Inside the Karl Miller Center at Portland State University.
Over the past three weeks, I’ve had a conversation with two groups of students that left me more hopeful than I’ve felt in a long time.
The first was an MBA class at Portland State University’s Karl Miller Center. The second was the Net Impact chapter at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Both invited me to talk about the Oregon benefit company, a business structure that lets a company build purpose into its legal DNA. They wanted to know why it matters and how it might shape their futures, and the planet’s, in the decades ahead.
I told them what I believe: you are the people who will start, run, fund, or advise businesses. At some point, someone will ask whether you can build purpose into the company itself, not just the marketing.
Their generation is already telling us what it wants.
I also shared some research on Gen Z from respected research organizations such as Gallup and Deloitte:
65% are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products and services.
89% say a sense of purpose is important to their job satisfaction and well-being, and 44% have left a job because it lacked purpose.
79% want a job primarily focused on helping others or making a positive difference.
66% say a brand’s positive social impact matters when deciding whether to buy from or support it.
But the numbers weren’t the best part.
What gave me a huge dose of good juju was what I saw up close: the questions they asked, the comments they made, the energy in the room. And a common question from both groups: how do you know if these certified businesses were practicing what they preach.
These weren’t students looking for a talking point. They want business to do good for people and the planet, and to be a force for good in our state, our country, and our world.
These two experiences not only inspired me. They gave this boomer a ton of hope for a better world.