“I couldn’t care less” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said of day traders during the company’s quarterly earnings call last week. “Please sell our stock and don’t buy it.” Later, he called a question about short-term expectations “boneheaded” (the answer was already in the Q1 press release).
When Spotify “went public” last week, it did so in name only, eschewing the usual fanfare of ringing the opening bell at the NYSE and most of the conventions of an IPO. While the price exceeded expectations in the early hours of trading—the most customary measure of success—CEO Daniel Ek had already made clear his real goal: to directly match public buyers with private sellers.
By any measure, Larry Fink’s letter to CEOs this year is a game changer. When the head of BlackRock, the largest investor in the world, says that companies must produce not only profits, but contributions to society, it sends a powerful message. I pray it leads to thoughtful conversation in boardrooms and the c-suite. But that will require a careful reading of the letter itself, not just the early press—which sets up an age-old, worn-out debate about the social responsibility of business.
The global corporation is the most influential institution of our day, more powerful and resilient than all but a few governments. Our current approach to business is not fair, and our system is fraying. Inequality is growing, the middle class continues to lose ground, and our infrastructure and political system are suffering.
