The Breakthrough Challenge

Download or read book The Breakthrough Challenge written by John Elkington and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2014-07-22 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world’s most forward-looking CEOs recognize the realchallenge facing business today: a fundamental shift in the natureof commerce. While sustainability programs, government action, andnonprofits are all parts of the solution, CEOs and other leadersmust focus on social, environmental, and economic benefit—notonly because it will make the world a better place, but because itwill ensure lasting profitability and success in the businessclimate of tomorrow. The Breakthrough Challenge is both an inspiringcall-to-action and a guide for this transformation, based on thework of The B Team, a major initiative uniting leaders insustainability. As a founding advisor and member of The B Team,John Elkington and Jochen Zeitz map out an agenda for change. Themost important goal for businesses must be redefining the bottomline to account for true long-term costs throughout the supplychain. To achieve this, leaders must rethink everything: whatcounts on balance sheets, how to incentivize performance, who doeswhat in the C-suite, and even what inspires us. The BreakthroughChallenge draws on over 100 exclusive interviews to show thisshift in action, sharing the pioneering work of leaders such asPaul Polman, CEO of Unilever; Arianna Huffington, founder and CEOof The Huffington Post; Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman ofthe Nestlé Group; and Linda Fisher, pioneering ChiefSustainability Officer at DuPont, among many others. Change-as-usual strategies are not enough to move business frombreakdowns to breakthroughs. The Breakthrough Challengeshows leaders how to achieve a true transformation and refocus thedefinition of profitability on the lasting wellbeing of people andplanet—for the lasting success of their business.