Courage in the age of complexity

Seven leadership lessons from Carol's recent travels and conversations.

What does leadership require when the world demands faster decisions, longer-term thinking, greater courage, and deeper humanity—all at once?

That question followed me through an extraordinary series of presentations and conversations this fall, from Climate Week NYC to the Arthur Page Society's gathering of chief communications officers, and ongoing conversations with business leaders, innovators, and changemakers from my podcast, Purpose 360.

I heard from Paul Polman, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert, leaders from Takeda, Adyen, Henry Schein, Spotify, Kendra Scott and guests on my podcast, Purpose 360. We explored climate change, artificial intelligence, consumer trust, employee anxiety, and the relentless acceleration of change.

Different conversations. Different industries. Yet one powerful message emerged: The leaders who will shape our future are those who refuse to let complexity become an excuse for inaction. Here are seven insights that stayed with me.

1. Courage Is Becoming the Ultimate Leadership Currency

Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, offered a deceptively simple challenge: "Be the leader you can be and do one thing more courageously."

In a world of political polarization, economic pressure, and competing stakeholder expectations, courage can feel risky. Companies are increasingly cautious about what they say and which issues they champion. But Polman's message wasn't about grand declarations. It was about action—and balancing short-term performance with long-term responsibility.

Ryan Gellert, CEO of Patagonia, reinforced the point: "What matters is your voice." Patagonia understands that taking a stand won't please everyone. But abandoning deeply held commitments can erode the very identity that makes a company distinctive.

Recently the company put that conviction into action in a bold, unexpected way. During Climate Week, Patagonia announced its 11.2 Million Vote Project, a $11.2 million, nonpartisan initiative designed to encourage civic participation ahead of the November midterm elections. This was based on a simple premise: Research identified 11.2 million registered voters who care deeply about the environment but didn't vote in the 2024 election.

Patagonia invited customers to help three friends or family members make a plan to vote. In return, participants could receive a $100 Patagonia credit or direct a $100 contribution to a nonprofit partner. Importantly, the initiative doesn't tell anyone whom to vote for—or reward anyone for casting a ballot. It rewards the act of helping others access voting information and make a plan to participate.

The response was extraordinary. In just four days, more than 112,000 people participated, committing the full $11.2 million and helping bring the number of people with voting plans to nearly half a million. That’s a remarkable example of a brand turning its values, customer relationships, and resources into action.

The leadership question here goes beyond, "What do we stand for?" It's "What are we willing to do because of what we stand for?"

2. Climate Change Needs a More Human Story—and Practical Solutions

For years, climate conversations have been dominated by emissions, targets, technologies, and regulations, and few ties to healthcare.  That is changing. During Climate Week, I attended a compelling keynote, "Tackling Healthcare's Emissions," featuring Johanna Jobin, Global Head of Environmental Sustainability at Takeda; Dr. Mary Rice of Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Jennifer Kim Field, Chief Sustainability Officer at Henry Schein; and Jenna Agins, Assistant Director of Energy and Sustainability at NYU Langone Health.

The discussion illuminated a profound paradox: Healthcare exists to protect human health, yet the industry itself generates emissions that contribute to climate change—and ultimately threaten the very people it seeks to protect. The panel challenged us to move beyond documenting the harms of climate change to accelerating practical solutions that protect patients and communities.

Johanna offered a powerful insight: "Health is a central motivator for climate action." Dr. Rice reinforced that viewing climate through the lens of health makes the issue immediate, tangible, and deeply personal.

Consider the difference. Carbon emissions can feel abstract. Yet, a child struggling to breathe because of wildfire smoke does not. Rising temperatures may seem distant. Yet, extreme heat threatening an elderly parent is immediate.

But compelling storytelling is only the beginning. The panel emphasized the need to change the language of climate action, harness AI intelligently to identify and accelerate solutions, build coalitions around aligned goals, and train the next generation of healthcare leaders to navigate the intersection of sustainability, technology, and patient care.

This is where purpose becomes practical: bringing together healthcare companies, providers, researchers, and innovators to turn shared challenges into measurable progress.

The most powerful climate conversations may begin not with the planet, but with the people we love. And the greatest opportunity for healthcare is to translate that human connection into action—protecting both the health of patients today and the health of generations to come.

3. Climate Action Is Entering Its Era of Business Value and Implementation

Beyond the conversations I attended, broader Climate Week coverage revealed an important evolution: Sustainability is increasingly being discussed as a driver of business performance, not simply a corporate responsibility.

PwC's Climate Week recap highlighted how companies are connecting sustainability to growth, resilience, better decision-making, and long-term financial returns. Equally important, the conversation is shifting from setting ambitious goals to implementing solutions at scale. That requires new levels of collaboration. The Climate Implementation Forum emphasized progress through projects underway, capital deployed, and measurable results. Across Climate Week, the message was increasingly clear: Ambition without implementation is no longer enough. This is a significant shift. Companies can no longer rely on ambitious pledges or impressive partnerships alone. They must demonstrate meaningful outcomes.

At Carol Cone ON PURPOSE, we've long believed that the most powerful social impact programs connect a company's distinctive capabilities to a pressing societal need. Increasingly, the next frontier is connecting those capabilities across organizations. As the healthcare discussion reinforced, coalitions can establish common expectations, align resources, and accelerate solutions that individual organizations cannot deliver alone. We need to stop asking only, "What can our company do?" and start asking, "What can we accomplish together that none of us could achieve independently?"

