How CEOs in OC Take Action to Address Social Inequity

A Thought Leader Guest Post from Dr. Douglas A. Wilson of OC's CEO Leadership Alliance:

It’s Time To Think Bigger: Collective Action May Be Required

As Black Lives Matter protesters continue to march and communities take a hard look at the inequalities in our society, purposeful CEOs are taking action.

Going beyond issuing statements of support, they are examining how they need to do more to address embedded system issues that don’t seem to get better over time, but in fact can grow worse.

I’m fortunate to be Chairman of a group of 40 leading CEOs in Orange County, California, who are contributing to their local community and have been for several years to help drive system change that will address social inequity and create more opportunity for all.

Three and a half years ago we asked ourselves a question – “If we work together collectively and work to drive system change in our community over an extended period of time, is it worth the effort? Or are we better off just working individually as companies to make an impact and fulfill our commitments?”

The answer to this strategic question was a clear yes to working collectively. And the CEOs went on to say, “based on the challenges our county faces, we must work together with a focused strategy to make a long-term difference. Working independently will not get the job done.”

The CEOs then proceeded to do what is called a causal loop analysis. This research drives you to root issues, that if not fixed, will continue to produce symptoms such as the working poor, hunger, homelessness, crime and a myriad of other seemingly endless challenges.

We learned that in our region that the middle class was being hollowed out. Employment was growing, but the better jobs – the higher paying jobs – were not growing at a pace to provide an opportunity for people to thrive. We learned that if we invest in innovation jobs – jobs that drive a multiplier of five other new jobs – two professional and three service – we were going to get at solving root social issues in our region. If we did not grow the innovation jobs such as in software, AI, or medical technology, the symptoms of low paying service jobs would grow worse, and we would end up in a never-ending cycle of social inequity.

We are now in the early stages of a better jobs strategy. The end game is a better community with fewer people living at poverty levels and the opportunity for the many to enjoy a quality of life they were not able to attain before. Without business intervention and clear focus, the better jobs strategy would not be realized. Government can build better roads and better funding mechanisms for the poor, but they are not as skilled at structuring targeted innovations to drive system change.

Root issue work requires a multi-stakeholder approach at a regional level. Other regions taught us it is best led by business with academic institutions, non-profits, and governments all working together, each doing their part to move the needle in a positive direction. Why business? Because business has...