“Business has become the most powerful institution on the planet. The dominant institution in any society needs to take responsibility for the whole. But business has not had such a tradition. This is a new role, not well understood or accepted. Built on the concept of capitalism and free enterprise from the beginning was the assumption that the actions of many units of individual enterprise, responding to market forces and guided by the "invisible hand " of Adam Smith, would somehow add up to desirable outcomes. But in the last decade of the twentieth century, it has become clear that the "invisible hand " is faltering. It depended on a consensus of overarching meanings and values that is no longer present. So business has to adopt a tradition it has never had throughout the entire history of capitalism: to share responsibility for the whole. Every decision that is made, every action that is taken, must be viewed in light of that responsibility.”

—Willis Harmon

This online community is designed to develop the concept and practicality of PeaceBuilding as it relates to the business community, and will assist in the evolutionary step toward taking “responsibility for the whole”. The goal is to clearly identify the strategies, practices, and values that will allow companies to direct their resources, using the PeaceBuilding compass, to provide greater well being and cultures of peace. This focus can be internally, locally, nationally and internationally.

On this site focus will be given to:

• What needs to be done now to contribute to the greater well being of individuals, teams, departments, organization-wide, on the local, national, and international levels?
  
• What is role and responsibility of business in peacebuilding in the short and long term?
  
• How do we make peacebuilding practical, of value, and demonstrate return on investment with and beyond the bottom line?

We will explore questions such as:

1. In what ways do present business practices contribute to peace – or non-peace?

2. What are the underlying problems contributing to non-peace which business can and should address.

3. What are the new economic models and assumptions that call for a peacebuilding role for business?

4. Can business and economies grow sustainably?

5. What is the true purpose and role of business in the 21st century?

6. What is the dynamic between business, money and peace?

7. What are the the peace practices now in evidence in business?

8. What constitutes a socially responsible business?

We will also be a center identifying who is doing what as it relates to PeaceBuilding Through Business. This is a co-creative initiative and significant challenge. It needs all of us to make the vitally needed headway.

“Too many of the world's dispossessed and aggrieved view America as an enemy rather than an exemplar. America's business leaders must work harder than ever to ensure that their companies are good local citizens, diligent partners in progress and socially adept wherever they operate. In doing so, they will help ensure that the seeds of hate, wherever they are sown, will not fall on fertile ground.”

Gary Hamel
Fortune.com, Nov 2001