This blog post is part of the HBR Online Forum The CEO's Role in Fixing the System.
The key to reforming capitalism lies in creating shared value by harnessing the power of business to solve social problems. Paradoxically, in these difficult economic times, the business opportunities hidden in our urgent social problems offer the greatest potential for profit and growth most businesses will ever face. But there is a trick to discovering these opportunities: It takes a CEO who can see through walls to find them.