves today haven’t been around for nine centuries.

5. Oldest Companies in Africa

Civilization apparently dates back to Africa, but its oldest businesses still operating today aren’t quite so old as that. The oldest is the Mauritius Post, which opened in 1772 to deliver mail around what was a French colony at the time. NamPost in Namibia is another early postal service on the continent, having been founded in 1814 to help people across the country keep in touch.

6. Oldest Companies in Oceania

Speaking of post offices, the oldest company in Oceania is also one set up to deal with mail. Now known as AusPost after the merger of several smaller services, it dates back to 1809 when a former convict Isaas Nichols was put in charge of New South Wales’ post, which mostly meant stopping people from stealing it when it arrived at port. Now that is leading by example.Which of the companies set up today by inspirational leaders do you think might one day have lasted as long as some of these businesses

METHODOLOGY & SOURCES

To create these maps, we started by reviewing various sources on the internet to locate the oldest company in each country. Once we had a list of business for each country we began researching each individual company to discover if they are still operational. If we were unsure about a company or could not discern if it was still open, we did not include it in the maps. We included both independent and state-run businesses in this list. This includes national mints, which produced coins for merchants and international customers as well as the state.

Those countries where it wasn’t possible to identify the oldest business have been greyed-out on the map. Additionally, some countries have changed names or didn‘t exist at the time the oldest company opened. In all cases we have used the current country names.

We created broad industry categorisations that grouped similar businesses together. Every step has been taken to ensure that the information contained within our research is as accurate as possible. However, it is possible that there are businesses still operating that predate the ones listed here.

This story was compiled by BusinessFinancing.co.uk.

Company leaders pride themselves on their ability to make critical decisions to drive their business. Yet, sadly, most companies don’t use hard data to make innovation decisions. The result is an 85- to 95-percent failure rate in innovation. 

Why don’t leaders use data to make more decisions? It’s because they don’t know that they can! 

Leaders aren’t stupid. They would use data to aid their decision making if they had it. The reason why they don’t is that they believe they can’t gather data to help them make decisions. Ten to twenty years ago, they were right. It was not cost-effective to use data to make smarter decisions. 

Fortunately, discoveries and technologies now make it possible to gather data to support 100 percent of critical decisions cost-effectively. For example, a long-term marketplace tracking study by the Eureka! Ranch’s MERWYN Decision Support Group found that the Truth Teller research methodology was seven times smarter at making go/no go decisions than company leaders.

The new generation of data-driven decision support is based on three principles that have been proven to work for industrial, business to business, consumer, services, nonprofit, and even government innovations. These principles include:

1. Testing at the speed of decision making. Old world research methods were practical, prudent, and pondered. Leaders often relied on judgment because it wasn’t possible to get data in the time available to make a decision. In the new world, research timing and cost is diminished by up to 90 percent. One multinational found that the new methods helped cut costs by some 93 percent. Speed and cost savings are a result of utilizing 100 percent digital systems for design, fielding, and analysis of research. The result is a statistically reliable single product and paired comparison tests in 60 to 90 minutes. 

2. Measure twice or three times — decide once. When facing challenging decisions, there’s often no “magic test” that can be run. In these situations, the new speed mentioned above makes it possible to use two or three distinct methods to triangulate on Decision Support data. A few of the ways that can be utilized include: 1) Rapid Research with key stakeholders, customers, etc., 2) Digital Delphi calibrated quantification of those with domain expertise, 3) Idea Coach artificial intelligence idea evaluation, and 4) Truth Teller benchmarking of new ideas versus 50 validated success factors. 

3. Confront reality with risk-adjusted forecasting. Multiple measures and the inherent uncertainty of forecasting assumptions introduce risk that’s often minimized or ignored. The new mindset is to embrace the uncertainty/variance in a problem and to model them. Tools like Monte Carlo simulations and five-year trial, Repeat, and Diffusion Models quantify the uncertainty enabling leaders to know the high-risk issues. Importantly, risk-adjusted forecasting can be applied to 100 percent of crucial decisions.

