Get together to give back. This was a theme that CEOs also talked about at the CEO Initiative dinner that was hosted at the Washington home of CEOI member and Laurel Strategies CEO Alan Fleischmann earlier this week: the power of finding shared moments to come together for a cause that speaks to the core values of your company. Hilton has its Travel with Purpose Week. As Sara Morales, SVP of people and communities at Cisco, put it during our webinar: “Doing good for the world is doing good for business. It drives performance, engagement, and has an incredible impact outside of Cisco.” As a side benefit, it’s a compelling reason for remote workers to meet each other in real life.
Build trust across cultures. Trade patterns and alliances may shift, but great companies understand the importance of rotating across geographies to develop talent for leadership roles. At an individual level, they create space for people to embrace their own culture. It also means creating what Morales called “a path for everyone to participate in the AI economy.” And at a macro level, programs like Hilton’s “crisis concierge” reinforce the message that the company cares. “It all starts with leadership,” said Bush. “You can’t lead a great company and build high trust if you don’t care about people first.”
