Debora Spar

Many of us live in a capitalist society, but do we know how capitalism really works? To understand the inner workings of capitalism, says Debora Spar, senior associate dean for faculty research and development at Harvard Business School, we must start by examining the most important foundational texts in capitalist thought. Based on her wildly popular HBS course, Spar’s presentation offers a practical lens and historical critiques on the economic system that governs our lives. She reveals how the system emerged and is supported, its core problems and how today’s leaders can get competition right. While acknowledging there are no easy answers to the criticisms of capitalism, Spar’s examination of the different economic models, from Sweden to the US, equips decision-makers to act in ways that move capitalism in a more equitable direction for all, and ultimately help organizations become part of the solution.

In a world where business and society increasingly overlap and occasionally collide, how can private firms help address some of today’s greatest challenges, such as climate change, poverty or economic development? Debora Spar, senior associate dean for faculty research and development at Harvard Business School, says leaders need frameworks for evaluating their role in tackling societal issues and guidance for working with governments, regulators and suppliers in new ways. In this talk, Spar, a top leadership advisor who helps firms remain profitable while working toward a better future, highlights executives who are harnessing the resources of the firm to tackle massive societal problems. Based on the required course for executive MBAs that she designed, Spar helps managers explore how, and under what circumstances, private firms can point their efforts in directions beyond boosting the bottom line. Using global examples – from OpenAI in the US to Equity Bank in East Africa – she guides audiences on a journey to answer important questions for their own businesses about becoming part of the solution while still making money and reveals the pathways to get there.

We live in a world where it feels like everything is being sold and exchanged in a market. Debora Spar, senior associate dean for faculty research and development at Harvard Business School and New York Times bestselling author, argues that the things we value most – like love, life or salvation – don’t trade in markets in part because we don’t want them to and in part because we can’t. There’s value in human social behavior and values, such as vengeance, hope, apologies and love – but you can’t buy them on Amazon. In this presentation based on her highly anticipated forthcoming book, Spar introduces the idea of “sacred goods,” the intangible things our society holds dear. Examining what traditional markets do well and the things that they fundamentally can’t accomplish, she asks how we can understand these non-markets and what can we learn from them. Audiences walk away with new ways to think about exchanges for things in the sacred economy and new ways for imagining how markets might work. If we come look at the ways in which we trade and value things that can’t be sold in a market, leaders and managers will gain new insight into the traditional markets that fuel our societies.