Co-founder, Fellow and Trustee of the World Business Academy, and Executive Editor of Perspectives, Willis Harman passed in 1997 at his home in Stanford, California.
Willis not only played a very special role in shaping and forming the World Business Academy, but also made enormous contributions to society through his speaking, writing, and life example. His words and his thoughts have been an inspiration over the years. His insights about the role of business are central to the mission and teachings of the Academy. His vision of the world was one where business would share "responsibility for the whole."
Willis was a founding member of the Academy's Board of Trustees. He was also President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, which he joined at the invitation of Edgar Mitchell in 1977 to help in 'expanding knowledge of the nature and potentials of the mind' and applying that knowledge to the advancement of health and well-being for humankind and the planet. In March 1990, he concluded his 10-year term as a Regent of the University of California. He was Emeritus Professor of Engineering-Economic Systems at Stanford University and for 16 years was Senior Social Scientist at SRI International in Menlo Park, California. Willis authored or co-authored a number of books, including: New Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science (1994); Creative Work (1990); Global Mind Change (1988); Paths to Peace (1987); Higher Creativity (1984); Changing Images of Man (1982); and An Incomplete Guide to the Future (1976).
"Business has become, in this last half century, the most powerful institution on the planet. The dominant institution in any society needs to take responsibility for the whole -- as the church did in the days of the Holy Roman Empire. But business has not had such a tradition. This is a new role, not yet well understood or accepted.
Built into 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 upon 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 the light of that kind of responsibility.
And that, to me, is what the World Business Academy is really about. It is not just another association of business people to exchange information and foster collegiality. It is about investing ourselves in a task of historic proportions. Some will be called to this task and many will not. Those who are will find it to be extremely gratifying and fulfilling."
Dr. Willis Harman,
Emeritus Professor Stanford University
World Business Academy Co-founder and Fellow