How will we accomplish “more and greater things?”

"We have accomplished many and great things in a short time... But never shall we be satisfied with what we have done. Because we are obliged and determined to achieve more and greater things." Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk uttered these words in his famous speech on the 10th anniversary of the founding of our Republic. Also in the same speech, he expressed the goal of "reaching above the level of contemporary civilization."

Today, when we look back at the first 100 years of our Republic, we see that Türkiye has achieved significant milestones and even performed miracles in almost every field. Türkiye was reborn in the tumultuous 20th century, establishing a modern state that has earned global admiration. It is difficult to find another country that has implemented such a comprehensive transformation project in such a short time and improved the quality of life of its citizens to such an extent.

Even though some grades on our report card are less than remarkable, and we experience ups and downs and unfortunate interruptions from time to time, today we have an economy that is open to foreign markets and integrated with the world, along with a number of firmly established institutions in the public and private sectors. Undoubtedly, the creative and dynamic human power of our country is the main driving force behind this success.

Present-day Türkiye still has people who are undaunted by impossibilities and difficulties, who can generate new solutions and ideas under all circumstances, and who never lose their dream of a "better future." Like all generations of the Republic, they have a strong desire to move Türkiye forward and benefit all of humanity.

As the Eczacıbaşı Group, now in our 82nd year, we are happy to be a part of this glorious story. Founded in 1942 by a 29-year-old visionary scientist, Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı, we are especially proud that our Group has played a pioneering role in Türkiye's industrialization journey.

What makes this leadership possible and brings us all together on common ground is undoubtedly our passion for "entrepreneurship and value creation."

As members of Eczacıbaşı, we have always viewed entrepreneurship as an effort that goes far beyond expanding into new sectors, but rather a direct contribution to modernization and, more importantly, an endeavor to bring lasting value to society. Dr. Nejat Eczacıbaşı's words, "The true measure of private enterprise is its degree of success in raising the prosperity of society," have always been our guiding principle.

Inspired by our founder's constant pursuit of innovation, we see creative thinking as the primary driving force of entrepreneurship. With managers and teams who encourage innovative ideas and are open to experimenting, we have emphasized developing intrapreneurship within the organization. This approach has allowed us to become exemplary in establishing high-quality and universal standards in every field, from production to management.

Similarly, we have always upheld our founder's commitment to institutionalization. We have implemented the most effective and concrete practices of corporate governance.

As a result, we have introduced globally competitive organizations and brands to the business world, and globally respected institutions in science, sports, culture, and arts to civil society, many of which are now over half a century old.

So, what do we see when we look ahead?

First and foremost, we need to accept that uncertainty and unpredictability will persist and likely increase. Existential threats, especially the climate crisis and the risks posed by artificial intelligence, are likely to reach undeniable dimensions.

In this respect, while the growing interest in "stakeholder capitalism" offers hope, the coming century may resemble the last one with its geopolitical crises, social polarization, income inequalities, disasters, and mass migrations. We can already see that the current maps we use to navigate such a world will quickly become dysfunctional. For example, a global survey of nearly 5,000 CEOs found that almost half believe their companies will not survive the next 10 years if the current trajectory continues.

We don't have ready-made solutions to achieve our dreams of a "better future" and make our organizations resilient, agile, and progressive. Generative artificial intelligence won't provide effective solutions for a while, so we'll have to transform ourselves.

The list of things we must do for transformation is quite long. However, if we need to address a few basic items, we can say the following:

Most importantly, we will not lose our "realistic" optimism. We will strive to build exciting dreams and cultivate new hopes. We will adopt the principle of developing ourselves mentally and spiritually, learning continuously, and always following the path of reason and science. We will fearlessly face reality and review our business models, systems, habits, and preconceptions.

We will diagnose problems correctly. We will increase our collaborations to better use opportunities for joint solution development and co-creation. We will contribute to value-generating institutions and seminal projects. We will strengthen dialogue and interaction with all our stakeholders. We will improve our data analysis and cross-feedback mechanisms.

We will pay closer attention to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) principles in our strategies and business processes. We will continuously increase our positive impact. We will truly listen to the youth, giving them not only the right to speak but also the right to realize their ideas and make mistakes.

In all these endeavors, we will draw strength from our commitment to reason and science, our trust in each other, and Eczacıbaşı values.

The foremost responsibility placed on all of us today by “modern civilization” is to thrive.

I sincerely believe that in the new century of our Republic, we will accomplish "more and greater things" for the whole world. As long as we dream big, work with determination, and excel at what we do...