2017 theme: “Discovering Flourishing Enterprise: The Key to Great Performance”
More businesses seeking success and an engaged workforce are evolving toward becoming flourishing enterprises—those that create economic prosperity while contributing to a healthy environment and improving human well-being.
Case Western Reserve University on June 14-16 hosts the Fourth Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit to illuminate this emerging trend. The Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, within Case Western Reserve‘s Weatherhead School of Management, has designed the forum around the theme: Discovering Flourishing Enterprise: The Key to Great Performance.
Hundreds of participants, many in teams, from across the United States and internationally will exemplify businesses “doing well by doing good” when the forum occurs at CWRU’s Tinkham Veale University Center.
“We are eagerly looking forward to welcoming business leaders, social entrepreneurs and change agents,” said Chris Laszlo, the Char and Chuck Fowler Professor of Business as an Agent of World Benefit and faculty executive director of the Fowler Center.
“It’s more of a practitioner design session than it is an academic conference,” Laszlo said. “Individuals and groups on the first day can learn about and experience Appreciative Inquiry, which is a very powerful strengths-based whole system method that was developed at Case Western Reserve and is at the heart of many of the initiatives at the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit.”
Using Appreciative Inquiry, the Fourth Global Forum will take on some of the key issues facing business today, including:
- Retaining, engaging and inspiring the best people.
- Meeting growing consumer demand for products that have positive social impact.
- Designing environments that foster greater creativity, innovation and enduring financial value.
- Turning local and global challenges into sources of competitive advantage.
AIM2Flourish, an initiative within the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of 
World Benefit, will award the inaugural Flourish Prizes, recognizing 17 innovations from around the world that align with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Flourish Prizes will be awarded each day during the forum.
AIM2Flourish Executive Director Roberta Baskin said students at the Weatherhead School of Management and at other business schools internationally participated in finding inspirational business innovations that advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Those students, using the Appreciative Inquiry method, submitted 425 stories published on the AIM2Flourish website. A distinguished jury selected the 17 Flourish Prize winners, one for each Global Goal.
“The involvement of students is at the heart of the Flourish Prizes initiative. We’re the mothership helping to teach these next business leaders to embrace the Global Goals and Appreciative Inquiry,” Baskin said.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are: no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals.
For Fourth Global Forum pricing and registration information, visit globalforum.case.edu.
This article was originally published March 23, 2017.