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Quote by Robert Reich

“In the early 1970s, Milton Friedman argued that corporations should not be socially responsible because they had no mandate to be; they existed to make money, not to be charitable institutions. But in the economy of the 21st century, corporations cannot be socially responsible, if social responsibility is understood to mean sacrificing profits for the sake of some perceived social good. That's because competition has become so much more intense.”

Quote by Robert Reich

Author

Robert Reich, born on June 24, 1946, is a former United States Secretary of Labor. He is an economist, author, and public intellectual, who served as the Secretary of Labor under the Clinton administration. Reich is known for his profound insights into labor markets and economic policies. more

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“As to the meaning of "corporate social responsibility," Friedman and I would agree: If a certain action improves the corporation's bottom line, there's no point in labeling it "socially responsible." It's just good business.”

Ifs Action Certain Social Lines Business Responsibility Responsible Agree Bottom Corporate Corporations Social Responsibility Bottom Line No Point Good Business Labeling Corporate Social Responsibility

Author:Robert Reich

“Yes, I am optimistic about the environment. If you assume business is exerting the most negative influence on the environment and also has the possibility to impact it positively, there are a bunch of forces that are impacting business that are fundamentally different from the situation 3 or 4 years ago.”

Ifs Years Different Force Business Situation Environment Influence Possibility Negative Years Ago Impact Assuming Bunch Optimistic Positively Negative Influence

Author:Jeffrey Hollender

“Peter Drucker has pointed out that it is a manager's job to "do things right." It is an executive's job to make sure "the right things" get done. Even the most rigorous eco-efficient business paradigm does not challenge basic practices and methods: a shoe, building, factory, car, or shampoo can remain fundamentally ill-designed even as the materials and processes involved in its manufacture become more "efficient."”

Source: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

“Our concept of eco-effectiveness means working on the right things - on the right products and services and systems - instead of making the wrong things less bad. Once you are doing the right things, then doing them "right," with the help of efficiency among other tools, makes perfect sense.”

Mean Helping Perfect Business Products Concepts Tools Right Thing Efficiency Effectiveness Wrong Things Doing The Right Thing Eco

Book:Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

Source: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

“If there's a big problem and you've got the right people with you, usually the answer emerges and you do what's the obvious thing to do. I don't think of myself as some great manager or great leader. I've been very lucky to be in the positions that I've been in. I meet a lot of people and I've grown a lot of companies, and I meet a lot of CEOs at big enterprises. I'm always so surprised at how much they seem to know. It doesn't always seem to be correlated to how well they actually do.”

“I'm amazed by the potential of more companies employing integrated philanthropic initiatives at earlier stages in their life cycle. What if this were done on an even more massive scale? Consider what would happen if a top-tier venture-capital firm required the companies in which it invested to place 1% of their equity into a foundation serving the communities in which they do business.”

Source: The Business of Changing the World: Twenty Great Leaders on Strategic Corporate Philanthropy

“"Patents make our product defensible." The optimal number of times to use the P word in a presentation is one. Just once, say, "We have filed patents for what we are doing." Done. The second time you say it, venture capitalists begin to suspect that you are depending too much on patents for defensibility. The third time you say it, you are holding a sign above your head that says, "I am clueless."”

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Book:Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition

Source: Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition

“If you believe that every life has equal value, it’s revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not. We said to ourselves: “This can’t be true. But if it is true, it deserves to be the priority of our giving.””

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Author:Bill Gates

“The answer is simple, and harsh. The market did not reward saving the lives of these children, and governments did not subsidize it. So the children died because their mothers and their fathers had no power in the market and no voice in the system.”

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Author:Bill Gates

“If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world. This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a conscious effort to answer this challenge will change the world.”

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Author:Bill Gates