An Inspiration Break with Ignasi Carreras
"At ESADE, I’m lucky to have contact with students whose brilliance lies in their ability to give the best of themselves in their lives. That, I think, is inspiring."
Why did you decide to become a researcher and focus on strategic management and corporate social responsibility?
I didn’t decide to become a researcher. I studied industrial engineering, and in the first stage of my career I did research on the subject of energy efficiency at the Polytechnic University. I did that because I wanted to address some of the challenges our society was facing.
How did you become a university lecturer, and how did you end up at the Institute for Social Innovation at ESADE?
After working for many years as an executive at an NGO, I thought it was important to share the experience that I had, to help others who are starting out or just getting their footing as executives. I found that teaching was one way for me to do this.
I’m at ESADE because I understand it to be a school that trains business executives but also executives for the third sector and government bodies. In this world, I would like to see executives who are responsible and committed to society.
When I joined ESADE in September 2006, I initially set out to develop a centre for non-profit institutions. After a couple months, people said to me “Why don’t you add to that idea some of the things that ESADE is doing to transform society? So then, with the help of other ESADE faculty members, the Institute for Social Innovation was created in 2007.
Initially, we wanted to focus on leadership, NGO management and corporate social responsibility, and we also incorporated aspects of social entrepreneurship, even though it’s called the “Institute for Social Innovation. Over time we started focusing more on social innovation models.
What aspects of your activity at ESADE do you find most exciting?
What I like best is teaching classes to people who are motivated to help transform society. All the training programmes for NGO executives and the corporate social responsibility subjects that we organise for ESADE’s various official programmes – I like those very much. I teach a subject in the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) called “Strategy II. I really have a great time because I like interacting with young people for a change, and also because I think I’m a different sort of lecturer. I try to get them to question many things.
Where do you get inspiration when you’re searching for ideas?
I think people should continually search for inspiration in their minds. When I really need more inspiration, I look to the top international centres and try to see what their goals for the future are. And I also look to people who are often in difficult situations but nevertheless are able to face the future with great optimism. They give me a clue as to where I should be headed.
What you do when you need to disconnect?
To be honest, I don’t often feel the need to disconnect because for the most part I like what I do. I try not to burn out and I seek inspiration. I think there are three main sources of inspiration: first, spiritual inspiration, which I cultivate regularly; second, sports and outdoor leisure activities, which I also do every day; and third, being with my wife and the other people I love.
What’s your greatest dream as an academic working on social responsibility and strategic management?
I’ve reached the point where I’m no longer interested in major projects, but rather in responding, to the extent that I can, to the challenges that arise every day. But my biggest dream is not to lose my enthusiasm for being able to help people have more decent lives and, through ESADE and other organisations with which I collaborate, getting many more people involved to make this feasible.
What saying, song, book or movie do you think of often?
There are two books that I’ve re-read: the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, which I believe has made an impact on many people, and City of Joy, which shows how people in dire circumstances in Calcutta are able to give the best of themselves in an extremely complex context.
For many years, in many countries I’ve visited, I’ve drawn much inspiration from encountering difficult situations but seeing how people are able to face these situations with great courage and a sense of solidarity. And now I find the same thing in other contexts. At ESADE, I’m lucky to have contact with students whose brilliance lies not in their academics but in their ability to give the best of themselves in their lives. That, I think, is inspiring.
