At exactly 6:30pm this past December 31st, my husband and I were leading a rousing New Year’s dance party for our kids, complete with a Paw Patrol-themed countdown on the TV, sparkling apple juice and Bluey New Year’s Eve hats and noise makers. Like many parents, we ensured that our kids had the magic of the evening while preserving the sanctity of bedtime. After the last song, an energetic go around of “Who let the dogs out,”
my 8-year-old flopped on the sofa and exclaimed, “I can’t wait until I’m a grown-up and I get to be the one who decides everything.” I couldn’t help but laugh as I pushed up my sparkly Dingo-themed hat and told him he was way more in charge than he realized.
The power of influence is not just evident in two exhausted parents wearing Bluey hats at 6:30pm on New Year's. You have it too. You experience the power through influence every Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm, or every time you go to make a new purchase. It’s there in the role we all have as players in the private sector. Businesses need you as employers, employees, vendors, funders or consumers, and the government needs businesses. With that power you have the ability to fight for a just economy. Regardless of whether you’re a junior employee who says that your company's carbon footprint is important on a survey or a CEO pitching a human-centric employee package to your board, we all hold power in the private sector, and the private sector is powerful.
It has been an absolute pleasure to take the helm at ASBN over the past 2+ months. I was thrilled to be introduced to a motivated, intelligent staff and some really great work. It’s clear that ASBN’s staff and the Boards are high-performing, dedicated individuals who will be invaluable to our growth over the coming year. I am so appreciative of not just our members but of our partners who lean into the potential they have to drive systems change.
It is time for sustainable businesses to transform what it means to be “pro-business.” Pro-business is not pro-shareholder value; it’s pro-stakeholder value. Pro-business is not short-term gain but sustainable prosperity for all.
To that end, here are my 2025 Ins and Outs:
In
A robust community of like-minded businesses and individuals
Doing hard things, and standing up for what's right
Listening
Building diverse communities
Transparency
Collective Action
Out
Feeling powerless
Your impact being decided by your revenue
Greenwashing
Empty promises
The old way of doing business
If your New Year’s resolution includes joining the INs of sustainable trends in 2025, I invite you to show your support and get a head start today.