Over the years, the application of these principles, alone and in combination, has enabled Procter & Gamble, American Express, Reckitt Benckiser, J&J, Kraft, Nestle, and many others to make smarter decisions on genuine New to The World Innovations. 

Much of the Davos 2020 community this week will be focused on the looming global climate crisis. Delegates will be frustrated about our seeming tendency to neglect a catastrophic problem that confronts us while making “much ado about nothing” in relative terms. 

But this is connected to a still larger issue that is illustrated by the march of the successive Industrial Revolutions that the modern world has witnessed. Each has intensified the risks of de-humanizing economic progress, to the point that we now face an existential threat in both environmental and humanitarian terms.

The advance of the 4th Industrial Revolution (robotics, AI, AR, VR, and the like) has produced a developing scenario in which the momentum of technology and commerce too often eclipses the service of humanity. This problem has become so acute that some of the lead innovators in the 4th Industrial Revolution have begun to relinquish some of their intellectual property into the public domain so that they will not be responsible for the possible effects of it. Indeed, several Captains of the 4th Revolution surmise that some of the new technologies can be an Orwellian “enemy of the people.” 

Meanwhile, our economic engines continue to roar as the world’s population grows, and the ideals of human flourishing are left wanting.

In many ways, we are unprepared to meet the challenges ahead. According to a recent World Economic Forum report, for example, 65% of children entering the school system today will end up in careers that don’t exist yet, and much of this will be attributable to the rapid advancements of the 4th Industrial Revolution. 

Of course, there is good and bad in any realistic view of our shared future. We want to focus here on five “Beacons of Hope” that can be seen and are worth noting. 

The leading light, what we will call the first and signal Beacon to all the others, is the rise of the 5th Industrial Revolution. In contrast to trends in the 4th Revolution toward de-humanization, technology and innovation best practices are being bent back toward the service of humanity by the champions of the 5th. 

Forbes contributor Lawrence Wintermeyer highlighted this recently, concerning the impact of the 4th Industrial Revolution on the fintech markets. “Most of the conferences I attend focus on ‘the next big tech thing’ and what it can do,” Wintermeyer observed, “often to the exclusion of the utility and impact the technology will have on society. I am most often asked what the next ‘smart money’ tech trend is in fintech. I am now happy to report it is not blockchain, bitcoin, or AI. It is humanity.”

In the 5th Industrial Revolution, humans and machines will dance together, metaphorically. This year at Davos, an event sponsored by Forbes, MIT, and Tata promoted the theme: “Blockchain + AI + Humans = Magic!” This equation seems impossible to some, but it can (and will) prove correct. AI will help increase human labor productivity. Blockchain will help give access to banking (and intangible forms of capital connected to a person’s “quiddity”) to the unbanked through ventures like Celsius. Robots will help humans align ROI with purpose. But all this will require intentionality, and moral clarity. 

This leads to the second Beacon, which is an unprecedented connection of business to purpose. Ironically, at the moment that capitalism is more derided than ever in many circles, business is emerging as the world’s most powerful and active force for doing good. Consumers are demanding it, and many companies are responding – and sustainability-minded brands are winning market share! 

Funding for businesses is now being directed, with intentionality, to businesses that are embracing purpose and shared outcomes relating to human flourishing. Larry Fink, CEO of investment titan Blackrock, wrote an Open Letter to CEOs that reflects a new emerging standard in this regard. In that widely-circulated document, he wrote: “Purpose is not the sole pursuit of profits but the animating force for achieving them. Profits are in no way inconsistent with purpose – in fact, profits and purpose are inextricably linked.” These sentiments (and the executives aligned with them) are on the rise.

