Profit and Purpose: Indra Nooyif former PepsiCo chairman, talks about balancing bottom line and societal success.

• Author: Nooyi, Indra
• Position: THE CHARACTER OF THE CORPORATION

What are the essential attributes --the character--of a corporation? It's a vital question, one that societies around the world have been pondering for centuries.

During the Gilded Age, satirist Ambrose Bierce defined the corporation as "an ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility." The modern version of this idea was perhaps best articulated by Milton Friedman in his 1970 New York Times Magazine article, "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits." The claim that a business has a "social conscience," Friedman wrote, is tantamount to "pure and unadulterated socialism."

Now, I don't entirely disagree with the argument Friedman makes in the article. As the former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, I can tell you from experience that corporations should not be in the business of playing the role of government. Society has needs that corporations are not built to address on their own.

And yet, I believe his perspective is incomplete. It doesn't reflect the ambiguities of our 21st century world. Because the fact is, in 2019, the line between business and society is increasingly blurry.

With the rise of digital savvy non-governmental organizations, every perceived infraction, anywhere in the supply chain, can become a major business issue. Corporations are increasingly navigating complex tax and regulatory pressures in markets around the world. And everyone, including consumers, employees and investors increasingly expect business leaders to run companies in a way that's responsive to the needs of the world around us.

The fundamental challenge facing corporations today, then, is not to deny these new realities and new ambiguities. It's to embrace them and work toward making a profit in a way that also makes a difference.

This broader view of the purpose, the character, of a corporation has been woven into the fabric of PepsiCo's DNA from the beginning. The company's founders, Don Kendall and Herman Lay, set out 12 ideas for succeeding in a large corporation, including "put your emphasis on job fulfillment and a positive working environment, not on making money" As early as 1968, PepsiCo's annual report noted, "To ensure a continuing climate in which it can prosper, the modern company... must take an active role in civic, cultural and...