This document summarizes the keynote speech by Jenna Nicholas at the 28th international learning event of the ethical business building the future organization on rethinking the governance of organizations from May 17-20, 2018 in Geneva. The speech discussed the need to develop new generations of leaders aware of interdependence between financial resources and sustainable development. It also highlighted ideas around moving away from elite-driven decision making and reexamining structures that contribute to exclusion. Examples of impact experiences in West Virginia, Oakland, and hurricane recovery in Houston were provided.

1. Geneva - 17th to 20th May 2018
ebbf’s 28th international learning event
ethical business building the future,
rethinking the governance
of your organization
#ebbfgovernance
proceedings
Keynote
Jenna Nicholas
Rethinking Governance - collaborative experiences

2. Jenna Nicholas
May, 2018
EBBF -
Rethinking Governance

4. “There is a problem in that it has no driver. Unregulated
globalization, characterized by the lack of cooperation within the so-
called “international community” …. has little chance of producing
the sustainable world future generations would have the right to
expect …. We will need to develop a new generation of leaders
aware of the interdependence between the way we run financial
resources on this planet and its impact on sustainable development”
Henri-Claude de Bettignies, ‘Finance for a Better World’

5. “Destructive forces are uprooting time-honoured
institutions which were a haven and refuge for the
inhabitants of the earth in bygone days and centuries,
and around which revolved all human affairs.”
Universal House of Justice, 1980

6. “The ideology of purpose that will dominate the future is
one that finds acceptance and participation by society at
large, unleashes human potential, draws individuals and
organizations towards ethical behaviour, and makes it
possible for every human being to make a difference.
Only the purpose of ‘serving the real needs of humanity’
is likely to meet these requirements”
Purpose beyond Profit, Marjo Lips-Wiersma, 2008

7. The Starfish and the Spider: The unstoppable power of
leaderless organizations, Ori Brafman and Rod
Beckstrom

8. “Across sectors, elite-driven, top-down decision-making is
increasingly viewed with suspicion, if not outright hostility.
Foundations that are unwilling to examine their decision-
making practices risk being seen as part of the problem,
rather than as the problem-solvers they were established to
be.”
Ford Foundation

9. “In the final analysis, it is clear that a flourishing society cannot be built
by the materially wealthy on behalf of the materially poor. In order to
move forward, structures, which have contributed to the exclusion of the
materially poor will need to be re-examined, a genuine reassessment of
the distribution of power and wealth will need to take place; the inherent
relationship between the extremes of wealth and poverty will need to be
recognized; and progress will need to be reframed in terms of the
harmony between the moral and material dimensions of human life”
Baha’i International Community

11. Impact Experience W Virginia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lawUDIUffc

12. Oakland Impact Experience

13. Impact Experience Houston Hurricane Recovery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sXBFm7g9bc

14. Thank You!
Jenna Nicholas
CEO, Impact Experience
jenna@impact-
experience.com
www.impact-experience.com