Name: 3Pillar Global CEO: 'We need to put the humanity back into business'
Uploaded: 2020-02-11
Duration: 5 min 52 s
Description: David DeWolf says employees and customers are just as important as shareholders.

3Pillar Global CEO: 'We need to put the humanity back into business'

Leadership

DeWolf says value to shareholders is just one success metric

3Pillar Global CEO: 'Put the humanity back into business'

David DeWolf says employees and customers are just as important as shareholders.

David. Let's begin talking about three pillar. Many people may not be a familiar with the kinds of service is that your software company provides. So what's the company's mission? What's amazing is that they may not be familiar with three pillar, but they are from there with our software. We build software products that help companies to compete in this digital economy, and we estimate that between 50 and 75% of Americans actually use our software every day. Things like If you've ever watched Downton Abbey on PBS, you've used our software. Have you ever parked in a city using Park Mobile? You've used our software, those types of products in the digital native in these evolving companies that are becoming digital. That's what we help them to do. As you know, there's been a lot of discussion recently about the Business Roundtable decision to change the definition of what is the mission of American corporations and throw the purpose that they're now saying is no longer to make money for shareholders. Now it's a commitment to serve all stakeholders. What is the significance of this development? I think that the significance of what the round table has done is calling into question what is the end and what it means for so long. We have operated against this idea that maximizing shareholder value is the ends, and we may need to investor in our employees to accomplish that or invest in our communities, because that's what's needed to maximize shareholder value. I think what the round table is done is turn this on its head and said, that is it now Not that all constituencies matter and that we need to put the humanity back into business. I think also comes down to How do you measure success, How you measure that doing good is good for business Or maybe not. Right, right. Well, I think Good for businesses. A question right in a world where good for business always equalled, maximizing shareholder return as one definition in a world where our job is to serve the community we live in to serve the employees we work with write help individuals to rise through the ranks to get Maur participation in the economic success of businesses. There are different metrics that we can look at one of the things we look at our own business. I can tell you how many entrepreneurs we've had that have left and started their own businesses, and that gets us excited. We can talk about the individuals who started as young employees right after school and work their way throughout the ranks of our organization. Those types of things should as excited as much. And we should look at those metrics, not just the metrics that tell us whether the shareholders are getting every turn, but the metrics that point to the rest of the constituencies as well. Is there a downside risk man for successful companies to keep on doing business the way they have been successfully for decades? What is it that we say all the time? The only constant is change. Right change is always happening, and there's no doubt that me organizations need to embrace the change that's happening right now because I think it is for the better. And by doing so, I think what they'll have the ability to do is stay relevant. There is a reason why the Fortune 500 is turning over as often as it is right. It's because if you don't stay up with the changing times, if you don't embrace new ideas, somebody else will surpass you and figure out a better way to do it. So, yeah, I think there's a lot of downside risk for those who continue to be maniacally focused on serving only one constituency, the shareholder and everybody to stay relevant. Today, I think has to embrace this idea that all of my constituents matter, and their conversation now has turning beyond just what companies are doing. They're coming into question about how much has our capitalism philosophy? How well has it done for society? What, your thoughts? Yeah, I think there's a big question. You said a key word there, which was philosophy, and I think, defining what we mean by capitalism defining and pushing into the philosophy behind it. If you look at it just surely, in terms of free markets, there is no doubt that capitalism has created all sorts of wealth. The question is, how has that wealth been dispersed throughout all people? And does it only serve one constituency where again, does it? Serge, all of the constituencies? And so what I see is movement such as the conscious capitalism movement that are coming out and saying there is a better way to do business that there are there can be free markets. We can operate within a capitalistic society. But be smart and be noble about that capitalism. And I really think that there's something to that. I think it's an evolution of capitalism that's absolutely necessary. So that again we're putting that human person back into it, as opposed to just focusing on the dollar. What do you think is gonna be the next big idea for the next decade? One of the ideas that I'm most fascinated by, especially in this world where we focus so much on stem education, science and technology, is the idea that what we're missing right now is the humanities and that humanity's air going to make a resurgence and you're gonna start to see in our formal education are re emergence, not necessarily just of the humanities, but how did they intersect with the stem education that we're bringing to the table now? I think this is imp important and relevant because of the world we live in with a eye these days. When you look at machine learning in artificial intelligence, you see all sorts of moral and ethical questions being raised about. How does this impact jobs? How does it impact people? And I think we need young professionals to be grounded in humanities, to help us navigate how these technologies apply to our lives. And I think in 10 years we're gonna look back and really wonder, What were we doing 10 years ago, where we were operating with such a focus on science and technology without having the grounding and critical thinking and the humanities?