Introducing The B Team, a global non-profit founded by Jochen Zeitz, me and a group of wonderful partners and leaders. We will work together to deliver a Plan B for businesses -- a new way of doing business that prioritizes people and the planet alongside profit.
The B Team are working with government agencies, the social sector, and business leaders to help get on top of some of the world's seemingly intractable challenges. We are keen to listen, learn and share with others to build businesses that do what's right for people and the planet.
I have sat and watched The Elders at work over the last few years, dealing with conflict resolution issues around the globe. In those meetings I have often thought wouldn't it be great to get some key business leaders together to think about the issues facing the world? Why can't we work together to see how business could be a true force for good?
So we have decided to give it a go and worked with Virgin Unite to incubate The B Team. We have some excellent business leaders joining us, including: Arianna Huffington, Mo Ibrahim, Paul Polman, Ratan Tata, Guilherme Leal, Strive Masiyiwa, François-Henri Pinault, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Shari Arison, Kathy Calvin and Honorary Leaders Mary Robinson and Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland.
We will address three initial Challenges: "The Future of Leadership," "The Future Bottom Line" and "The Future of Incentives." The aim of these Challenges is to help focus business away from short-term gain and to balance the long-term benefits for people and planet.
It shouldn't just be left to politicians and community organizations to tackle the world's problems -- businesses should help, too. Although individually lots of businesses do great things, collectively they could be far more powerful and do much more good. I have high hopes that The B Team can make a real difference.
We want to start a global conversation on a Plan B for business. We'll be holding community events and encouraging you to send in your ideas. So head over to The B Team to find out more and get involved.
This post originally appeared on LinkedIn.