I wonder why this is even an issue. It’s as if social responsibility is an add-on to corporate operations. As if you should get a pat on the back for doing what should be a natural part of doing business.
In my opinion this is altogether missing the point. The majority of corporations haven’t the slightest idea how much untapped productivity and potential for social responsibility they already come packaged with. All corporations have an army of people taking care of their daily operations, yet they are oblivious to their people’s true potential. Why? Because they’ve never really given their employees a reason to express their genius.
I often ponder why people who give 10% of their energy at work throughout the day, turn around and give 110% of their energy and commitment to their recreational activities or their social cause; and often during that same day. Why do people drag their feet all day bored out of their minds at work, then suddenly come to life among their friends at the corner bar, or pour their heart into their basketball team on the community league?
How much time do corporations spend looking into this phenomenon?
If only the majority of people can feel as passionate about their jobs, they will be happier at work, they will challenge themselves to think better, achieve more, and always aim to be on top of their game. If this could be a part of corporate operations we would not need to talk about corporate social responsibility, because satisfied workers willingly go the extra mile to make sure their work touches all aspects of life in a well thought out manner.
Corporate social responsibility starts from the very nature of the organization. It’s not a patch job, it’s not putting pearls on a pig and suddenly expecting it to be glamorous.
There is a lot of talk lately about innovation, obviously followed by a proliferation of innovation consultants charging large fees for helping companies achieve innovation holy grail. This is of course easy to understand since the way the world interacts with products is now drastically changing about every few years, forcing business to reinvent itself as quickly as possible or face obsolescence.
What seems to be lacking though is common sense and the ability to stay level headed amidst all the noise and fear generated by the rapidly changing business climate of late. The companies that do keep their calm and seem to never be greatly affected by changing times are the ones that have solid principles and practices in place, and a clear understanding of why they do what they do. Honda, which is one such company tells about one of its practices which keeps it’s people innovative at every level.
With people as its core building block, the activity of business presents an amalgam of opportunities that have been thus far overlooked by a large number of businesses. This set of opportunities are now being taken advantage of by a handful of forward thinking organizations. And not surprisingly, it is propelling them to amazing success.
Business is personal. This is true for the most basic aspects of business such as,
• the reason why the business should exist
• how the business interacts with its clients
• turning profits for its investors
• and more importantly each employee’s own reasons for being a part of the organization
All these aspects have people as their driving force. However, the business world has for a long time put much effort into subtracting the personal aspect out of its activities for the sake of “objectivity”. Unfortunately to the detriment of the very people that constitute it’s lifeblood.
As it turns out in more recent years, business is realizing that the human aspect is the real asset it needs to cultivate and nurture. It is now common knowledge that in the current economy, the best talents are flocking to those organizations that place more emphasis on the well being and progress of their employees. This fact coupled with a well articulated company mission – that adds meaning to the lives of their workers – and an internal culture that promotes openness, honesty, and inclusion, creates an army of workers who bring the full power of their dedication to a commonly understood mission.
Such is the goal of thru consulting: work with business organizations to rally their employees behind the common goal of the company vision and mission. In so doing thru consulting co-creates with each company a situation in which employees become advocates of its vision and mission, where motivation is personal and visceral, as each individual involved – from employee to investor – deeply understands how their individual beliefs, vision, and actions contribute to the success of the common vision and mission.
Even though this short film was created in the 60s, it never gets old. It’s one of the most elegant ways to lend perspective to a mathematical idea, which would otherwise just remain “conceptual”.
