On Hope and Building More Human Workplaces: Fast Company Features Salesforce’s Tony Prophet

Fast Company’s latest cover story is titled “The New New Rules of Business: Fast Company’s Advice for the Next 25 Years,” and features Salesforce Chief Equality and Recruiting Officer Tony Prophet. The story highlights wisdom from the publication’s Impact Council, which Prophet is a member of.

As companies respond to employees’ calls for racial justice, sparked by the police killings of George Floyd and other unarmed Black citizens, leaders need “to listen, be empathetic, and then act,” Prophet said. “It begins with listening to the community that’s affected.” 

I really feel like this is the moment we’ve been waiting for. I don’t feel fearful that the moment is going to be wasted; I honestly believe that this time is different.

Tony Prophet, Chief Equality and Recruiting Officer, Salesforce

In a story from the Impact Council about how to build more human workplaces, Prophet also shared the following: “I actually feel more hopeful than I have maybe at any point in my life. I’m old enough to remember the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and that moment in history—the Civil Rights Act and folks getting the right to vote. I really feel like this is the moment we’ve been waiting for. I don’t feel fearful that the moment is going to be wasted; I honestly believe that this time is different.”

“And to the broader question [of] what it takes as leaders: It’s like any business imperative. You have to be data-driven. You have to set targets, and you have to put resources against it. You have to measure these things to be transparent on a regular cadence—and that’s the way you would drive forward any business initiative.”

Don’t miss the full Fast Company stories, available here and here.