A Conscious Capitalist’s Vision For Business School

Business guru and author Steve Denning

“The principal focus is on the customer and to deliver value to the customer,” Denning says. “The majority of thought leaders have crossed this bridge. The Fortune 500 and business schools have yet to cross it.”

HANDS OFF THE CORE CURRICULUM

A socially and financially destructive focus on shareholder value remains rife in B-school curricula, Denning says. “There are all sorts of supplementary courses which say the opposite but basically students get drilled into them in basic economics and basic accounting that this is what business is all about. Deans who fundamentally, absolutely, totally agree with me say, ‘Look, we are locked in this curriculum and touching that core curriculum is like breaking into Fort Knox.'”

Denning agrees with Sisodia that maximizing benefits to all stakeholders supports the ultimate goal of providing value to customers, but he finds the “purpose” element of conscious capitalism vague and less than helpful.

“Your purpose could be to maximize shareholder value,” he says. “That’s a lousy purpose.”

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