Hope and Legacy with Jane Goodall

On 22 November 2023, during Syzygy — The Overview Effect's annual event dedicated to positive-impact innovation — I had the opportunity to interview Jane Goodall. A conversation that left me with three learnings and two messages I want to share.

Three learnings

The first is her love of nature and her understanding that protecting it is protecting ourselves. Not as an exercise in altruism, but as a mechanism of collective survival.

The second is her demonstration that animals experience emotions. A finding that, when she first presented it, was met with scepticism by the scientific community, and that today is one of the pillars of modern ethology.

The third is her ability to break down barriers. As a researcher in a predominantly male environment, with a methodology that challenged the conventions of the time. She did not ask for permission — she simply proved results.

Two messages

Hope and courage

Goodall insisted that there are exemplary companies, proven solutions and inspiring leaders who can spread hope. "Without hope there is no future," she said. And she added that hope is not passive — it takes courage to act, to invest in what does not yet have consensus, to bet on models that combine economic return with verifiable impact.

Legacy over profit

The second message was a direct appeal to business leaders: when making strategic decisions, prioritise legacy and the future of humanity over short-term profit. Not as an exercise in philanthropy, but as a more robust, more resilient business strategy, better aligned with what the markets will demand in the coming years.

Our mission

At The Overview Effect we work to connect global challenges with business models that simultaneously generate economic, social and environmental value. The conversation with Jane Goodall reaffirmed something we have defended from day one: positive impact is not a cost — it is a driver of business value.