June 17, 2010

The Law of Reflection

Today I gave a talk at the Board Of Trade in Vancouver. 

The theme? Community synergy for companies.  The point of my talk was that when a company makes a contribution to its community, it benefits all parties - including itself.  "When they do well, we do well," is a mantra of companies that build-in community service as part of its value system.  

One point: Obey the Law Of Reflection if you want to get this right.  This law states that companies should contribute to communities or cause as a reflection of its values, and if possible, from its core assets and capabilities.  Examples in shipping: UPS has a value of education and training opportunities.  In its shipping hub (Louisville), the company invested in a school-to-work program for high schools students as well as a university for full time employees.  Fedex, with a core value of safety, built a successful "Walk This Way" program for kids to learn pedestrian safety. 

Meanwhile, Enron's involvement with the arts in Houston was driven by Kenneth Lay's passion for the arts, not the company's values - and was promptly cancelled when the economy started to go soft.  Moreover, it didn't 'make sense' to employees or Houstonites as it didn't come from a logical place. 

Here's the other side of the Reflection idea: Give from your core assets and it will work even better. That's what health care group purchasing company Consorta did when it wanted to contribute to United Way. The CEO dispatched some of the best negotiators to help the United Way trim its operating budget, saving the company twenty one million dollars in its first year!  This was way more than the company could directly contribute (and would have crashed its P&L).   

So, if you want your company to make a difference, make sure you are not pursuing an unrelated passion or trying to write checks to 'check the box.'  Proper social outreach is good business - which keeps it sustainable over time.  

Bring me in to speak at your next conference!

Posted at 4:19 PM in Business Effectiveness , Social Responsibility  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)  |  TrackBack (0)

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Commentor

Wise and reasonable. when one's reach to the community is based on core capacities, the effort channels priceless contribution by what it can do best. And it can indeed be done. The sense of having done something beyond earnings of the corporation and compensation for individuals is a feeling of achievement that can not be fully measured. It is not in the material criteria anymore.

Posted by: Earl Canlas  |  July 05, 2010 at 10:28 PM

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