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Jonathan J. Halperin
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What is the Modern Corporation?
Howard Schultz, founder and CEO of Starbucks, shared his thoughts this morning at Aspen in discussion with Joe Nocera of the New York Times. His was an impassioned, articulate, unwavering championing of the view that long-term business value is created and protected only by having a focus beyond profits. Not excluding profits – but surely not only profit.
It was a tour de force presentation mixing values and passion with hard-nosed investment and business strategy. Responding to a comment from Joe Nocera about Howard’s unique background, both as the company founder and a kid from Brooklyn who grew up in public housing, I reframed the question back to the link between organizational and leadership values – and perceptions of time.
For video of the entire presentation and Q & A session,
visit the 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival channel on FORA.tv.
(The exchange above appears at 50:20-53:47.)
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When I began to unhook from SustainAbility in 2008, after 20+ years, to co-found Volans, Jonathan was working with the US end of SustainAbility — and sent the London end of the Volans team a large cardboard box of multi-colored felt rocks, which initially I couldn't make head nor tail of. I thought he was mad, or overly American.
But I have to say that, over time, those felt rocks have become a central feature of the Volans culture, thrown by team members at other team members (or guests) on the slightest provocation. That aside, he's a consummate professional, creative collaborator, skilled communicator, and keen intellect—and I am delighted both to have had Jonathan as a colleague and to now count him as a friend.
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