The third Beacon of Hope is the increasing prominence of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (referred to as “SDGs” or the “Global Goals”). The SDGs provide history’s first universal matrix to achieve a flourishing future. Adopted by the heads of governments from 193 UN member states, the SDG framework addresses the vital physical facets of life in our global village – social, environmental, and economic.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2014, an estimated annual investment of US $3.9 trillion would be required to achieve the SDGs. Currently, this translates to an estimated $2.5 trillion gap per year to finance the targets of the global goals. But the good news is that businesses are rallying, making manifest the focus of SDG #17, which is the call for businesses, governments, impact investors, donors, and NGOs to partner together in unprecedented ways to achieve the Global Goals. This is evident in advancing Public-Private Partnerships (called “PPPs”) that are gaining momentum as a model for sustainable impact initiatives. Helpful frameworks for leadership are widely adopted by various sectors, like this one in the impact investing community:

One obvious way to fund the gap is by targeting private capital in a manner that requires businesses to be SDG-aligned. But beyond investing, companies will need to think outside of the box to engage more than $2 trillion in brand marketing budgets to help advance the common good. 

One example of this gaining global attention is the “Good Exchange” model. A Good Exchange is a marketing framework proposed more than a decade ago by which a brand engages its consumers with a content activation that unlocks a donation to a cause that matters to both the brand and the consumer. The consumers become the media beacons for brand/cause-connected content so that a growing portion of brand funds can flow to cause, rather than to their media intermediaries. 

These kinds of “omniwin” models, when supported by clear and compelling case study data, are changing the traditional marketing mix at many companies, and producing unprecedented public-private partnership opportunities.

The fourth Beacon sits at the center of the SDG framework as the fulcrum to lifting all the others: SDG #5 is about the empowerment of women and girls worldwide.  It has been said that there is no hope for achieving the global goals unless SDG 5 is central to the agenda. If women and girls are empowered to lead unprecedented campaigns for human flourishing, all of the other SDGs will rise. 

Open platform movements like The SDG5 Global Alliance have been created to promote inspirational and aspirational examples of women who are leading the way in getting things done. The 5th Industrial Revolution will be powered by SDG #5: the innate instincts and the intuitively unique strategic voice of women in leadership. And businesses, through best practices in hiring and development, and other kinds of support will be essential facilitators.

The fifth Beacon of Hope is that these kinds of cross-sector, SDG-aligned movements are going global, and becoming increasingly democratized. SDG-aligned leadership is emerging in countries like India, which is experiencing a historically unparalleled demographic dividend of young people rising who have a keen desire for a better world. Forward-thinking companies are taking notice. CPG leader RB’s Harpic brand, for example, is helping mobilize a multi-brand campaign to “conserve and respect water” in one of India’s largest PPP campaigns in history. Joining in are partners like 100-year-old Tata Trusts, the philanthropic arm of the powerful Tata conglomerate in India. “Mission Paani” now represents a game-changing response to the water and sanitation crisis in India through an unprecedented public-private partnership model. 

Likewise, new crowd-funding platforms are reflecting the global and increasingly democratized nature of the push toward the global goals. Grant competitions are moving beyond traditional “black box” judging panels, pushing decision-making between vetted applicants to an emerging class of micro-donors. It’s an encouraging trend.

Leading executives more fully recognize that a company’s stakeholders are more than just its shareholders: they are also employees, customers – and, more broadly, the people and planet impacted by our work in the world. 

The challenges are clear. But so is the opportunity. We can create a new socio-economic era that closes historical gaps in last-mile inclusion and engages the “bottom billion” in creating quantum leaps for humanity, and a better planet. 

The world needs a 5th Industrial Revolution to flower like a new Renaissance Age. It will be marked by unprecedented creativity and a sense of shared common purpose, as we work together to bend progress and profits toward purpose and inclusivity.  

Are you a part of it?

