There is an old debate: does art imitate life or does life imitate art? One of the most common portrayals in modern media is the business leader as the bad guy. Turn on most shows or movies, and you’ll rarely see a positive portrayal of a compassionate, service-oriented CEO, and the news isn’t much better. We see headlines about corporate greed, price gouging, and mass layoffs. We hear about billionaires hoarding wealth or companies cutting corners for profit. But those stories, while real, don’t tell the whole truth. They paint the business as the villain when, in fact, it has been and can be one of the greatest forces for good in the world.
For every story of exploitation, there are countless stories of redemption: a manufacturer providing stable jobs for families, a contractor mentoring young apprentices, a small-business owner who quietly gives to their church or community causes. These stories don’t make the evening news, but they are what hold our communities together.
Alabama companies are not just paying for employees; they are investing in people. It’s the Troy timber company that is funding adoptions and the Dothan dealership that invests in leadership development in its young workers. It’s the Andalusia-based utility company that gives its employees time off to do service work in their community and the Eastern Shore real estate company that provides housing for young community leaders. It’s the local construction company that helps with habitat for humanity and the numerous Alabama companies giving school children backpacks.
Recently, business lost its moral center. It became disconnected from the idea that enterprise, when guided by character, can lift people, not just profit from them. It’s time to redeem that vision and restore business to its rightful place as a powerful instrument of good.
A growing number of business leaders are rediscovering what wise stewards have always known: profit is not the enemy of purpose; it’s the engine that allows purpose to run. The healthiest businesses measure success not by a single bottom line but multiple: profit and purpose, results and relationships, revenue and redemption.
When a company pursues both, the outcomes multiply. Employees find meaning, customers experience trust, and communities thrive. The best leaders no longer ask, “How much can we make?” but rather, “How much good can we do with what we make?”
Capitalism Done Right
Capitalism has plenty of critics, and some of the criticism is fair. Unchecked greed can corrode the system from within. But capitalism, when practiced with integrity, remains the most effective means ever created for solving human problems at scale.
Free enterprise rewards initiative, innovation, and service. It has lifted billions of people out of poverty around the world. When guided by moral conviction, it channels creativity toward human flourishing.
When we see business only as a means of making money, we miss its greater calling. Business at its best is stewardship, it’s the management of resources, opportunities, and people in a way that multiplies good.
Some call it conscious capitalism. Others call it social entrepreneurship. I call it redeeming business—the idea that the marketplace can be one of the most powerful mission fields on earth.
Here in Alabama, we’re blessed with an entrepreneurial spirit rooted in hard work, faith, and love of community. From our farms and family-owned stores to our construction firms and tech startups, we have business owners who care deeply about both people and performance.
What if Alabama became known not just for growth, but for goodness? What if our state’s greatest export wasn’t just products, but principles—integrity, generosity, and excellence?
We can be a model of what redeemed business looks like: companies that honor employees, build communities, and see profit as a tool for positive change. Businesses that are guided not by fear of failure or hunger for fame, but by a vision of stewardship and service.
The invitation is simple: lead redemptively. Build something that outlasts you. Measure your success not only in dollars, but in impact. Let your business be a place where people flourish, where customers are served, employees are developed, and communities are strengthened.
Capitalism doesn’t need to be condemned; it needs to be redeemed. And it starts with leaders who see their work not as a grind, but as a calling.
