from the team
from the chairman
Welcome to the first issue of Real Leaders, an
official, biannual publication of the Social
Enterprise Networks and YPO-WPO, delivered
directly to the entire global community of more
than 17,600 members. Our aims are simple: to
expose the best businesses and people doing
good for the planet and its people, while still
making a profit. This convergence of philanthropy
and business has always been ingrained in YPO
culture, yet the world has only recently come to
realize that these very principles have become
crucial to our collective future.
One of the key benefits of being a YPO or
WPO member is the networking and idea-sharing
opportunities. Real Leaders invites you to use this
magazine as an inspirational guide on how other
YPO and WPO members are making a difference.
We aim to share these stories with you in the
hope that they promote better leaders through education and the
exchange of ideas. We have based Real Leaders on a tried-and-tested
YPO formula, aimed at promoting fresh and engaging perspectives:
the E-CODE. These five elements have been developed to
create unique only-in-YPO educational experiences: Extraordinary
resources; Content tailored to leadership; Out-of-comfort zone
interactions; Delivering change-inducing values and Employing
activities that strengthen YPO and WPO networks and connections.
Each of these points encourages you to become creative in how
you stand out from the crowd and interact with fellow members in
a meaningful way. We aim to showcase some of the brightest and
innovative individuals and products in future issues of Real Leaders,
people with a passion for knowledge and change for good. We’d like
to think of this magazine as a twice-yearly educational event, where
we reveal exciting new ideas.
We also hope to create real value for you and your business, and
encourage you to become involved with us, whether through sharing
great ideas or advertising your services. By opening our pages to the
world’s leaders we hope to contribute to a healthy ongoing debate, as
well as offer concrete solutions, to doing well by doing good.
Mark Van Ness (WPO Southern California, USA), Kevin
Maggiacomo (YPO New England, USA), Neill Duffy (WPO
Le Mess, UK) & Grant Schreiber (South Africa)
Why a magazine, you may ask?
Surely, in this digital age, the
green footprint of an electronic
publication would be smaller?
Well, the answer is simple: a
magazine is 100% recyclable
and recycled paper has a zero
carbon footprint. In fact, paper
can be recycled up to seven
times. Receiving electronic data
is highly efficient, yet computers
and handhelds draw continually
on electricity to stay switched
on. Electronic devices will draw
4 \ Real Leaders
energy for years while a magazine
has a once-off environmental
impact. Currently, the paper
industry plants more trees than
it harvests and responsible paper
companies don’t use products
from tropical or endangered
forests. Paper made in this
manner contributes to sustainable
commercial forestry – which is a
huge carbon-eating machine. The
paper for Real Leaders magazine
has been certified by the Forest
Stewardship Council, one of the
Congratulations to the publishing team
of Real Leaders magazine – a timely
publication conceived as a way of
conveying the myriad ways in which
YPO-WPO members, as leaders, are
influencing communities around the
world. The magazine will give all of us insight into what our peers are
accomplishing around the world. Our Social Enterprise Networks
are increasingly becoming the place to get connected with fellow
YPO and WPO memebrs and to share successful formulas and ideas
with which to make community leadership more effective.
Having spent the last year travelling on behalf of YPO, the
observation that we truly live in a global village may be clichéd,
yet is very true. Paradoxically, this interconnectedness, doesn’t
affect most people who ‘act local and think local.’ The complex
challenges facing our global village; climate change, potable
water, food and security, to name a few, will be compounded by
the growth in our global population from 6 billion to 9 billion by
the year 2050. These challenges can only be managed at a holistic
level. We treat the planet as an inexhaustible resource. We know
this is foolish, yet are uncertain how we shift from a parasitic to a
symbiotic relationship with our biosphere – this will be the greatest
challenge for coming generations.
The business, political and voluntary sectors have to develop
a leadership capacity to meet these challenges. As a community
of top business leaders, managing 6% of the global economy,
we too are a piece of this jigsaw puzzle. How are we to play our
part, as individuals and as a collective? A key role is to enlighten
people on how to connect the choices they make in their daily
lives as citizens, consumers and parents with the bigger global
challenges we all face.
This ‘act local and think global’ agenda is underdeveloped
yet vital. For those of you who wish to engage in a discussion of
how YPO develops its global relevance, we have set up an online
discussion group at www.myypo.org called ‘one planet, one family.’
It may sound a little simplistic, yet it is surely the mindset we would
wish for our grandchildren. Finally, thanks to all of