Founding Fuel is pleased to announce a special learning project with Arun Maira, one of India’s leading public intellectuals, based on his new book—and perhaps his most influential work—Transforming Systems: Why The World Needs a New Ethical Toolkit.
What’s the core idea?
The core principles of business have permeated the way countries, governments and social organisations are run. But these best practices have only led to higher social inequalities and serious environmental damage. In Transforming Systems, Maira stresses the need for a new toolkit, founded on the disciplines of systems thinking, ethical reasoning and deep listening.
What is the Founding Fuel learning project about?
For this master class, we picked three important themes from his book. In September-October 2019, Maira led a public conversation on each of these three themes. And we invited a select group of thought leaders to engage with him. You will find the links to the conversations at the end of this note.
What are the themes?
A New Model of Change: Why Complex Global Problems Need Local Systems Solutions
Designing Purpose-Driven Networks: Why Their Time Has Come
Building Ethical Leaders of Tomorrow: Why Management Education Needs to Relook at Its Purpose
Join the conversation
MasterClass on TransformingSystems with Arun Maira invites thoughts, notes and comments from business leaders, social entrepreneurs, policy makers, analysts and those who are at the centre of systems change—you. Take the class, share your thoughts on LinkedIn or Facebook.
A Note on the Public Class Room & Why You Should Join the Conversation, By Arun Maira
Welcome to the MasterClass…
9 articles
Public discourse has descended into the shallows. Where is the space left for citizens to engage in deeper deliberations about their future?
Arun Maira
Former Chairman, BCG India | Member, Planning Commission
In the relatively short time since it became independent in 1965, Singapore has made giant strides. The country illustrates well the power of local systems solutions, purpose-driven networks, and inducing all parts of the government and all stakeholders to work together
Arun Maira
Former Chairman, BCG India | Member, Planning Commission
Complex societal issues require diverse set of capabilities—which reside in a variety of business and civil society organisations. When they come together as a self-coordinating network, they can create collective impact
Ravi Venkatesan
Unicef's Special Representative for Young People | Founder, Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship
Social and political movements of change need to embed “moderators” who can connect and guide the flow of the movement—people who promote a dialogue and help create a consensus on action
Kiran Karnik
Former President, NASSCOM
Ethics can be learnt, though it may be considered difficult to teach. What matters is the kind of experiences young managers are exposed to. B-schools and firms play a crucial role in shaping their thinking through such exposures
R Gopalakrishnan
Author and Corporate Advisor | CEO, The Mindworks | Executive-in-Residence, SPJIMR
Two factors are causing a rethink on value systems: environmental degradation and shifts in political power that reflect the voice of the disenfranchised. This new thinking will have to come from new coalitions of social thinkers, practitioners, academics, politicians and corporates
Ajit Rangnekar
Director General of Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad | Telangana Government
Healthcare in India urgently needs locally appropriate but systemically consistent solutions. There’s much to learn from how other countries and sectors have gone about it
Nachiket Mor
Economist
Challenges such as garbage collection are universal, yet deeply local to each city. And they are the result of many aspects of the city system being broken. A systems approach, adapted to the local context, can help find unique solutions
Swati Ramanathan
Co-founder | Jana Group
Sustainable progress of humanity requires a new toolkit with three disciplines: systems thinking, ethical reasoning, and collaborative enterprise design
Arun Maira
Former Chairman, BCG India | Member, Planning Commission
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