Jeroen Smit on Fear and Courage
The discomfort in the boardroom is growing and is increasingly painful. Every day, with every new report, with every new study or insight, we know we are heading down the wrong path. We know it is time to change course. The spreadsheets of the last 50 years are no longer relevant. Our economy needs a massive systemic transformation to become sustainable, circular and inclusive… as no one can succeed when the world itself is failing.
These words are familiar, they have been repeated so many times. Lofty words, words that above all demand pioneers, with courageous leadership. Unfortunately, in The Hague this message is not acknowledged. More than ever, politicians are ruled by short-term issues; the next round of elections is never far away. Of course, the politicians also believe that our economy should be 50% circular by 2030, and entirely so by 2050. But regrettably, despite this formidable ambition, there is no canvassing for a different way of consuming (through pricing) or producing (the polluter pays) and distributing (the biggest buyers/consumers bear the bulk of the cost). We have a government that supports long-term climate ambitions but who, in the short term, to solicit voters' favor, frustrates those goals. What an indigence. Because meanwhile, the discomfort threatens to reach unsustainable proportions.
While national politics is not stepping up to the plate, business leaders will now have to take the lead. But they too fear stepping into the unknown, which of course is intimidating, and understandable. Having written about leadership in business for about 30 years, the classic tale about the rise and fall of usually well-intentioned managers who, if success lasts long enough, begin to believe in their own truth, is familiar. Because those who believe only their own truth will stop listening, get bogged down in what they know and think they know, and thus not notice that the world is changing, has different needs, has different demands. These leaders are not leading anymore. They believe that the only alternatives are winning or losing. They believe that those who color within the lines of the familiar will advance their careers. But this approach will not get us anywhere now. What we need now is courageous, out of the box thinking.
The philosopher Hannah Arendt said ‘Life is a march toward death, but humans are not born to die. Humans are born to begin something new.’ What is needed now is to start that something new, to act. Have the courage to announce bold decisions. Tell the world that products and services are going to become more expensive because from now on the true cost, including the effects on climate and biodiversity, will be factored in. Ensure and then make known that from now on your products will be of a quality to last half a lifetime. Make known that from now on a director will earn a maximum of 10 or 15 times that of the average employee. The time is right, the moment has arrived. The discomfort is about to explode. And remember, as the Dutch say: ‘When one sheep crosses the water, the herd will follow’.
Jeroen Smit is an investigative journalist and author. This column is an updated version of one he uttered during the ‘Discomfort in the Boardroom’ sessions, where directors and supervisory directors, academics and educators co-create their way toward a ‘humane’ governance practice. Discomfort in the Boardroom has been succeeded by the ‘Enhanced Governance’ project and takes place at Nyenrode Business University. Published in Management Scope 09 2024.