The Business Enterprise Trust, a nonprofit organization which was based in Palo Alto, California, celebrated exemplary acts of courage, integrity and social vision in American business. The organization's purpose was to examine specific instances of bold, creative leadership that combined sound business management with social conscience. Television Producer

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...

, working with James E. Burke, the former chairman and CEO of

Johnson and Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

, founded the Business Enterprise Trust (BET) in 1989. The two recruited some of the leading lights of American business and labor for its board of directors, including: *

Warren E. Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...

of Berkshire Hathaway *Katharine Graham of the Washington Post company *Henry B. Schact of Lucent Technologies *Robert A. Iger of Capital Cities/ABC Inc. *Ambassador Sol M. Linowitz *Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor *Douglas Fraser of the United Auto Workers From 1991 to 1997, the BET hosted an annual awards ceremony in New York City and produced short video documentaries, business school cases and teaching notes. The stories of twenty-five of the thirty BET awardees are featured in the book Aiming Higher (AMACOM, 1996). An extensive array of business education materials is still available through Harvard Business School Publishing. These materials have been used in more than 500 business schools, universities and corporate management training programs throughout the country. The BET awards were gala affairs that featured such keynote speakers as President Bill Clinton, First

Lady Hillary Clinton The word ''lady'' is a term for a girl or woman, with various connotations. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the equivalent of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. Infor ...

, Vice President

Albert Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic nom ...

, Senator

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...

, and journalist Bill Moyers. The breakfast ceremonies in the Rainbow Room of Rockefeller Center were hosted by Moyers, Diane Sawyer, and

Barbara Walters Barbara Jill Walters (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. Known for her interviewing ability and popularity with viewers, Walters appeared as a host of numerous television programs, including ...

, among others, and were attended by such business leaders as Laurence Tisch, Jack Welch, and John Walton. Five honorees were recognized each year for blending product innovation with social concern, for pioneering successful business models in the inner city, for improving workforce diversity, and for achieving superior corporate performance by appealing to the best in their employees. In addition to awards for specific acts of social innovation, the BET also presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to such visionaries as J. Irwin Miller of Cummins Engine, James Rouse of the Rouse Company, Frank Stanton of CBS, and the Haas Family of Levi Strauss & Company. Long-term funding failed to materialize, and the BET ceased operations in 1998.

References

Non-profit organizations based in California Norman Lear {{nonprofit-org-stub