The Gap Does More Than Set Fashion Trends

I recently came across The Gap’s social responsibility website. I was quite impressed and wanted to give a shout out to their efforts. While their contributions to Project Red and their stand against child labor are more well known, what I was most impressed with is their dedication to employee involvement in their CSR initiatives. Some of their initiatives include:

• 2000 employee community leaders who organize company-sponsored service events and act as ambassadors for their work in the company and the community.
• In 2008 alone they donated $10.3 million in employee-driven community investment.
• Their Money for Time program provides a $150 grant to nonprofits for every 15 hours of employee volunteer time.
• Their Take Five program offers exempt corporate employees five hours of paid time off to volunteer each month, or 60 hours per year.
• In Action Days are events organized by employees of Gap Inc. brands to provide local volunteer opportunities. Thousands of employees have participated, dedicating hundreds of hours to a wide variety of projects.
• Team Grants support employee team projects. When at least three store employees spend 25 hours volunteering with a nonprofit that supports underserved youth or women, Gap Inc. provides a $250 grant to that organization. Each store receives an annual grant budget based on store volume. Since the program began in 2006, it has grown significantly, increasing from 220 team projects in 2007 to 723 in 2008.

Will Marre, leadership expert, is a huge proponent of employee involvement in CSR initiatives. In “Personal Social Responsibility Drives Employees to More Deeply Commit to Their Organization’s Success” he cites research that reveals that 93 percent of American employees say it is important for their companies to provide them with opportunities to become involved in social issues, and 72 percent want their employers to do more to support a cause or social issue. Marre believes that the best way to engage employees and create deep loyalty is to provide them with opportunities to make a difference in their community. He calls this Personal Social Responsibility.

Gap Inc. is a great example of Personal Social Responsibility. On their website it states, “We see a direct connection between our employees’ volunteerism and their commitment to Gap Inc. Engaged employees deliver strong business results, which is good for the community and our company. In a 2007 employee survey, nearly all respondents said it is important for them to work for a company that invests in the community. Studies also show that when a person is emotionally connected to a cause, giving is related to positive emotions and personal happiness. The bottom line: volunteering makes people happy, and happy people make better employees.”

Personal Social Responsibility is indeed becoming the new trend of CSR. As Marre states, “In the real world organizations are finding success by transforming a paternalistic paradigm of CSR into a launch pad for inspired employees to “save the world” right where they are.”

What Comes Around Goes Around

One of my husband’s favorite television shows is My Name is Earl.  Earl’s new found belief in karma is the backdrop of the show in which Earl tries to set right everything bad he’s done in hopes that by doing good, good will come to him.  While the show is fun and entertaining, I think it makes a good point.  Call it whatever you want—karma, the spirit of the universe, God— I have to agree with Earl.  When we honestly do as much good as we can, it not only benefits those we serve, but the good comes back to us ten fold.  And this rings true in every aspect of our lives, both personally and in business.

So this brings me to my question, why isn’t every company in the world grabbing social responsibility by the horns and incorporating it into their core business model? In Don’t Underestimate Power of Social Responsibility Lisa Hickey asserts that the common phrase, “what goes around comes around” is especially true in business.  She states, “There is a perfect correlation between socially responsible companies and economically viable companies.” 

In The Business Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility several benefits to business are discussed such as building a reputation as a responsible business sets you apart, customers are rewarding responsible companies, and reducing waste and emissions saves money.  Additional benefits addressed in the article are as follows:

• A good reputation makes it easier to recruit employees.
• Employees stay longer, reducing the costs and disruption of recruitment and retraining.
• Employees are better motivated and more productive.
• CSR helps ensure you comply with regulatory requirements.
• Activities such as involvement with the local community are ideal opportunities to generate positive press coverage.
• Good relationships with local authorities make doing business easier.
• Understanding the wider impact of your business can help you think up profitable new products and services.
• CSR can make you more competitive and reduces the risk of sudden damage to your reputation (and sales). Investors recognize this and are more willing to finance you.

