Bring the heart into the boardroom
The other day I showed my nine year old daughter a video about the cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the young laborers there. She was deeply disturbed by it almost couldn't go to sleep (here's where feedback on my parenting skills comes in). She was determined to collect money and send it there to help people out of their situation. What a noble commitment. I had to disappoint her by telling that a one off (or even recurring) donation won't suffice. That the problem is much deeper and structural and we won't fix it overnight.
A wise person once told me that I have the Atlas-syndrome, the feeling that I carry the world on my shoulder. I was helpfully advised to worry about my sphere of control and influence and leave the rest to others in order to preserve my sanity. A very helpful advice. By focusing close to home, the sphere of influence can also expand. Great. And then there are things I cannot fix. Or can I?
The next morning I thought 'I am feeling comfortably numb' and that I live in 'blissful ignorance'. That after all, maybe when there are very grave circumstances, we should indeed venture out of our comfortable little world and be courageous. And that my daughter is amazing for not seeing a huge systemic challenge as 'too big to fix'.
The problem with the workers in the cobalt mines in DRC is that they are on no-one's payroll. Officially, they are not accounted for in any of our global supply chains. Their hardship and pain is no-one else's problem. Effectively, from an economic perspective they are simply the means to get to the precious resource and their human rights are not guaranteed by anyone. The little boys and girls toiling all day in rain and scorching heat alike, carrying heavy sacks barefoot and earning a good beating at the end of the day after being exposed to chemicals all day - they do not exist in our electric vehicle equation.
I do not know about you, but my heart literally quenches at the thought of the little boys and girls not having a childhood, being deprived of a chance to live in a healthy and safe environment. And that is just the point: the answer is not in the rational solution to start with, it's in the heart. The big solutions to many global challenges are simple, but they are not easy. Simple: by allowing our heart to take a seat at the decision-making table.
By allowing the heart to join the board-room. It's not a joke. We need more heart - at least as much heart as brain - to make better decisions in the boardroom. To not be OK with perpetuating other -and equal- human beings' misery at the cost of our comfort. The cobalt mines are one example of many, many events when we walk by each other and do not reach a helping hand. When we pride ourselves in smart solutions, without thinking through end to end if we missed someone or actually inflict harm on others. Remember: it's simple, but not easy. Let's be courageous together?
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