Leadership Lessons in Sustainability from GM CEO Mary Barra

GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra believes companies can serve society by reducing environmental impact and strengthening communities where they operate.

She recently delivered a commencement address at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Here are a few soundbites that reinforce her commitment to sustainability.

• “A company’s success depends on how well you satisfy your customers.  But changing the world goes well beyond serving customers – it’s also about serving society.”

• “As a visionary leader, you should be thinking about more than just the next quarter.  You should also be thinking about the next decade… and what your company’s reputation and place in the world will be after 40 quarterly results.”

• “More and more, today’s employees want to be connected to a broader purpose, a higher calling.  They want their companies and institutions to make the world a better place. I believe we can do both.  I believe we are required to do both.  I believe it’s up to leaders to set the tone, create the vision, and inspire the behaviors that allow our organizations to best serve society.”

• “As leaders, we have an obligation to act responsibly and courageously for people and the planet, because our actions have long-term effects on the generations that come after us. It means creating workplaces where every employee is empowered to contribute to his or her full potential. It means working to improve the communities where we live and work by, for example, supporting and improving STEM education. It means changing the way we build our products – using renewable energy, creating landfill-free facilities, and working to address climate change. At GM, it means working to reduce and, one day, eliminate the effect our cars have on the environment.”

• “At the end of the day, all businesses are about people first – because the only way we can build genuinely successful businesses is to build lasting relationships inside and outside the company.  We do that by holding ourselves accountable, by doing what we say we are going to do, and by inspiring others to strive for something bigger than themselves.”

You can read more on Mary’s leadership lessons on LinkedIn. To hear her speak about the future of mobility, check out her conversation on June 16 with WIRED Editor-in-Chief Scott Daidich.