Purpose 360 with Carol Cone

Purpose 360 with Carol Cone Trailer Bonus Episode 71 Season 1

Igniting the B Corp Movement with Chris Marquis

Igniting the B Corp Movement with Chris MarquisIgniting the B Corp Movement with Chris Marquis

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On the anniversary of Milton Friedman’s prophetic—and now contentious—statement that the sole social responsibility of a business is to produce a profit, we spoke with one of the foremost champions of the B Corp movement.

Show Notes

On the anniversary of Milton Friedman’s prophetic—and now contentious—statement that the sole social responsibility of a business is to produce a profit, we spoke with one of the foremost champions of the B Corp movement. 
B Corps, of course, are businesses built to drive returns for the “triple bottom line” by balancing
purpose and profit. To talk about the movement, the future of purpose-driven business, and how things have changed since the Friedman days, we welcome Chris Marquis, PhD, a professor at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and expert on the B Corp movement. 
Be sure to pick up a copy of his newly-released book, Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism.
Listen for Marquis insights on:
  • Why and how the B Corp movement started, and how it has evolved—today encompassing 3,522 companies representing 150 industries, across 74 countries
  • Why pursuing the triple bottom line is better for business, and how companies large and small, global and local, are focusing or refocusing operations, culture, and innovation on it
  • How business, capitalism, and stakeholder relationships have changed since Friedman’s statement, and what the future holds for companies that commit to serve all stakeholders—not just shareholders
Links & Notes
  • (00:00) - Welcome to Purpose 360
  • (00:44) - Introducing to Chris Marquis – Cornell
  • (02:29) - Chris' New Book
  • (07:25) - Chris' Background in B-Corps
  • (09:49) - Writing the First Case
  • (11:06) - The Movement's Potential
  • (13:35) - What Is a B-Corp?
  • (17:45) - Why Patagonia Is So Impressive
  • (20:31) - Smaller Companies
  • (23:05) - Natura and Acquisitions to Evolve Culture
  • (27:35) - Increased Accountability
  • (31:30) - B-Corps in China
  • (34:17) - The Role of Young People
  • (38:30) - B-Corp Lessons for Big Companies
  • (40:59) - The Playbook
  • (42:25) - Creating an Internal Shift
  • (44:42) - Creating a Movement
  • (48:26) - Movement Growth Fears
  • (50:46) - Citizen Voices
  • (53:47) - Dreams for Chris' Book
  • (55:12) - Three Insights
  • (57:10) - Wrapping Up

What is Purpose 360 with Carol Cone?

Business is an unlikely hero: a force for good working to solve society's most pressing challenges, while boosting bottom line. This is social purpose at work. And it's a dynamic journey. Purpose 360 is a masterclass in unlocking the power of social purpose to ignite business and social impact. Host Carol Cone brings decades of social impact expertise and a 360-degree view of integrating social purpose into an organization into unfiltered conversations that illuminate today's big challenges and bigger ideas.