Brimming with excitement, amidst working around the clock to deliver our startup projects, we finished our pre-reads for our rendezvous with the President of IMD, Jean-François Manzoni. The President, a charismatic and an engaging leader, broke the ice by starting his address to the MBA audience on a light note.
Business & Society is one of the core subjects in Module Two, led by Professor Knut Haanaes. It highlights the need for the leadership of today and the future to focus on corporate sustainability, individual morals, and ethics.
We, tomorrow’s leaders, need to focus on the core issues of societies today. Besides a firm’s profitability, discussions on gender equality, diversity, corporate ethics, and social responsibility are of utmost importance. We need to align our actions and continue the journey to make the world a better place.
Intrigued, Juan Pablo asked for the motivation behind the session
Professor Manzoni emphasized the importance of overriding a few behavioral changes as we progress across the ranks in corporates. Human beings, and professionals like us, often fall prey to circumstances where we fail to take a bold step. This is often because we wish to conform to the norms of our businesses and avoid dissonance. The need for this session has become more imperative than ever so that, as future leaders, we do not become part of any transgression.
What actions are required if one finds themselves in an ethical dilemma?
The professor highlighted the need to seek help. He also asked us not to shy away from calling friends, family, and extended IMD family at the hour of need.
What are our key takeaways?
“Ethical implications of a decision fade away from our mind and we eventually fail to notice them.
We need to train our minds to tackle complex issues and when the world has a hard time, it needs us as leaders to tackle such situations. We need to revisit our learnings, as we know neurons that wire together fire together.”
Jean-François Manzoni
