The World Needs Your Business

Our world is a very messed up place right now.

Terrorism. Racism. Secession. Recession. Brexit. Zika. It’s an easy list to keep adding to. I haven’t even mentioned the U.S. election yet, nor the Fort McMurray recovery process, nor the casualty rate of urban cyclists in Toronto.

There is a lot more going on than Pokémon Go’s virtual world can solve, that’s for sure.

Personally I have been struggling to find my voice. Would adding my commentary to the BLM protest at the Pride parade really help when I am not a member of the LGBT community? Would recalling my tales of being pulled over in Toronto for DWB (Driving While Black) contradict my fundamental respect for the courage of those who choose to protect me and my family? Would beseeching my government to stop terrorism make me any safer at home or abroad? Just because I live in a Commonwealth country, does that justify my having an opinion on Brexit?

Maybe it isn’t finding my voice that is the challenge, but rather finding a voice that can contribute to solving these problems. I am sure I am not alone in this quandary. Each of these global flash points are fuelling massive online and offline conversations. Just days ago I was at a party where highly educated people were telling me they have cancelled travel plans this summer for fear of their safety. Their destination? Nashville, Tennessee! They aren’t alone. Look at the unbelievable surge in tourism to places like Cape Breton. Pay attention to the speculation of real estate price surges in countries like Canada that Brexit is causing.

At dinner tables, coffee shops, and offices the discussion about Black Lives versus All Lives versus My Life has taken over. Even the MLB All-Star Game, thanks to the formerly named Canadian Tenors. I am over fifty and rarely have I had more discussion about race with my colleagues, friends, and family than now. Every time I unlock my phone I brace myself for another shooting or protest. My sadness over innocent cops being slaughtered is as profound as a poor guy being killed as a result of a busted taillight. How?

I doubt you will see me protesting. Or wearing an inflammatory shirt. Or writing an op-ed to the nation’s most respected media sources. But I have to do something. I can’t sit idly by. So I will do this.

I will share a message with you. To my colleagues in business. In sport. In philanthropy. In marketing. In entrepreneurship. In advertising. In volunteer coaching. In life.

The World Needs Your Business.

The World Needs Your Business to support equality and inclusiveness.

The World Needs Your Business to support the sharing of resources and the spreading of wealth.

The World Needs Your Business to seek honest leaders who are tolerant and progressive.

The World Needs Your Business to rescue Mideast refugees, fund park rangers defending endangered lands and species in Africa, and to invest in jobs that will get youth out of drug gangs in Mexico.

The World Needs Your Business to dispel propaganda, unwrite years of hatred, and rewire brains schooled to despise their perceived enemies.

We are a planet of wealth, resources, and abundance. Yet it is held hostage by a few, to the detriment of others. I am not a socialist, but I am a humanist. People need help. The world needs to be saved by the people who inhabit it. Hatred stems from not having the basics. Hatred stems from having no hope. Hatred stems from starvation.

Businesses around the world can and must play a role. They must do more than hang rainbow flags in their windows. They must do more than parade out their diversity programs. They must do more than promise ethical sourcing.

Businesses are filled with people. You. Me. Humans. Businesses are not machines. But they are the most significant organizational entities in the world. There are thirty-five million active soldiers in the ten largest armies in the world. That’s just around the population of Canada. It’s time for the rest of the world’s non-combat troops to form an army for change. You can be a leader of those forces.

The World Needs Your Business. The World Needs You. I Need You.