 

Corporate Social Responsibility also describes six driving factors for CSR: (1) the shrinking role of government, (2) demands for greater disclosure, (3) increased customer interest, (4) growing investor pressure, (5) competitive labor markets, and (6) supplier relations.

Will Marré, acclaimed CSR speaker and advocate, is a passionate voice for the benefits of social responsibility.  In Will Marre, Leadership Expert, on How Green Business Is the New Revolution of Business Strategy he’s quoted, “When you combine the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit, the new sources of value and points of differentiation you uncover yields topline growth, fiercely loyal customers, and committed internal and external talent.”  Marré takes it a step further asserting that when CSR is incorporated into the business model it creates the greatest economic opportunity in the history of the world.   He states in Social Enterprise: How to Save the World and Grow Your Business at the Same Time, “Every problem is an opportunity. In the next decades we will have to re-invent every product we use to be ecologically friendly, energy efficient and recyclable. Just the opportunity to change all the light bulbs in the world has a mind-boggling upside.  The opportunities to lift billions of people from poverty, educate billions to live in the 21st century and unlock the keys to sustainable living and sustainable relationships are endless.”    

So, I return to my question: Why isn’t every company in the world embracing their social responsibilities when there is nothing to lose and everything to gain?  Doing good is a virtuous cycle that positively influences everyone and everything it touches.  So let’s take our cues from Earl, and even if our reason for doing good is so that good will come to us, we’ll make the world a better place.

 

CSR Will Still Survive the Economy

This past February in my post, CSR Will Survive the Economy, I make a case for CSR initiatives still having a bright future despite the economic downturn.  But as the recession continues and companies struggle through recovery, it makes me wonder…Just how long will the triple bottom line prevail when profit is at the front of everybody’s mind?

In Bonus Rage and its Pitfalls John Robertson discusses how new restrictions for top executives has a downside, social responsibility initiatives in particular taking a big hit.  He contends that in order for companies to operate under the triple bottom line of people, planet, profit, executives need the freedom to exercise judgment.  He states, “If companies were to be more than simply cash registers, executives had to be empowered to make choices. Directors needed to decide how the value being created should be divided up: how much to employees, how much to suppliers, how much to shareholders, how much to deserving community organizations and at what cost to the physical environments in which the company operates.”  He continues, “Unfortunately, this is precisely the discretion being stripped from the repertoire of the modern corporate executive as he is forced to make an unequivocal commitment to financial success.”

Robertson also contends that this won’t get better any time soon with governments looking to maximize the financial returns from their recent equity purchases, executives trying to repay loans as quickly as possible, and employees too scared of losing their job to demand better from their employer.

While Robertson makes a convincing argument, I believe that it’s only an excuse, a reason for leadership to free themselves of any obligation to humanity and the environment.  You see, this viewpoint stems from the idea of corporate social responsibility being solely a cost, rather than an integral, revenue building part of the business model.  Companies and leaders alike that still hold to the belief that CSR is merely writing a check will most likely cut back or quit their CSR practices altogether in the name of financial strife.

On the other hand, however, there are others who will strongly embrace the great opportunities social responsibility presents and come out stronger on the other side of this recession. Will Marré, CEO of REALeadership Alliance, states, “When times are tough it’s hard not to be hijacked by fear. Thinking about how much good we can do becomes downright unnatural when we’re genuinely afraid we won’t have what we need.  But what if we turn that fear upside down?  Imagine that the key to security, prosperity, and happiness comes from doing good.  As much good as possible.”  According to Marré, now is the time to invest in social responsibility.  In fact, he contends that saving the world is the greatest economic opportunity of our time.

I do indeed stand by my original posting…CSR will survive the economy.  We cannot allow our values to be turned on and off depending on the weather of the current situation.  The triple bottom line is a way of doing business, not a fad that has run its course.

Socially Responsible Leadership

It takes strong leaders to transform business and change the world.  But it can be done…and must.

In Five Features of Great Socially Responsible Leadership Mallen Baker gives a great list of strong socially responsible leadership qualities.
1) Being prepared to challenge the logic of your industry.
2) Doing something because it is the right thing to do, and then working out how to make it pay.
3) Understanding that the leaders sets incentives – and sometimes the bottom line is the wrong incentive.
4) Understanding when to follow the rules, and when to use common sense in the face of unintended outcomes.
5) Knowing that just because people around you see you as a leader, it doesn’t mean you’re a good one.

