Organization 21C: Someday All Organizations Will Lead This Way

Conclusions

This chapter has raised questions not only about the validity, but also about the long-run efficacy of single-minded attention to shareholder value. While in theory such attention should lead to a proper consideration of other elements of purpose and accelerate shareholder value creation, in practice it is obvious that its application is often too narrow: Today's leadership often ignores the backlash of underestimation of other important elements of stakeholder purpose and/or the positive multiplier effect that proper attention to these factors could have.

We have concluded that in all businesses, long-term success requires attention to this balance, but in some businesses it is much more difficult to achieve than in others. In businesses ...