After a career in an accounting and consulting firm, Angeli Weller took a self-described “walk-about” and it eventually led to Idaho where she now leads the Responsible Business Initiative for the College of Business and Economics at Boise State University.
What is the change you are trying to make in the world?
We are helping to redefine success in business. I could give you the moral case, but frankly the business case is so rock solid that you don’t even need it. Just think about the number of companies with clean audit opinions that went belly-up during the financial crisis! A set of financial statements only tells part of the story about corporate performance and impact. Savvy stakeholders, including investors and a growing percentage of the capital markets, know the best-run companies integrate social and environmental risks and opportunities into their business strategy and account for them in their performance. It’s just good business.
Are you disrupting a market through innovative products or new ways of doing business?
Our disruption in the College of Business and Economics is educating the next generation of leaders to understand this new definition, and to make good business decisions take into account not only economic considerations, but also social and environmental ones too. A sustainable business is one that is going to survive and thrive by avoiding negative impacts on the world around them and by seeing the business opportunities in creating positive impact for a wide range of stakeholders. And ethics and responsibility are central to how sustainability is achieved. Ethics asks the question, “Who are you?” And responsibility asks, “Who do you care about?” Your answers are clearly communicated every time you make a business decision.
What, or who, is driving the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the curriculum on college campuses?
On our campus, it’s the faculty. I’m proud of the work my colleagues at Boise State are doing to educate the next generation—it’s integrated into the core curriculum in the College of Business and Economics, not just in a set of electives for the students who have an interest in sustainability or ethics. And for our students who look to start their own businesses, we’re helping them figure out how to have positive social and environmental impact as a core part of their business model, not just as an afterthought. We’re also lucky to have strong partners in our business community who show our students what sustainability looks like in practice, who hire our students as interns and employees, and who partner with us in our efforts in the classroom and in the community. It’s a virtuous circle.
How would you say business students are different today than when you went to school?
I finished my MBA more than a dozen years ago, and there were a few of us focused on corporate responsibility at the time, but not many. Issues of ethics and responsibility weren’t integrated into my curriculum, which is ironic since I was in school when Enron collapsed and Nike was being raked over the coals for using child labor. They’re now central to how all of our business students are educated, not just the change makers. That type of thinking was still on the margins when I was in school. It’s a huge leap forward.
You were director of ethics at KPMG. How has the transition been from accounting and consulting to the life of a university academic?
Good question. I don’t think I’ve fully transitioned. On the one hand, I now view my corporate ethics and CSR work differently because I’ve had time for critical reflection. I understand the research and the philosophical debates in a way that I never had time for in my corporate life. On the other hand, I’m still quite action-oriented, so the academic pace has been an adjustment. That’s why my work as Director of the Responsible Business Initiative has been a great fit. It’s an inside-outside role, so I have to both reflect and act. It’s been fun.
What’s the biggest change you’ve made in your professional life?
I helped to build KPMG’s national and global ethics program over the course of about a decade. We started in a post-Enron, post-Arthur Anderson world, where nothing was clear except the need for change. I am very proud of the work we did collectively as a firm and in the accounting profession to support individuals to live according to their values and to ensure the integrity of the capital markets. With hindsight, there are things I would have done differently, but I know that our work has had real, positive impact.
The biggest change in your personal life?
In 2008, I left work and went on a walk-about. I was directing all the ethics work for the company at the time, and yet I was so burned out that I didn’t know what I personally valued anymore. I found meditation by accident during that sabbatical, and my practice has helped me quiet all the chattering and busyness in my head and open a space in my day to hear my own wisdom. That change has shifted my work, my happiness and my health more than anything else I’ve ever done in my life.
Change is hard—do you have any tricks you’d like to share for making it easier?
One of my favorite pieces of advice is from writer Hollie Holden who says, “The route is wiggly people! Might as well surrender to it and look for treasures along the way.” If you’re getting spun up about change, come back to the moment and be grateful for what’s right in front of you. Make a list. Search for the treasure. It helps.
How do you get people around you to embrace change?
When I was managing a team, I asked direct reports to bring three job options to every annual performance discussion. Why? I wanted them to realize that we make a choice to stay in our roles and that change is always a possibility, whether we realize it or not. Sometimes we control the decisions and sometimes we don’t, but at the end of the day, we actually have a lot of say in how our life path unfolds—we just need to take responsibility for it.
If you could change one thing in the world right now, what would it be?
I’d increase the empathy quotient in human beings ten fold. We dehumanize others who don’t believe what we believe and cast them as evil or stupid or wrong. I think most of us are doing the best we can with what we have and know, and that we’re coming from a place of good intention. It’s a challenge to see the human being in front of you, especially when you don’t like what they’re saying or doing, but finding that connection is the only chance we have for solving global problems like climate change and poverty. We need to stop getting spun up about being right or wrong and start focusing on working together.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would need less sleep. I can’t leave the house on less than 8 hours because I’m not fit for public consumption.
What are you reading right now?
Oh, I’m not sure you want to know. I’m in the final months of a PhD, so it’s mostly nerdy, esoteric stuff. And I’m too tired at night to tackle much more, so all I can cram into my head are bits of poetry. Mary Oliver. John O’Donohue. Rumi.
Listening to?
I’m a sucker for good harmonies and listen to everything from the Kings College Boys Choir to the Zac Brown Band. NPR podcasts are also a great lifeline—Marketplace and OnBeing are my favorites.
Watching?
My niece had me watch the movie Divergent with her recently, and in it the world is divided into factions based on different human virtues. It’s brilliant framing for a conversation we’ve been having since the time of Aristotle and should be required viewing for all business ethics classes. Seriously.
Who inspires you?
The people that inspire me the most are the ones humble enough to say “there but for the grace go I” and then dig in, from a place of empathy, to make a difference…the every day heroes like a social worker I know who creates safe spaces for postpartum moms and adolescent girls to be seen and heard as they go through times of great change.
Favorite color?
Orange, because I grew up loving the fall colors in New England. And it works out west too, since I’m now a Bronco.
Who is the most progressive nonprofit or business leader you know?
I am in awe of Pope Francis, who not only sees the possibility of a better world, but is also living the change he wants to see. Any company looking to make a radical culture change should study this Pope. The man is moving mountains and isn’t afraid to question the status quo or long-standing interpretations of deeply held beliefs. He’s one of the few leaders of any stripe that I see trying to live in deep integrity with an aspirational set of values, even (especially) when it’s hard. We need more role models like him.
What’s one question you’d like to ask yourself—and answer?
My favorite question for myself and everyone else is what would you love to create? It’s a great way to see past obstacles and around corners. Seeing possibility is my superpower (though it’s also my kryptonite).
How should people connect with you on social media?
Check out our work and upcoming events at the Responsible Business Intiative or come by the College of Business and Economics and I’ll treat you to a cup of tea. I’m much better at real conversations than a virtual one!