From the Editor

If there was ever any doubt that  successful economies depend upon  a healthy population, it has likely been  erased in the past year. COVID-19 has shown  us that  societal issues are not just legitimate areas of concern for business — they are sources of both risk and opportunity. Like market forces,  societal forces can profoundly affect the competitive environment.

This crisis has further validated the Business Roundtable’s pre-pandemic statement on corporate purpose, when  181 CEOs pledged a commitment to five stakeholder groups:  customers, employees, suppliers, communities and  shareholders. As we have  seen,  if one  member of this  group  is too weak  to play its role, the entire system can quickly crumble.

In this issue of Rotman Management, we put the spotlight on what  has  become the  Holy Grail  for organizations, economies and individuals alike: Health.

We kick the  issue  off on page  6 with Leading the Way to Recovery, the  story  of how  the  Creative Destruction Lab — founded by Rotman Professor Ajay Agrawal and now running at nine locations worldwide — redeployed its resources last March to focus on finding solutions to the global crisis.

While  the  long-term economic implications of COVID-19 are  not  yet  fully understood, former Bank of Montreal CEO Tony Comper argues that  lessons from earlier crises can guide those  responsible for the recovery, in Crisis Management: Lessons from the C-Suite on page 50.

On page  62, Accenture’s Janet Krstevski, Sonia Mathur and  Sarah Berger show  that  by supporting six dimensions of well-being, companies position themselves for a stronger future, in Unlocking Employee Potential: A Framework for Success.

Elsewhere in the issue, Sandra Rotman Chaired Professor in Health Sector  Strategy Brian Golden argues that  healthcare is a key driver  of prosperity on page 26; NYU Professor Pamela
Newkirk shares key insights from  her book,  Diversity Inc. with
 
Rotman Professor Sonia Kang on page  94; Globe and Mail columnist André Picard says  it’s time  to start  respecting our  elders  on page 97; and  Rotman alumna and  GE Canada CEO of Heather Chalmers looks at the challenges of leading through a pandemic on page 110.

As COVID-19  continues to linger  for longer  than  many  of us had hoped, we must remind ourselves that it has been during times of disruption and chaos that we have seen some of the big- gest changes in our economy and society.

During her  presentation to the  Creative Destruction Lab’s Vision  Council last  fall,  Canadian author and  Vision  Council member Margaret Atwood pointed out that,  “Historically, crises cause  great  rearrangements.” She went  on to say that  ours could include a redistribution of wealth and a widespread reconsideration of how we interact with the natural world.

What   exactly   will  the   forthcoming rearrangement  look like? While we don’t  yet know,  the good news  is that  if you are reading this, you can help to shape  the answer. We hope  this is- sue gets you thinking about the healthier future that we all want to create. 

Karen Christensen, Editor in Chief
editor@rotman.utoronto.ca

Twitter: @RotmanMgmtMag

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