Kinder, Gentler, and more Socially Impactful Business Models

In the prologue to the book Generation X Goes Global, titled "American X: The Ironic History of a Generation," Dan Leidl motions to the work of a series of GenX'ers who have and still are changing the business landscape in the United States. He gives credit to individuals at the Harvard Business School for developing new codes of morality and ethical behavior.  Other leaders, from Executives Without Borders to Honest Tea to Google, Teach for America, and KIPP charter schools, have been working toward models that are "a kinder, gentler, and a potentially more impactful affair" (xix). How can we begin to define and outline the making of these new business models and their impact on the future of our children? Are they actually making a larger societal difference, or do they remain isolated practices in a sea of profit-making?

Christine Henseler, Jan. 9, 2013