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Do you hear what I hear?
By Dave Stangis
The following post by Dave Stangis, vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility, Campbell Soup Company, is excerpted from his blog:
I’m on my way home from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s International Corporate Citizenship Conference that was held earlier this week in San Francisco. I can’t remember the last time I just attended a conference – and this time was no different. I participated on three panels as well as in the Center’s Board meeting that followed the conference.
The theme of the conference was “Danger and Opportunity” – fairly fitting for the current economic environment and the evolution of the CSR and Sustainability field. Several threads emerged at the conference, at least for me.
First, the profession is maturing. The panels I participated on covered the key competencies required to excel as a CSR and Sustainability leader; the Business Value Drivers (Growth, Return on Capital, Risk Management and Management Quality); and the measurable link between CSR and Reputation. These topics can only be taken on once people move off the business case (a topic beaten to death over the years).
Secondly, there is new tension in the system. The maturity of the profession, the economic environment and even the tarnished view of U.S. corporations on the global stage have changed the tone of the debate. John Elkington came to the conference to participate in an evening Q&A with Brad Googins. If you don’t know who these guys are – you should – do a little web surfing to find out. John is the best I know at predicting the future in these spaces. He delivered a very frank portrayal that left people sober and optimistic at the same time.
The final morning keynote was delivered by Dev Patnaik, author of Wired to Care. Dev was energized and entertaining. His message was so simple, it made you wonder why we didn’t all “get it” already. His depiction of empathic innovation and creativity put a unique lens on the work we do everyday.
But the question on people’s minds during the breaks and in the hallways was consistent – “What is the galvanizing message?” Some thought it was a rude economic awakening, disruptive business cycles and utter ambiguity for the foreseeable future. Others described renewed focus, business integration and the opportunity for leadership. Some seemed to be torn between being tentative or being optimistic. If you were there, I’d be interested in what you heard. I know what I heard was different than what some of my colleagues picked up.
I thought some of the research the Center conducted on metrics, competencies and reputation was useful and applicable in the marketplace immediately. I walked away impatient as ever, reinforced in my position that CSR and Sustainability are all about better business, higher impact, more engaged employees and long term results.<–>
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:34 PM
[...] Dave. We highly recommend you read the rest of his post — it’s great [...]