Having been active in social justice movements since the 1960s, I would’ve liked for us to be further along than we are now. You might imagine that I’m a bit fatigued, even disheartened, six decades later. To the contrary, I’m as fired up as ever. I’m especially inspired by young activists around the world who are tackling myriad interrelated issues in new, dynamic, exciting ways. It’s called intersectional organizing, integrating, among much else: calls for an end to violent conflicts, enlivening the climate change debate, addressing gender inequality, demands for economic equity, actions for racial justice, demonstrations for LGBTQ rights, protests for gun control—all parts of a unified fervent appeal for a more inclusive, sustainable world. I had extraordinary mentors... more

by beCause CEO Nadine Hack – On International Women’s Day, hosted by Gérald Mathieu CEO Barclays Bank Switzerland, I gave a speech to 150 young bankers about why gender equality is important for women and men. Some were with us in Geneva; others joined us by teleconference. You can watch video of our conversation summarized here. I was very excited to share stories about inspirational women like US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who began her fight for women’s rights in the 1950s when she never could’ve imagined she would one day serve on the nation’s highest court. It’s fabulous that a younger generation now calls her the “Notorious RBG” and wears T-shirts “RBG Rules!” It’s thrilling to pass... more

by beCause CEO Nadine Hack – Welsh proverb: “She/he who would be a leader must be a bridge.”  What I call engagement leaders are, indeed, “bridges” connecting divergent types of people for the advantage of each and all.  They know that deeply engaging internal and external stakeholders in the co-creation of business changes and new initiatives is vital for any strategic action plan to be properly executed. Nelson Mandela is an archetypal engagement leader.  After 27 brutal years in prison, he emerged as a fervent advocate of engaging with the very people and institutions that oppressed him.  When released, he spent the next four years in negotiation with the stalwarts of apartheid.  As President, he continued to ensure that all... more

by beCause CEO Nadine Hack – A colleague once said to me, “I stand on your shoulders.”  I replied, “We all are part of a chain of progress that stretches far behind us and will continue long after us.”  This is how I view leadership in general and women’s leadership in particular. See video of presentation. Research by McKinsey, Harvard, Columbia, and myriad other consultancies, think tanks and universities show that organizations with diverse leadership are 35% more likely to have better financial returns.  So, advancing women’s leadership is a vital business imperative.  And, I hope men will share with all your male colleagues why “women in leadership” is not just a women’s issue. What’s valid for women’s leadership applies to all... more

By beCause Associate Jennifer Sertl – Sibos is an annual event that connects over 8,000 people from 212 countries from the entire financial ecosystem. Having gone for three years myself, this year marked a visceral tipping point between the traditional compliance oriented banking community and the innovative emergence of blockchain technology. Globalization and open data have made an undeniable imprint that will continue to force new mindsets across the industry. There are several experts in this space and I invite you to take a deep dive into blockchain technology and the implications with Don Tapscott. Beyond how this technology enables global business functionality, I want to highlight another technology- namely, leadership. There were three people in particular who stood out with a... more

by beCause CEO Nadine Hack – Successful businesses have moved from transactional to relational, which acknowledges interdependence among a diversity of parties as essential for sustainable success.  Dramatic new technologies, evolving business models, environmental impact, economic instability, political upheaval, and broad-scale migration resulting from regional conflicts, now demand improved engagement between business leaders and their myriad stakeholders. A broad spectrum of stakeholders has a direct impact on your core business. That’s why I call my framework “Strategic Relational Engagement” (SRE) because incorporating meaningful relationships into your business can transform stakeholder fear and/or animosity into understanding, productivity and strategic impact.  In a shareholder environment in which annual growth is expected (achievable or not), all-out strategic relational engagement of stakeholders is the... more

beCause Associate Peter Cook just released a book with Bloomsbury Publishing, Leading Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise . I asked Peter for some insights into this, the 11th book he has written or contributed to over 22 years in business. What prompted you to write this book? I have had three passions across my life – science, business and music. When I was four years old I wanted to be in The Beatles. By nine, I wanted to be a brain scientist. At 18, I joined a pharmaceutical company as a chemist and traveled the world, fixing factories and scaling up life-saving drugs, including the world’s first treatment for HIV / AIDS and work to introduce human insulin to the world. By 29 I became... more

by professor innovation management IMD Business School Bill Fischer – By now, everyone reading this knows (or should know) that you never want to be the so-called “smartest guy in the room.” Surround yourself with smarter people and you’ll all win. More ideas, more energy, more connections, smarter people make smart people even more successful. But, what about being “the dumbest guy in the room”? Ever think of that? Have you ever aspired to be the one who asks the dumbest questions? In fact, we think that someone has to do this in order to take most conversations to a higher level, and yet most of us instinctively shun such a role to the extent that it often never happens, and we’re all the... more

by beCause Global Associate, Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, Chairman Africa Dispute Resolution Company, acting judge High Court of South Africa, who served as Commissioner on Truth & Reconciliation Commission and President of Black Lawyers Association: transcript of remarks he gave at 4th International Africa Peace And Conflict Resolution Conference *** It is my singular pleasure and honour to address an occasion such as this, when luminaries from the African continent have been marshalled for the next TWO days to be here in JOHANNESBURG, a city which the Mothers and Fathers thereof, like to call a “world class African city”, whatever they mean by that. The Conference is organized by organizations BOTH of which are in the business of PROMOTING PEACE and seeking to... more