Memo to: CEOs

By: Robert Simons, Henry Mintzberg, and Kunal BasuWed Dec 19, 2007 at 12:34 AM

Business is at a crossroads. Scandal and recession have cast a pall on the way CEOs go about leading their companies. Three distinguished professors send this memo -- Five Half-truths of Business -- as a wake-up call.

Of course, we can all take pride in capitalism's global triumph over communism and in its spread around the world. Or can we? The recent backlash against globalization is due in no small part to the promises that capitalism hasn't kept to poor people in poor countries -- those whose boats have not been lifted. In some countries in South America and Africa, the top 20% of the population gets more than 60% of the nation's income, while the bottom 10% of the population gets less than 1%.

Business -- and capitalism -- are at a crossroads. Newspaper headlines today suggest a gathering crisis, one of performance, values, and confidence. It's time for CEOs to rally around a new set of business truths. It's time for an agenda that restores faith in business, trust in business leaders, and hope in the future.

Contact Robert Simons (simons@hbs.edu), Henry Mintzberg (mintzber@management.mcgill.ca), and Kunal Basu (kunal.basu@templeton.oxford.ac.uk) by email. Find a longer draft of this memo on the Web (www.henrymintzberg.com).