By World Economic Forum Global Shaper Pratik Gauri, with Jim Van Eerden. Pratik is the Founder and Chairman of India Needs You (INY) and India President of 5th Element Group. He has also held executive positions at TATA Group. Through INY, he has hosted 15+ impact gatherings around the topics of entrepreneurship, law and public policy and has equipped more than 20,000 young adults with a leadership toolkit. He has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, an Al Gore Climate Leader, Startup Leadership Program Fellow, Global Action on Poverty Changemaker and Asian Youth Inspiration.

In June 2016, Bob Iger (above left, with George Lucas) was in China overseeing preparations for the opening of Shanghai Disneyland. It was the culmination of an 18-year effort and a $6 billion investment that the CEO calls “the biggest accomplishment of my career.” The day before the opening, as Iger was leading a VIP tour of the new park, he was informed that a two-year-old boy had been killed in an alligator attack at Walt Disney World in Florida.

A highly capable Disney crisis team was already on the scene and Iger dictated a public statement. Everything that could be done was being done, but the CEO felt compelled to try to speak to boy’s parents. Once he got on the phone with the boy’s father, Iger told him that he was a father, too, and a grandfather, but even so, he “couldn’t fathom what they must be going through.”

Sobbing, the boy’s father asked Iger to promise this would never happen to another child. He promised. “I sat there shaking on the edge of my bed,” Iger writes in his book, The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company. “I’d been crying so hard that both my contact lenses had come out.”

When you visit Disney World, you can see one result of that promise: There are ropes, fences, and warning signs around the lagoons and canals on the property. They were installed within twenty-four hours of the phone call, across an area twice the size of Manhattan.

It’s a gut-wrenching story—an odd one to find anywhere in a CEO’s memoir, let alone in its prologue. Being the skeptical type, I wondered about Iger’s motives for telling it. He is as polished and professional an executive as I have ever seen, and a welcome contrast to two flavors of leaders that we see too often these days: posturing, blurting assholes who seem to have no self-control whatsoever; and cold, amoral automatons whose sole concern seems to be the value of their stock options.

Iger definitely isn’t the former. He could be a particularly well-disguised example of the latter—I don’t know him personally and can’t say for sure. But I suspect from reading The Ride of a Lifetime and following Disney’s fortunes over the past 20 years that he is not. 

It’s also odd that the empathy that Iger demonstrated during that call isn’t one of the ten principles “necessary to true leadership” that he lists a few pages later. The closest he gets to it is the principle of fairness, which he says, requires empathy and accessibility. Yet, Iger’s tenure at Disney is such a compelling testament to the power of empathy that both veteran and aspiring leaders should study it.

It’s hard to fathom now, but 15 years ago, Disney was in the doldrums. CEO Michael Eisner’s hot streak had run out years earlier and he had been pushed out of the company. Iger, who was COO under Eisner, was nowhere near a hands-down favorite to succeed him. 

Iger sqeaked his way into job, but shareholders Roy Disney and Stanley Gold, who had been instrumental in ousting Eisner, promptly sued Disney’s board for choosing him in what they claimed was a “fraudulent succession process.” Iger says the suit was groundless, and the company could have fought and easily won it. Instead, he met with Gold and Disney and heard them out.

Iger put himself in Roy Disney’s shoes—and realized how disrespected and hurt he felt by the company that his uncle and father had founded. Instead of calling in the lawyers, he offered Disney a ceremonial role at the company, a small consulting fee, and an office on the lot. 

“Just like that, a crisis that threatened to loom over my early days as CEO was resolved,” writes Iger. “A little respect goes a long way, and the absence of it is often very costly. Over the next few years, as we made the major acquisitions that redefined and revitalized the company, this simple, seemingly trite idea was as important as all of the data-crunching in the world: If you approach and engage people with respect and empathy, the seemingly impossible can become real.”

Iger promptly proved it by turning his attention to the seemingly irreparable rift between Disney and Pixar. Pixar, which was controlled by majority shareholder Steve Jobs, made the films that had been the only bright spot in Disney’s animation business for years; Disney distributed them. When the distribution contract come up for renewal Eisner and Jobs went head-to-head at the negotiating table. Eisner lost the contract.