Will Marré also asserts a socially responsible leadership model in his recent article, CSR and the Four Ideals of Socially Responsible Leadership, he calls REALeadership.  The model is based on four principles:
R—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.
E—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?
A—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.
L—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.

Leadership, especially in today’s world climate, is indeed a great responsibility, but it’s also a great opportunity to do something really amazing.  I think Marré says it best in the conclusion of his article, “If you aren’t going to save the world then get out of the way and make room for someone who is.” Are you up to the challenge?

Social Responsibility vs. Greenwashing

Wow—greenwashing sure has been the subject of a lot of discussion lately.  I wanted to follow up on my recent post on the subject, War on Greenwashing.  It seems that while we are paying closer attention and trying to support green companies, we’re just as worried about being misled about who and what is actually as green as they claim to be. The “Green” Hypocrisy: America’s Corporate Environment Champions Pollute The World reports some disappointing news.  It states, “The irony of the “green” movement of US companies is that many of the firms that spend the most money and public relations effort trying to show the government, the public, and their shareholders that they are trying to improve the environment are also among the most prolific polluters in the country.”

The article goes on to list the Top Ten Greenwashers in America.  They are as follows:
1.    General Electric
2.    American Electric Power
3.    ExxonMobil
4.    DuPont
5.    Archer Daniels Midland
6.    Waste Management, Inc.
7.    International Paper
8.    British Petroleum
9.    Dow Chemical
10.    General Motors

Some are no surprise such as ExxonMobill (Read my post Exxon-Exoff), but all should be ashamed.  This time in history presents us with such an amazing opportunity to do something great in changing the world, in making a real difference in the lives of so many.  And when I see big companies with powerful leaders wasting this opportunity by flitting away their money on some bogus PR campaign or half efforts at protecting the environment, it drives me crazy.  Sure, things are bad right now, but at the same time we have the power to turn it around and give a real future to our children.  It’s exciting!  And if you’re not willing to rise above the herd and, as the saying goes, turn lemons into lemonade, then get out of the way and make room for someone who is.

Can Social Responsibility Save Us?

Just One More Thing for All Our Future

Social responsibility is a hot topic these days.  But are we serious about it?  In popular thinking it vaguely refers to playing nice and supporting worthy causes whenever we can.  It’s a justified expense. Business leaders promote social responsibility as having a brand “halo” effect that produces warm and fuzzy feelings about their company. After all, it’s supposed to help corporate reputations or soften up regulators.  Social responsibility with a megaphone is called cause marketing.  That’s when companies raise money for charity when you buy their products.  Project Red supported by companies as diverse as Starbucks and Hallmark have raised $100 million for aids treatment in Africa.  Nike’s Live Strong campaign has raised $70 million selling yellow wristbands with Lance Armstrong.  That’s all good as far as it goes.

In March, I spoke at the American Marketing Association Cause Conference and I challenged non-profit and business leaders to break free of the heavy gravity of this kind of trickle-down good works.  Borrowing from Gandhi’s insight I asked them to go beyond supporting good causes to “be the cause.”  Saving our future is not going to happen by sprinkling left over marketing dollars on the less fortunate.  No.  What’s needed is a radical paradigm shift on why we get up in the morning.

The most fundamental human question is “Are we willing to embrace the responsibility of a stranger’s well being?”  Sure it’s natural for us to help our children or our closest friends.  Clans and tribes have been doing this forever.  The elevated nature of civilization is based on the ideal to transcend our DNA and extend moral empathy to all other humans.   The essential challenge of corporate social responsibility is not whether a company recycles or eliminates its carbon footprint. It’s not whether it makes or sells organic razz-a-ma-tazz; rather, it comes down to how much empathy its leaders have for their employees and their customers.  Do they treat either the way they would want to be treated?

