“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” – Albert Einstein

Progress presupposes change. The ability to anticipate change, and thrive through it, is resilience. Corporate citizenship delivers resilience—the capability to prepare for challenges and opportunities in our operating contexts—to deliver the results that we seek for our companies and in our communities. As corporate citizenship leaders, we should cultivate four important behaviors to develop resilience: we should scan, analyze, experiment, and evolve—our programs, our contexts, and ourselves.

Resilient leaders are scanning the field continually—always on the lookout for new opportunities and new risks. Only by recognizing potential disruption—both positive and negative—can we plan for it. Resilient leaders don’t look only externally for disruption. They are experimenting also with creating disruptions—offering the “new normal”—and constantly testing new methods or ways of thinking that can make us better and stronger. By figuring out what works best, we adapt and evolve.

Vision and perspective are at the heart of evolution. The issues that shape our work as corporate citizenship professionals are constantly changing, and affect each of us in unique ways. To ensure the continued success of both our companies and communities, we must not only accept change, we must create it.

Indeed, a great deal of change is required if we are to truly create the world in which we want to do business, and the world in which we want to live. At the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, we work to provide you the resources, insights, and tools to help you to evolve and drive change through your own important work.

In the new issue of The Corporate Citizen, you’ll hear from companies who have scanned their horizons, analyzed their circumstances, experimented with their programs, and evolved into corporate citizenship leaders. Their stories illustrate the powerful potential that vision can play in achieving resiliency and results, and how business can play an important role in creating a sustainable future for all.