Water is a precious commodity, but it's in danger. The UN has cautioned that Sustainable Development Goal #6, which seeks to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030, is not on track. Companies need to help not only manage their own water use and discharge, but to also be a catalyst for change.

Culture of innovation is a powerful driving force for corporations. The bigger picture, however, is that when the culture of innovation is measured consistently with other descriptive attributes, the results can reliably predict the cash flow multiple. The clear implications are that managers who need to justify and provide accountability for their budgets have a new tool to measure, value, and manage return on investment for intangible assets.

Detroit's recovery is starting to gain ground, guided by, among other things, Detroit Future City (DFC), a 50-year vision for the city developed with input from more than 100,000 Detroiters. Companies have always been an important part of Detroit and they're critical to its recovery. Quicken Loans, JPMorgan Chase, and Ford are among several organizations that provide a model for corporate engagement in Detroit.

Now, more than in any other time during this decade, we see signs of a comeback in automation activity. The timing could not be better. Labor shortages are becoming a growing problem for the US economy, especially in jobs that do not require a college degree, which in large part are the jobs where automation is likely to have the most impact. From a demographic perspective, this problem is only going to get worse.

There are many anecdotes in the media today of employers across a range of industries wanting to hire more people, but not being able to find them: trucking companies facing driver shortages, retailers and restaurants being short-staffed, and construction companies and manufacturers encountering a limited supply of skilled or STEM-educated applicants.

If you were the founder or CEO of a start-up company or later-stage firm, would you be willing to pledge 1 percent of your equity to charity? Building a purpose-based company from the beginning can be difficult without cash or profit, but pledging 1 percent of your equity is a quick and easy way to get started. Pledge 1% is a global on-line movement that encourages and empowers companies of all sizes and stages to do just that.

Goodwill on the balance sheet isn’t good enough. Until a better, more transparent accounting, or fair value method replaces goodwill, intangible assets will remain impossible to manage and unaccountable to shareholders. Not providing transparency will have consequences such as significant write-downs ($15 billion write-down for the acquisition of Kraft) of brands and restatements of financial reports.