Name: Beyond Curious CEO: Social Responsibility Matters in a Digital World
Uploaded: 2018-08-08
Duration: 5 min 24 s
Description: Global corporations can play a relevant role in society and connect with consumers, Nikki Barua says.

[ MUSIC ] Nikki we are curious about Beyond Curious, the company that you founded seven years ago. Tell us what you do. So Beyond Curious is data transmission consultancy that helps really large companies that are legacy businesses. Become modern digital businesses. So we helped them not only adapt to that change, but become more agile and innovative. So that's why we say we helped make elephants run. That's a real tough assignment to help these big companies re- invent themselves. What's the key thing that you tell them that they have to relearn In order to pull off the transformation. There is several components to that but the most important things is getting clear on purpose. And the reson for that is when you are reinventing yourself to additonal business you are reflectively running to races at the same time. The business you have and the business you want to be in. And you'll have to be absolutely crystal clear about your purpose. But then, you have to follow that up with courageous leadership and environment that encourages you people to be bold and risk taking. And finally, you have to have the conviction to stay in the course, and not just give up the first time of Failure, and so we help our clients really figure out how they can create that environment where they're not only defining the future, but also building the capabilities and culture of innovation and inclusion together. As you know from consulting with many of these big business clients One of the areas that they are trying to transform themselves is to line up their social responsibility initiatives with their core mission. What do you think that businesses have to do to achieve those kinds of goals? First off, the most important thing to keep in mind is the days where corporate and social responsibility was a department and a side initiative. That's dead. If it's not part of who you are as a company, if it's not connected to your mission and values, you will not truly have a relevant role in society or in business anymore because your customers are making those choices based on what brands they're choosing to spend with and your talent is choosing who they wanna Be part of. And so it's really important to be purpose- driven at your core, and thinking about how do you want to create impact in society, and how do you fashion all your products and services and your entire culture around that? I mean, right now we're pretty much seeing the boss at the top, the CEO who is coming out and making some bold decisions, and it's just serendipity. Starbucks and on the racial bias training, Delta Airlines on gun control, Microsoft on immigration. Do you think that they're making an impact? Absolutely, I think every one of these stances that are taken by bold leaders and by the CEOs Sets a new precedent. But clearly that's not enough. I think that there's need for more companies, more leaders to join into that. At the end of the day, we're at this crux of massive social change and challenges that society is facing. Not just here in the U. S. but around the world. And for global corporations, especially important to really be driven by those values. It's not about what side of the fence you're on. It's really thinking in terms of social impact and policy and having a voice. That speaks up for that, because that informs your entire organization about what values you stand for. And to have that visibility is absolutely critical for modern day organizations. So you spent the day here at the Fortune CEO Initiative Conference where these were all of the topics that were being discussed. What stood out for you the most? So what stood out for me the most here at the conference, was the discussion around creating the workforce that is needed to solve the really challenging problems that businesses and society face. I think what's exciting is the number of companies and leaders that are focused on not only addressing the skills gap, but also the gender diversity gap. For preparing their companies and the talent pool for the future. What about for you, you're a young entrepreneur CEO. You probably have a different perspective than some of these big company CEOs. What are some of issues that you were weighing and on publicly and taking it instead? I think regardless of the size of company you're in I think it's more imperative today for leaders to speak up, you have to when you have the platform To have a voice, you must take a stance, and for me, I really believe in the power of diversity to fuel innovation, which is a business imperative today, so I'm a passionate advocate for diversity. What more would you like to see from some of the CEOs and companies Of saying or doing when it comes to having social impact. I believe there is a huge opportunity for even creating faster impact and greater skill of impact if there is more collaboration because these are not challenges that any one company or one leader can solve. Forum such as this one is terrific opportunity for real action, and real collaborations to go to market together. I'd like to see more of that happen. [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Beyond Curious CEO: Social Responsibility Matters in a Digital World

Tech

Global corporations can play a relevant role in society and connect with consumers, Nikki Barua says.