Work For Humans The System Is the Problem: Rethinking Business at the Systems Level | Sandra Waddock
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Jul 29, 2025 Sandra Waddock, a renowned Boston College professor and leading expert on systems change and sustainable business, delves into the radical shifts needed in corporate purpose. She critiques current growth-focused models, advocating for a holistic approach to organizational change. Waddock emphasizes the importance of leadership as a sense-making process and how small actions can incite substantial system transformations. The conversation explores the need for businesses to foster connections rather than control, alongside the role of moral imagination in crafting a flourishing future.
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Top-Down Management Limits Change
- Traditional top-down management is outdated and limits employee autonomy and happiness.
- Collaborative work aligned with a shared greater good leads to effective system change.
Beyond Corporate Responsibility
- Corporate social responsibility alone won't create meaningful change without transforming business ecosystems.
- Businesses respond to system pressures like maximizing shareholder value; changing the system is essential.
Rethinking Business Purpose
- The purpose of business is often narrowly framed to maximize shareholder wealth, driven by neoliberal economics.
- Redefining business as creating well-being for all would broaden success measures beyond profit.