Iger healed the rift by putting himself in Steve Jobs’s shoes. “Steve responded to boldness, and I wanted to signal to him that there could be a different way of doing business with Disney going forward. Among his many frustrations was a feeling that it was often too difficult to get anything done with us. Every agreement needed to be vetted and analyzed to within an inch of its life, and that’s not how he worked,” he explains. “I wanted him to understand that I didn’t work that way, either, that I was empowered to make a call and that I was eager to figure out this future together, and to do so quickly. I thought that if he respected my instincts and my willingness to take this risk, then maybe, just maybe, the door to Pixar might crack open again.”

It didn’t just crack open. It led to Disney acquiring Pixar in 2006—the first in a string of deals, including Marvel, Lucasfilms (Star Wars), and the $71 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox, that made it the second largest media company in the world.

The Pixar deal hinged on Iger sussing out the concerns of the animation studio’s leaders, John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, who wanted to ensure that it would not be subsumed by Disney. Iger assured them that it wouldn’t, but he did more than talk. He negotiated a “social compact” that guaranteed that Pixar would maintain its own identity and culture.

The key to the Marvel deal was CEO and controlling shareholder Ike Perlman, who had a reputation for being tough and proud. “I went to meet Ike at Marvel offices in midtown Manhattan,” says Iger. “I wanted him to feel that I was there out of respect, so I went to New York expressly to meet with him and showed up by myself, not with a team of Disney executives.”

Both men knew what Iger wanted, but he took the time to get to know Perlman over several days. Iger also invited Marvel’s key creatives to Disney. “I uttered the same sentence to them that I had repeated multiple times during my negotiations with Steve and John and Ed,” he says, “‘It doesn’t make any sense for us to buy you for what you are and then turn you into something else.’” Then, Iger waited for Perlman to signal that he was willing to enter serious negotiations, instead of trying to push for them himself.

The same theme of empathy repeats itself in the deals with George Lucas at Lucasfilms and Rupert Murdoch at 21st Century Fox. Each was a unique deal involving very different personalities, but empathy always played a key role. “You have to know what you want out of any deal, but to get there you also need be aware of what’s at stake for the other person,” says Iger.

Figuring out what’s at stake for others and acting on what you’ve figured out is empathy in action.

Corporate Boards’ primary responsibility is the oversight of their organizations’ executive decisions in order to protect the interests of stock- and stakeholders.  Yet some lose sight that this role extends beyond tracking bottom line numbers to making sure the right people are in C-Suite positions so that operations run smoothly.  

Board Members play a crucial part in putting together the strongest executive team in order to follow through on the necessary strategic steps to achieve the company’s shared goals.  

“Successful boards pay close attention to every stage of their hiring process, which means identifying true needs for each position and the individuals for their C-Suite who are not only talented, but the right fit for the organization,” explains executive search thought leader John Hodge, managing partner, Americas at Miramar Global. “In discussions with our clients over the years, many are surprised to find that individual board members have different priorities in defining their company culture and strategy. Developing and sticking to a cohesive vision leads to stronger hiring and better outcomes.”  

Hodge offers 6 focal areas in which Corporate Boards should set the organizational tone for C-Suite hiring processes: 

