Good morning.
As the U.S. election heats up, many corporate leaders are backing down from their commitments to so-called “ESG” topics—climate, diversity, speaking out on social issues. They want to avoid being branded a “woke” CEO or getting caught in political crossfire.
But for the best companies, this discussion has never been about politics or adhering to some alphabet mandate. It’s about how you lead a great company in an economy where people are your most important asset and where engaging and inspiring people is the route to business success.
I spent an hour earlier this week with three of the best of this breed, in a webinar Fortune held in partnership with UKG, timed to the release of Fortune’s 27th annual 100 Best Companies to Work For list. (You can find the list here.) Three CEOs ran companies on the list—Hilton (No. 1), Edward Jones (No. 31) and Delta (No. 94). But what I found interesting was that none of them focused on a splashy pay and benefit package, and indeed two of them achieved their success while recovering from the devastating effects of the pandemic.
How did they do it? Some excerpts from the conversation:
“We used to write a lot about the perks. But what we know is that a great workplace is defined by trust—the trust that we have for the people that we work with. We want to be respected. We want to be communicated with in an honest way. We want to be treated in a fair and equitable way. We want to work with people that we enjoy working with and we expect leaders to add people to teams that are going to add to that enjoyment. And we want our work to have special meaning, which means, when we go to work, our personal purpose is somehow fulfilled by the work that we do.”
—Michael Bush, CEO, Great Place to Work (Fortune‘s partner on the Best Companies list)
“We’re in a service industry, and our job is delivering exceptional experiences to our customers all the time…If I want to do that, and I want to do it better than our competitors and deliver that alpha. My team has to be inspired. They have to feel part of something bigger than them. They have to understand what the purpose is and understand how they fit into it and trust it. They have to feel good about it. And when they do feel good about it, they feel empowered. They give more effort, which translates into alpha and delivering better experiences for customers.”
—Chris Nassetta, CEO, Hilton
“Why are we here? Why do we get up every morning? Why do we continue to be resilient in the face of so many things that are changing for our clients and for us as professionals. Well, it’s because it really matters. It really matters in the lives of millions and millions of people that we are entrusted with their assets, with their hopes and dreams, with their financial plans. And so that trust, that human connection is very purposeful. “
—Penny Pennington, Managing Partner, Edward Jones
“Trust is foundational, as both Chris and Penny expressed well. It sits at the core of culture. It sits at the core of our business. Our customers trust us with respect to their lives, you know. Every day we put 500,000 people on our planes, and we take the very best care of them to get them safely and comfortably to their destination, and we do it 5,000 flights a day, with over 100,000 employees scattered around the world. Our employees have to know we have their back.”
—Ed Bastian, CEO, Delta.
More news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
South Korea’s elections
South Korea voters rejected President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conservative party in legislative elections on Wednesday. Korea’s opposition Democratic Party is on track to win over 170 seats in the legislature, just short of a super majority that can override presidential vetoes. Yoon has tried to deepen Korea’s security relationships with partners like the U.S. and Japan, but has stumbled in implementing domestic policy changes, like tax cuts and eased business regulations. Reuters
Simon & Schuster turns 100
Simon & Schuster celebrated its 100th anniversary on Tuesday, as the publisher's new owner KKR invests in new imprints and hires more editors. Fears that KKR would gut the publisher haven’t been born out: “That’s not how you deliver a return on investment in the current world,” says Richard Sarnoff, KKR’s chairman of media and chair of Simon & Schuster’s board. The New York Times
McKinsey layoffs
McKinsey will cut around 360 jobs globally, primarily in departments like design, data engineering, and software. Traditional consultants aren’t affected by the layoffs. Consulting firms are warning that their usual corporate clients are starting to pull back on long-term spending. Bloomberg
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Exclusive: Wiz acquires Gem Security by Allie Garfinkel
SEC moves to sue Uniswap in bid to hobble fast-growing DeFi sector by Jeff John Roberts
Engineers at Baltimore’s fallen port are working so diligently, they expect to restore service months earlier than expected by Dylan Sloan
French IT firm Atos was once a crown jewel valued at $15 billion. Now, it’s drowning in debt, and the government is helping it stay afloat by Prarthana Prakash
How a ‘rebel’ hire at Autodesk ascended to the company’s top job by Fortune Editors
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
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