Tell the world that we have hope

Writing for a column for Maundy Thursday is a first for me. As many may know, especially Catholics, maundy refers to Jesus’ washing of the feet of His disciples, an act that many today often refer to when they speak of servant or steward leadership.

It is in fact the perfect image of the leadership we need today, not just in government but across the many key sectors of society like business and the academe.

I have written many times in previous articles of the need for business to take on and embrace its role to improve lives of people and build better societies.

Promoting servant leadership therefore is one objective that companies can and should incorporate into their strategic plans as part of corporate governance and human resources development, as well as making this a priority for implementation or funding support of their corporate foundations and sustainability programs.

Companies may want to reach out to organizations like the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals or BCBP that already offers modules for servant leadership in the private sector. BCBP has adopted for its mission “to bring about transformation of the marketplace” by advocating for and promoting the “tenets of steward leadership, justice and integrity, and professional excellence.”

BCBP in fact is globally recognized for the work they do and proof of this is that they will host the 28th Uniapac World Congress this October, the first time ever in the Philippines. Uniapac is an international ecumenical organization started in 1931 and present in 40 countries that “advocates for an economy based on the respect of the dignity of the person and the sense of common good and for the promotion of business as a noble vocation.”

Philippine business would do well to work with the BCBP and support their hosting of the world congress. This is a golden opportunity for us to think global and act local. Given all the challenges of today’s world, solidarity in action has become extremely essential.

I have also written in the past about the Ramon V. del Rosario Award for Nation Building and the Ramon V. del Rosario Siklab Awards for Young Entrepreneurs. These awards recognize both seasoned business leaders and young business trailblazers. On July 25, another nation builder and some young entrepreneurs will again be honored as the search and selection process has begun.

This was announced at the recent launch of the Phinma-DLSU Center for Business and Society under De La Salle University’s Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This center aims to advocate for business as a force for good using research and case studies to help mold business sector servant leaders early in their collegiate and post-graduate lives as well as help rally business leaders and organizations to become champions of the advocacy.

Present at the launch were prominent leaders in business as well as the major business organizations. Joining them were leaders in academe as well as associations of business colleges. Representatives of both sectors expressed their support for the center and its business as a force for good advocacy.

I mention the BCBP, the awards programs, and the newly minted center as more reasons for us to hope for a better Philippines and a better world. Amidst the spreading conflict situations in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and Haiti, continuing climate change challenges and disruptions notable of which are the wildfires and flooding in various parts of the globe, the continuing rise of populism leading to the creation of deeply divided nations, and the growing divide between very few rich individuals and the rest of the world, over a billion of whom are mired in poverty-stricken lives, the blooming and nurturing of more and more initiatives are critical.

While climate change is viewed as an existential risk, I believe that the other global challenges are accelerating humanity’s march to the precipice. And the growing pessimism, especially among our youth, must be addressed with reasons to hope, with reasons to continue to fight the good fight.

This is what the various business- and academe-led initiatives are determined to deliver. Actionable hope as I would like to call it. Hope that comes in the form of concrete efforts and activities that are able to measure social impact and not just count heads, number of beneficiaries and pesos and dollars spent. I believe in projects of BCBP. I am convinced of the mission of the Phinma-DLSU Center for Business and Society. What about you, our readers? Do you know of actionable hope ongoing in your communities and work places? Support them and tell the rest of the world about them!

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Peter Angelo V. Perfecto, former executive director of Makati Business Club, works with the Phinma group and chairs Oxfam Pilipinas. Email: pvperfecto@gmail.com.

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Business Matters is a project of Makati Business Club.