• Alignment: Board members need a clear vision of the organization in order to best support it. Creating a specific strategy to find candidates who are the right fit for an open position depends on a shared definition of company culture and values.  
• Identification: The executive team sets the tone and communicates the vision down the line, making every hire an essential part of the board’s ability to uphold responsibilities to stakeholders.  Building and writing down a thorough description of the relevant skills for an executive position helps structure the search pool to reflect established company culture as well as the desired traits of an ideal candidate.     
• Engage & Assess: Successful hiring depends on both parties feeling confident in the decision to establish a new relationship. Corporate boards need to communicate a compelling message to attract the highest quality of talent who will want to be part of the long-term plan for company growth rather than assume the position and offer will be appealing to the appropriate caliber of candidates. 
• Short List/Interviews: Time is of the essence in creating a smooth transition with a new executive hire. Focusing on a few candidates who fit the essential criteria allows the board to prioritize real needs over rushed needs in critical interviewing processes of engagement, assessment and feedback. 
• Offer Management: After extensive preparations, finalizing the hiring process and reducing late-stage surprises ultimately comes down to offering and agreeing to a contract.  The better a corporate board understands industry trends in hiring, the more competitive it can make an offer that also reflects the defined strategy and appeals to the interests of the candidate.  
• Onboarding: It’s not unusual that a board would want a new C-suite hire to make an immediate impact on the company.  Well-constructed onboarding procedures enable new executives to reaffirm their role in the company culture and become an effective part of the team more quickly.  

Notes Hodge, “company performance is based on the people who drive it.  Thus, corporate boards need to approach hiring from a holistic perspective to create a C-suite team that is not only talented, but collaborates using a cohesive approach to achieve productive and efficient progress toward shared goals.”   

Canada, Australia and France are the best countries to be a social entrepreneur, according to the results of a global perception poll conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in partnership with Deutsche Bank’s Made for Good programme.

But Britain and the US saw a significant drop in ranking – with the US plummeting to 31st place from the top spot – since the inaugural survey of the world’s 45 biggest economies was carried out three years ago. The survey also ranked the US last when it came to women playing a leading role as social entrepreneurs.

Almost 900 experts were polled to establish trends, opportunities and challenges related to this fast-growing business-for-purpose sector. The results offer an insight not only into how social entrepreneurship is currently viewed within certain countries, but how this has changed over the past three years.

While experts cited a decline in government support, access to investment and selling to business as the main reasons behind momentum slowing for social entrepreneurs in the United States, Canada came top for young people playing a leading role, as well as the best country for female leaders in the sector.

In the UK, Brexit dominating the political agenda was blamed for slowing the pace of the sector’s development. In Scotland, though, experts say social enterprise is thriving. Mexico came last, down 15 places from 2016.

Overall, most asked believed social entrepreneurship was gaining momentum around the world. However, more than half said the public still did not understand what they did.

“From building schools from plastic waste, to training women in rural villages in solar engineering, social enterprise is a rapidly growing sector. By using innovation to address critical social and environmental issues, social enterprise is increasingly relied upon to reduce inequality and help the world’s most disadvantaged people,” says Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“However, this survey has revealed some surprising changes in how the sector is viewed in different nations. Perception of social enterprise is crucial. It affects everything from access to finance, to the quality of employees. We hope that greater understanding of social enterprise will provide the sector with vital information to generate future growth.”

The opinion poll surveyed six key areas; government support, attracting skilled staff, public understanding, ability for social entrepreneurs to make a living, whether the sector was gaining momentum and access to investment.

Lareena Hilton, Global Head of Brand Communications and CSR for Deutsche Bank says: “Social entrepreneurs around the world are shaking up traditional marketplaces and introducing innovative solutions to meet the growing needs of communities. Deutsche Bank is proud to support this research and be part of a growing momentum that appreciates this exciting sector, as well as supporting its development around the world.

Through our global CSR Made for Good programme we know how vulnerable social entrepreneurs can be not only at early stage but also throughout their growth, and the importance of accelerator and incubators for success. Repeating this poll has shone a light on the countries that have nurtured and strengthened the sector since 2016, as well as revealing those where work is needed to improve the understanding of social entrepreneurs and the obstacles to become investment ready.”

Berlin, London and Santiago were named as the leading hotspots for social entrepreneurs, together with Medellin, Colombia – once known as the murder capital of the world.

While 67% of respondents acknowledged that women were well represented in leadership roles overall, only 44% thought female leaders were paid the same as men. Canada ranked as the top country where women are succeeding as social entrepreneurs, while Australia, Belgium, Sweden and Malaysia took the rest of the top five slots.