1. Michael Porter: Why business can be good at solving social problems
Fortune magazine calls Michael Porter “the most famous and influential business professor who has ever lived." Porter is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at The Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at the Harvard Business School and founder of FSG-Social Impact Advisors, a leading non-profit strategy firm serving NGOs, corporations, and foundations in the area of creating social value. In this 2013 talk, Porter argues that businesses are uniquely capable of solving social problems.
2. Seth Godin: How to get your ideas to spread
Seth Godin is a best-selling author, marketing authority and entrepreneur. In this 2003 talk, Godin shares the marketing lessons he has learned from his time as a marketer, including as Yahoo’s VP of Direct Marketing.
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3. Ray Anderson: The business logic of sustainability
Ray Anderson was the founder and chairman of Interface Inc., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of modular carpet. In this 2009 talk, Anderson discusses the business advantages Interface enjoyed as it employed “Mission Zero,” the company’s promise to eliminate any negative impact it may have on the environment through the redesign of processes and products.
Anderson chronicled the “Mission Zero” journey in two books and went on to serve a stint as co-chair of the President’s Council on Sustainable Development during President Clinton’s administration, which led to him co-chairing the Presidential Climate Action Plan in 2008, a team that presented the Obama Administration with a 100 day action plan on climate. After Anderson’s passing in 2011, his family founded The Ray C. Anderson Foundation to fund innovative projects that promote and advance the concepts of sustainable production and consumption.
4. Harish Manwani: Profit is not always the point
Harish Manwani, chief operating officer for Unilever, argues that including value, purpose and sustainability in top-level decision-making is the only way to run a business in the 21st century in this 2013 talk.
5. Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong
Dan Pallotta, author and humanitarian, is best known for his involvement in starting multi-day charitable events including the Breast Cancer 3-Day and Aids Rides bicycle journey. The Harvard alumnus has also written three books related to the non-profit sector, including Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential. In this 2013 talk, Pallotta speaks to the double standard that exists between charities and corporations and urges the audience to start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments.
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