The delightful Darden professor and stakeholder theorist, Ed Freeman  talks about stakeholder interrelationships in terms of opportunity. As he’s quoted in Conscious Capitalism (and pretty much everywhere), “When there is conflict between stakeholders, it is a point of business opportunity.” And even more evocatively, “Behind every activist is a new business idea.”

My holiday season wish for you, friends, as we continue to face new waves of uncertainty, is that we all gain renewed will to look at our friction points through Ed’s lens.

Solving partners’ worries while elevating our own business just makes the world better. And finding opportunity and differentiation from our nay-sayers’ thoughts sure beats letting them wear on our psyche in negative ways.

I’d wish you a pair of rose-colored glasses, but it takes clear eyes (and lots of self- and business-awareness) to find opportunities like these, so perhaps I wish you good, strong clear ones.

Cheers and warm hopes that all your wishes come true.