Corporate Social Responsibility is rapidly transforming into Corporate Social Opportunity. And it’s about time. Socially responsible leaders look for opportunity in a time of crisis, and if they look in the right places, opportunity is all around.
The idea that it is the responsibility of leadership to come up with new ways to create value so good, hard working people can keep working takes a good dose of both courage and creativity, but that’s what Corporate Social Responsibility is all about. In a time of hunkering down, strong leaders look for ways to expand. How? By looking for ways to benefit humanity and heal the environment. Wait a minute isn’t that what we don’t have money to do? Aren’t we going to have to wait until good times roll to spend our extra money on doing good? Not at all. Just look at the Grameen Bank, a bank that invented micro credit for the world’s poorest people and makes money by loaning to sub, sub, sub, prime borrowers yet has 50 million customers and a 96% repayment record.
If we are just willing to lift our heads above the herd there is a path to sustainable abundance. When the whole world is thinking small it’s time to think big. Our path to re-prosperity is through saving the world and through socially responsible leadership. We cannot continue to compete for scarce resources using wasteful, broken business practices that turn our planet into money. Rather, it’s time to turn ideas into value. For that we need a radically new leadership model based on the four ideals of socially responsible leadership—what I call the REAL Leadership model.
The first ideal of socially responsible leadership is to be Relevant. A leader’s impact is long. Their decisions weigh more than others. So they must be wise enough to constantly see the big picture, to carefully consider the impact of their decisions on employees, customers, suppliers, the environment, the community, and the generations of unborn.
The second ideal of socially responsible leadership is to be Ethical. To be ethical is to be moral. The moral standard is do as much good as you can. Create the Greatest Total Value you can. For everyone, all the time. Why else lead?
The third ideal of socially responsible leadership is to create sustainable Abundance. Sustainable Abundance requires more than innovation. It demands invention. It requires creating something with unique value that genuinely benefits humanity and heals the environment.
The fourth ideal of socially responsible leadership is to create a Legacy. A leader’s legacy is his or her impact on the future. The world needs saving. We need new solutions we can implement as fast as possible.
That’s what social responsibility is all about. If you aren’t going to save the world then get out of the way and make room for someone who is.
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With the four principles spelled out Will was eloquent, however, more succinctly, guided by those principles – Lead, follow or get out of the way.