Can and Should Organization Designers Help Businesses Build a Better Society?

Join an upcoming Community Conversation
April 4th | 11 AM – 12:30 PM (EDT)

The times are changing, again! In addition to traditional concerns about cost, agility and quality, our clients [and us] are being challenged with their record on SDG’s, ESG, DEI+B in the world outside their organizations. While these challenges overlap significantly, the question they raise is how do we as design practitioners respond, if at all?

Guest presenter: Bernard Mohr
Moderator: Paul Tolchinsky

During this session we will explore the following:

1. What contributions to society do we want from our business enterprises?
2. What role do we, as organization designers, want to play in helping our clients build a better society? What is our responsibility as a profession and as practitioners?
3. How, when and where can we, as designers, engage leaders in the conversation about the role of their businesses in creating a better society?

   • How do we help our clients integrate “profit” and “purpose”
   • What capabilities will our client organizations need to succeed in this arena?
   • What will our “offer” to our clients look like? What skills, tools, capabilities, practices, etc., will we offer to our clients

     • What are we doing today? What could we do in the future?

The session will combine a short presentation by Bernard and small group discussions and explorations into our role in supporting our clients to create a better society.

Recommended pre-reads:
– Why Wall Street Firms are Flip-flopping (NYT Article)
– The Essential Link Between ESG Targets & Financial Performance (HBR Article)