Using Creative Tension to Reach Big Goals

Dave Stangis, vice president of corporate social responsibility and sustainability for Campbell Soup, believes that setting “big, hairy, audacious goals” is necessary to set up the kind of tension needed to motivate and inspire the people who need to reach them. Two years ago, Campbell set ambitious ten-year targets for improvements in product nutrition profiles, employee engagement, and environmental impact.

To achieve the goals, Campbell is relying on top-level CEO involvement and formal governance structures that work for its complex, global organization. It’s also collaborating with external partners, and making the sustainability conversation part of its recruitment efforts.   Stangis, formerly the director of sustainability at Intel, joined Campbell three years ago. He was hired to create and execute a top-to-bottom strategy around corporate social responsibility and sustainability.   He talked with MIT Sloan Management Review‘s Managing Editor Nina Kruschwitz about the kinds of language and conversations that propel a sustainability agenda, the benefits of engaged employees, and using stakeholder conversations to see into the future. 

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