Being Critical As A Sign of Love 😍

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I am in love with love. I guess I relate to it often in these newsletters, particularly here. What's not to love about love? I am a romantic through and through. I am in favor of celebrating it every single day. Not just today.

Talking about love is easy. Instead, let me ask a more difficult question: can you hate something that you love?

I think "hate" might not be the most useful word here. That is to say, can you be critical of something that you are a strong supporter of? Can you hold two opposing feelings of positive and negative emotions in your soul at the same time?

This essential conflict is, indeed, very much the "story of my life." Let me explain.

Sweden is an interesting place. It prides itself on being "neutral." Perhaps, people like me, those born and raised in Sweden, are indoctrinated with a degree of fascination with "the riddle of the middle." There is something exciting to be found and explored in the emotional space between opposites. All great drama has tension. There are no great speeches or books without a narrative dance around love and hate, fears and dreams, potentiality and loss. It's in the distance between what we love and what we fear where we often feel most alive. Sweden has managed, admirably, to create one of the world's strongest welfare states (some even call it socialism!), while at the same time nurturing a vibrant entrepreneurial and capitalistic system home to incredible global companies such as VOLVO, Alfa Laval, IKEA, H&M, and more recently, Spotify, Klarna, and Minecraft.

Growing up in an entrepreneurial home in Sweden, ultimately spending many years working for McDonald's, I saw firsthand the very deeply-rooted ambivalence many people harbor towards business. Most people love the products, the brands, the feelings, and experiences, and also the employments and the profits that certain businesses provide. But less so the corporations and system behind them. McDonald's was perhaps the perfect example of this. People love the Big Mac, the French fries, and the Happy Meal more than the company, logo, and icon of global capitalism that McDonald's often is used to represent. At many times, while it felt unfair and frustrating to be used as a symbol for what was "wrong" with business when, in fact, what I saw on the inside was quite right, it was still a valuable learning experience. So, it was in the midst of this tension between loving and hating business that my career was born. It, in many ways, defined my work, informed my purpose in life, and, as a real benefit, introduced me to philosophers, ideas, and a community of people that continue to enrich my life. For that, I am truly grateful.

I have written many times about this widespread discomfort around business. This entire newsletter is, in a way, committed to pursuing these paradoxical and contradictory emotions we often carry. We certainly have all been led into believing in some form of binary bias. We are presented with a chronic array of false choices where the answer is: A or B, left or right, black or white. But, as most people know, the truth is rarely ever binary. It is far more nuanced, complex, and contextual than what could possibly be elucidated by two choices. It’s also in the midst of juxtapositions, reflections, and contrasts that we find beauty. And real love!

Let me be clear – I love business. No doubt about that. I love capitalism (and Big Macs and fries as well!). It is a system designed with, not against, the grain of human nature. All other systems that have been tested have failed, and culminated in the loss of health, wealth, happiness, freedom, and ultimately, life. For millions of people. So, I guess I like free markets both as offensive and defensive coordinators for the kind of world we all want! It's a mechanism for wealth creation and a guarantor of broad freedoms.

I have never found a better representation of why I like business than the words of R.H. Cabell who said this:

“I like business because it is competitive, because it rewards deeds rather than words. I like business because it compels earnestness and does not permit me to neglect today’s task while thinking about tomorrow. I like business because it undertakes to please, not reform; because it is honestly selfish, thereby avoiding hypocrisy and sentimentality. I like business because it promptly penalizes mistakes, shiftlessness and inefficiency, while rewarding well those who give it the best they have in them. Lastly, I like business because each day is a fresh adventure.”

But, that does NOT mean business or capitalism is perfect. For the very reason that I love it, I want to improve it. Anything that plays such an incredibly important role in our lives deserves our care, criticism, and best efforts to make it better. Think about other things you love. Your children. Your city. Your country. It's the same thing. What we love, we also want more from. Being critical is, in a way, the ultimate form of love. If you didn't care, you just wouldn't care!

There are many ways the world of business could serve people better. Some people talk about the engine versus the fumes of capitalism, where we like the engine more than the fumes, the alcohol more than the hangover. In other words, the negative side effects of businesses must be better understood and ultimately reduced. Or, at least, not rewarded. There is also a question of how broadly people should participate in the wealth that is created. I have written before about the issue with “privatizing rewards and socializing costs.” What this means is that society at-large is at risk and often foots the bill for failures of big businesses (mortgage crises, climate change, social costs, too big to fail bailouts, etc.) and, typically, a select few shareholders get a majority of the winnings. Many argue it's not a symmetric allocation of risk and rewards. It's a very important conversation and debate, and I certainly believe there are many ways we can imagine a world of business serving us better.

However, I did learn from my friend, Paul Hawken, many years ago, when he said to me:

"Mats, there is nothing wrong with capitalism, we just haven't tried it yet."

What he meant is that we still could price what we value differently. We could tax bads, not goods. If we want fewer carbon emissions, we could put a higher price on sources of carbon. Companies would then innovate differently and, over time, carbon emissions would go down. The point is that there isn't anything inherently BAD about business. We all try to compete and succeed based on a series of pricing mechanisms, tax codes, and rules that WE all have set. We don’t have to throw out the baby with the bathwater. If we’re coughing on the fumes of the current system, we can change the rules!

I know there are a lot of cynics (perhaps not in this audience) that really don't believe business can do good or that corporations don't really care about contributing to a better world. To all those I say: you are wrong. Most people inside businesses are not different from you. Of course they care. Most people want to have great jobs where they do meaningful things that they feel good about. And if you are a customer of those businesses, vote with your wallet and show them that YOU care.

Below, I have posted a few articles relevant to this theme. All of this is (finally) happening because of a more transparent world, a more demanding workforce, and more informed consumers. All great forces that will shape business for the better. Having grown up with this tension and having been involved in a conversation about the responsibility of the corporation for decades, I find recent developments promising. We are showing real signs of a more inclusive, more sustainable, and more just form of business, which is perhaps the most hopeful sign I can point to towards a brighter future.

Lastly, let's recognize and acknowledge our love for what truly matters in our lives. But let's not confuse our concerns and inherent criticism with hate. It's not hate. It's a form of love expressed as a desire for things to be better. Criticism is a necessary condition for growth and improvement. We don't look at watering our plants as criticism. Do we? Nor is hitting the gym, meditation, or eating healthier foods a form of self-hate. No, they are important acts of self-care. Being critical is critical if we are to improve the human condition. However, I do believe that most conversations would go further and be more productive if we used love more often than hate as a currency for change.

• My former employer at BCG have done incredible research lately around the social impact of business. This one is about TSI - total societal impact, a new metric for measuring performance. But, you can also read one I like here: Humanizing the Corporation (and look to this site for MUCH more.) Well done, BCG.

• Why California is making liberals squirm – an honest and well-written article by Ezra Klein, which is a great example of the kind of conversation we need more of. Being critical about something we love. Ezra is both a liberal and a Californian which makes his observations all the more important. A fantastic example of being critical guided by LOVE.

• FORTUNE – an editorial around why Business's Social Goals are not political plays.

• COVID ABSOLUTISM - a great example of when we lose our ability to think critically and take things to the extreme end of reason.

• For those of you who want to go deeper on LOVE this Valentine's Day, this is a favorite Krista Tippett podcast with Alain du Botton from 2017. LOVE IT!

• I have to end with an optimistic David Brooks piece on, perhaps, what could be a new dawn for incredible innovations that will make the world better.