Modern business is great at turning resources into money.  And human resources are most often reduced to bio-widgets who can be overworked or laid off whenever leaders fail.  The great failure of modern business as a social institution is that it monetizes everything. Therefore people are not assets but expenses and the human casualties of this viewpoint are staggering.  In this Great Recession up to 50 million people around the world are expected to lose their jobs by the end of the year.  The fastest growing households in the U.S. are those where no one has a job.  Why?  How?  It’s all due to massive leadership failure.  Not only dishonesty but also incompetence.  But all of that is changing.  Hopefully just in time.

According to research reported in Understanding the New Leadership Model a new generation of leaders are changing things.  It turns out that leaders under 40 have a very different central driving motivation than boomer leaders.  You see boomers tend to be driven by personal success and personal power.  That means every decision tends to be weighed on a scale that measures how the decision might magnify personal wealth or power.  A second driving boomer motive is success or goal achievement.  The payoff here is increased recognition, influence and confidence.  Money, power, and fame sound like the motives that have created today’s world.  The new emerging generation of leaders has a different top-of-mind motive.  It’s called social motivation.  It focuses on helping others, fairness, merit and eliminating conflict.  Psychologists call this a shift from self-interest to humanitarian drive.  That’s the good news.

The challenge is that most large organizations struggle with humanitarian motives.  This tends to drive off talented, high performing young leaders who seek high-purpose companies or start their own.  This is a growing problem for large enterprises that are top heavy with obsolete leaders pushing irrelevant ideas in a world dying to be reinvented.

The world is convulsing before our eyes.  The old ways will not lead to a future of sustainable abundance.  Yet that is the only world that will thrive.  Now is the time to re-invent ourselves as leaders of the future.  We need to do it right where we stand.  If we are surrounded by people who are afraid to rock the boat, it’s time for us to rock.  How?

Just do one more thing for humanity every day.  Speak up when you are afraid.  Make one more call, have one more conversation, create one more idea, send one more email…just do one more thing every single day than you would have otherwise done and see where you stand in six months.  You’ll be a leader the world needs.  Just one more thing…for all our future.

So do you think I am too idealistic?  Do you see this humanitarian trend in younger leaders?  Do you think business can be harnessed to create good?

Most Admired Companies

Last week Fortune Magazine came out with its list of Most Admired Companies. And in my opinion, this is the list that counts.  The judging criteria are innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of products/services, and global competitiveness. Right on.

The companies that made the top nine on the list are:
1. Apple
2. Berkshire Hathaway
3. Toyota Motor
4. Google
5. Johnson & Johnson
6. Procter & Gamble
7. FedEx
8. Southwest Airlines
9. General Electric

In this day and age no one really cares about who is solely making the most money.  Yes, profits are important, after all a company must be sustaining, but profits are only part of the equation.  No matter how much profit a company can boast, what everyone is paying attention to is who is leading the world to a better future with qualities such as innovation and social responsibility.  And when companies focus on these qualities, profits are sure to follow.  I know.  These companies are not perfect.  But neither am I.  What most of them are doing is facing in the right direction.  These are the companies we want to buy from, work for, and see succeed.

CSR and the 4 Ideals of Socially Responsible Leadership

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.

Corporate Social Opportunity with Organic Light Bulbs

Yesterday I met with the owners of eFactor Media about one of their name brand clients who is a leader in creating the next generation of lighting.  It’s called organic light emitting diodes or OLEDs.  The world has been waiting for affordable OLED lights for a long time.  They light 10 times longer than the longest lasting florescent lights, have no mercury and now are made out of organic polymers.  The vision is that in the coming decades all electric lights in the world will be replaced with lighting that uses a fraction of the current energy to manufacture and illuminate.  This is a genuine opportunity to help create a more sustainable future that brings the benefits of technology to all corners of the globe.

It also turns out that literacy rates go up by where electric lights are introduced because it creates more productive awake time to read and learn and even to do homework.  What my colleagues and I were talking about is how to help this global technology company translate their green science into a culture with the visionary zeal to convert the world’s use of lights to organic ones.  This is how Corporate Social Responsibility becomes Corporate Social Opportunity.