Foreword
The ambition is simple yet profound: to restore dignity to the word “morality” and to wield it as a tool for healing the wounds of our time. And it must begin with ourselves.
This guide emerges from my own imperfect, living, ever-evolving learning. It has been shaped through conversations with hundreds of leaders who, like you, have chosen a path where interdependence is no longer an abstract concept, but a lived reality. This path has no destination. It is a continuous practice of questioning ourselves in the face of the defining challenges of our time: the technological tsunami, the unacceptable persistence of extreme poverty, the climate emergency and the collapse of our living world, and the inequalities that fracture our societies. It is tempting to view moral ambition as a luxury reserved for stable contexts, far removed from competitive or political pressures.
But it is precisely in complex, constrained, and sometimes conflictual environments that it finds its deepest meaning – not as an abstract ideal, but as a framework for navigating dilemmas, arbitrating tensions, and maintaining lasting coherence between intentions, decisions, and actions. In this polycrisis, where our fundamental values are shaken, the search for meaning and impact can no longer be the privilege of isolated heroes. It is the responsibility and opportunity of each and every one of us. Read these pages for what they are: a sharing of experience, an acknowledgment of our collective imperfection, and above all, a testament to a steadfast conviction – that we can cultivate our way of being intentionally as we develop our way of doing.
Jonathan Normand
Credits
Conception and Writing: The research, interviews, and development of this playbook were led by Jonathan Normand, of the B Lab Foundation (Switzerland) and Associate Researcher at the Faculty of Economics and Management of the University of Geneva (GSEM). Illustrations and Design: The illustrations and design that bring the concepts of this playbook to life were created with the essential collaboration of Magic Pencil (Siena Tobias & Fredrik Karlström), a certified B Corp, in partnership with Marielle Hänggeli of the B Lab Foundation.
Acknowledgments: We extend our deepest gratitude to all members of the “B Ecosystem,” including the B Corp community, participants of the Swiss Triple Impact initiative, and members of the Swiss Impact & Prosperity Initiative consortium. The conversations, shared experiences, and collective reflections conducted over several years have been instrumental in shaping and enriching this work. This guide is truly the product of a collaborative community.
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