4. Purpose Is Most Powerful When It's Built Into Business

One of my favorite Climate Week experiences was participating in an Adyen customer event showcasing innovative partnerships at the intersection of commerce and social impact. Adyen, a global financial technology company whose services sit at the heart of commerce, is helping businesses connect everyday transactions with opportunities to contribute to society. Their event provided an intimate setting for customers to discuss their social impact initiatives.

Consider Spotify and their partner, Backline, which provides mental health resources across the music industry for performers, and the countless professionals behind the music. Or Kendra Scott, the jewelry company that has embedded philanthropy into its culture, products, and retail experience. They offer their stores to local nonprofits for fundraising and education events, presenting their brand as a social impact amplifer. They also build causes into unique product.

Following the devastating Texas floods, the company created its Camp Mystic Heaven's 27 collection to honor the girls and counselors lost in the tragedy, raising approximately $500,000. What struck me was how naturally these initiatives connected business capabilities, customer relationships, and urgent human needs. A recurring idea in these discussions was that creativity should be applied not simply to attracting customers, but to deepening relationships with them.

The most enduring purpose programs aren't bolted onto business. They're built into how business creates value.

5. As AI Accelerates Everything, Human Judgment Matters More Than Ever.

If Climate Week focused on the future of our planet, the Arthur Page conference focused intensely on the future of leadership and artificial intelligence. One observation captured the moment perfectly: We have "peacetime teams operating in a war environment." Organizations designed for predictable planning cycles now face extraordinary technological disruption. Employees and consumers alike are anxious about the pace of change. The advice was clear: Prioritize ruthlessly. Get ahead of change. Think big and small. Keep humans at the center.

AI cannot replace empathy, creativity, ethical reasoning, or human judgment.

Consider EY's bold recent announcement: The firm is investing $100 million in employee rewards to recognize professionals who demonstrate the very human capabilities that become more valuable in an AI-driven world—judgment, adaptability, innovation, collaboration, and leadership. Rather than simply rewarding employees for adopting AI, EY is recognizing those who use technology creatively, challenge conventional thinking, and deliver meaningful results. Awards range from everyday recognition to significant financial rewards for transformational contributions.

As Ginnie Carlier, EY Americas Chief Talent and Culture Officer, explained: "How we reward our people defines what we value as a firm." What a powerful signal: As artificial intelligence advances, human intelligence becomes an even greater competitive advantage.

Yet Climate Week revealed another dimension of the AI challenge. As Associated Press reporting highlighted, AI offers tremendous potential to accelerate climate solutions while simultaneously driving enormous energy demand through data centers. It's a paradox leaders cannot ignore: The technologies we embrace to solve problems may create new ones. This raises two fundamental questions: If AI makes organizations dramatically more productive, who benefits? And how do we ensure technological progress also represents human and environmental progress?

CEOs cannot delegate these questions to their technology teams. They must understand AI's capabilities, consequences, and opportunities and act. The winners in the AI era won't simply automate fastest. They'll combine technological intelligence with human wisdom.

6. Relevance Must Be Earned, Not Assumed

Another recurring theme at the Page conference was the changing relationship between organizations and their audiences. Don Lemon spoke about the creator economy as a new media landscape, where authentic relationships and engagement often matter more than audience size. His message: Reach the right people, not necessarily the most people. He also offered a powerful reminder: Our bosses are ultimately the people who consume our media.

The same applies to brands. Companies may own their trademarks, but consumers increasingly determine what brands mean. They decide whether a company's words align with its actions. They determine which messages deserve attention. And they can challenge corporate narratives instantly. Speakers emphasized the importance of knowing what your brand stands for—and accepting that you won't always be loved. Trying to please everyone can leave a company standing for very little. A brand isn't what a company declares. It's what people experience, believe, and share.

7. Sometimes the Boldest Leadership Decision Is What to Stop Doing

Perhaps the most immediately practical insight I brought home from the Page conference was a simple framework for navigating overwhelming demands. I call it the Three-Three-Three Challenge:

• Keep three: Identify three essential activities that create distinctive value.

• Stop three: Eliminate three activities that no longer meaningfully advance your goals.

• Automate three: Identify three activities technology can handle, freeing people for higher-value work.

It sounds simple. But consider how much time organizations spend maintaining processes, producing reports, and perpetuating habits that no longer serve them. In an AI-enabled world, the discipline to eliminate low-value work may be as important as the ability to invent new solutions. The goal isn't simply greater efficiency. It's creating more capacity for strategic thinking, creativity, and meaningful human relationships. Innovation isn't just about what we start doing. It's also about what we have the courage to stop.

The Future Belongs to Those Who Act

I left these gatherings and conversations energized, challenged, and hopeful. Yes, the world is extraordinarily complex. Climate change is accelerating. AI is reshaping work. Trust is fragile. Economic pressures are intense. But I also saw leaders refusing to retreat. Leaders connecting climate to human health. Building unexpected partnerships. Turning business models into platforms for generosity. Finding ways to make sustainability economically valuable. And challenging themselves to ensure AI serves people rather than simply replacing them.

What connects these examples is a belief that business can be both successful and consequential. We don't have to choose between near-term performance and long-term impact. Between innovation and human dignity. Between authentic conviction and commercial success. Between competition and collaboration. We must learn to lead through these tensions rather than be immobilized by them.

I keep returning to Paul Polman's challenge: "Be the leader you can be and do one thing more courageously." Imagine if every executive, communicator, purpose professional, and social entrepreneur acted on that invitation. Not with another declaration. Not with another aspiration. But with one meaningful action. Because in a world overwhelmed by complexity, courage may be our most renewable resource. And the future won't be shaped by those who wait for certainty. It will be shaped by those who choose to act with human experience and wisdom.