CEOs Need to ‘Connect’ With Society Says Lord John Browne

The life expectancy of a leading U.S. company has plummeted from 67 years a century ago to 15 today. Lord John Browne, former CEO of BP (BP) and author of Connect, said the only way for companies to extend their lifespans is to engage with society. 'As business leaders think about society - with society being communities, regulators, customers and their employees – they need to take their views into account on what they are doing,' said Browne. 'And they need to do it in such a way that people can see what they are doing and believe in what they are doing.' Lord Browne was CEO of BP from 1995 to 2007. He was knighted in 1998 and made a life peer in 2001. He is Chairman of L1 Energy, Huawei UK and the Tate Galleries. His previous books include Beyond Business, Seven Elements that Have Changed the World and The Glass Closet. If business leaders do not connect with external stakeholders, their companies tend to lose out significantly. Research conducted by McKinsey shows that on average, 30% of a company’s value is at stake. Along those lines, the shares of companies that connect outperform those of competitors by 2% every year, amounting to a performance boost of 20% over a decade.