Rapid Response: Why business must be a force for good, w/former American Express CEO Ken Chenault
Masters of Scale
WaitWhat
4.6 • 4.4K Ratings
🗓️ 2 June 2022
⏱️ 34 minutes
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Summary
"Corporations can be a force for good – and they can also be very successful," says Ken Chenault, chair of investment firm General Catalyst and former longtime CEO of American Express. During the past year, Ken has been an outspoken advocate for business leaders to actively engage in societal matters. After George Floyd’s death, he and Merck CEO Ken Frazier launched OneTen, a coalition to create 1 million jobs for Black Americans that now includes major brands from IBM to Nike to Walmart. Chenault has pushed corporate chiefs to use their leverage to protect voting rights, and he's come out with a platform for Responsible Innovation that puts what he calls “social due diligence” alongside financial due diligence. Standing up for what's right, Ken says, fuels long-term success: "The most important thing is the quest for truth, character, and values."
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, Listers, it's Bob. As we move past the second anniversary of George Floyd's murder, |
| 0:06.1 | we're re-releasing my rapid response episode with Ken Chinol, the former CEO of American Express, |
| 0:12.6 | and one of the few longstanding black leaders at the top of the Fortune 500. Ken is now chair |
| 0:18.5 | a VC firm general catalyst, and co-founder of the nonprofit 110 dedicated to opening workforce |
| 0:25.3 | opportunities for black Americans. It's among the most memorable episodes I've done. Ken shares |
| 0:31.8 | how George Floyd's death motivated him, and he reflects on his experiences as a black leader in |
| 0:37.6 | business and on the responsibilities of all leaders. He also provides deep lessons about driving |
| 0:43.5 | success and long-term impact and the connection between social action and the scale journey. |
| 0:49.9 | Since this episode was originally released, Ken's firm general catalyst launched its responsible |
| 0:55.5 | innovation labs, and Ken himself has been active with concordance and organization focused on |
| 1:01.2 | reducing the rate of recidivism among the formerly incarcerated, as well as multiverse, a firm |
| 1:07.2 | dedicated to apprenticeships as a pathway to accessible sustainable jobs. The 110-non-profit |
| 1:14.0 | announced after just a few months that it had co-lessed more than 60 member companies and generated |
| 1:20.0 | 17,000 new jobs for black Americans. But as you'll hear in Ken's stories, these efforts are only |
| 1:26.7 | the beginning of his ongoing goals for himself and for all of us. Even if you've listened to this |
| 1:32.8 | episode before, I encourage you to listen again. I keep finding new insights every time I hear it. |
| 1:39.3 | You're in for something special. Thanks, and here it comes. In a crisis, |
| 1:46.1 | reputations are made or lost. If you don't have core values and beliefs, you fold. Trust is so |
| 1:55.8 | important in a crisis because people are scared. I went through different crises. There was a mantra |
| 2:04.8 | that I still think about every day, define reality, give hope. We have a responsibility |
| 2:13.4 | in an obligation. When people say to me, business should stay out of society. I reject that. |
| 2:21.6 | If we're going to prosper in the long term, we need a very strong society. |
... |
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