Hubert Joly on corporate purpose
From FIRG Seminar - Hubert Joly, Harvard Business School · · Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy
“Contrary to what Milton Friedman wanted us to believe, it's important for business to be a force for good in the world. And my conviction with many years in business... is that business can do well by doing good. It's by doing good that we can do well.”
On , Hubert Joly, Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Best Buy, spoke about corporate purpose during FIRG Seminar - Hubert Joly, Harvard Business School on Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy.
About Hubert Joly
Hubert Joly, former chairman and CEO of Best Buy, has been discussing his philosophy that business should serve a purpose beyond profit. In a recent interview, he stated that "the exclusive excessive focus on profit, that's not working" and argued that companies should be "a force for good." He described his belief that the purpose of a company is not to make money, but that the best organizations perform simultaneously on "people, business, and finance" dimensions, starting with the people imperative. Joly recounted how during his tenure at Best Buy, the company redefined itself "not as a retailer, but as being in the happiness business, enriching lives through technology." He described a personal transformation from seeking to be the smartest person in the room to becoming a more compassionate leader, and said that studying with Catholic monks and other CEOs led him to view work as "a noble calling to serve others." He also shared an anecdote about asking his executive team to bring childhood photos to an offsite, where they discussed their life stories and how they wanted to be remembered.