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2010 Conference: Verizon’s Kathryn Brown emphasizes importance of values
By Tim Wilson, Editor & Writer, Boston College Center
In her closing keynote address at the Center’s conference, Kathryn C. Brown of Verizon emphasized the importance of values for corporate citizenship professionals. But she wasn’t talking about the kind you can measure with indicators or display on a spread sheet.
After three days of listening to speakers and talking with attendees, Brown asked a question of herself and the audience. “How is it that in the worst year for business in three decades, when our companies have been under such strain, that there could be such energy in this room?”
Brown, the senior vice president, Public Policy Development & Corporate Responsibility at Verizon, noted that despite Wall Street’s disastrous mismanagement of consumers’ money, the most recent Edelman corporate trust barometer is going up and optimism seems to abound that economic rebirth is coming with spring. How, she asked, can that be?
“I think it’s because we all faced the abyss and then we walked back from it and rediscovered our core shared values – as a society, as a political body and as corporate citizens,” remarked Brown.
She told how in putting together Verizon’s just completed social report, she found that every indicator or metric to measure execution of corporate responsibility commitments was up. This, Brown contended, is a reflection of the core values held by Verizon and shared by other companies as they faced difficult business decisions in tough economic times.
“Our companies have shown their stuff,” said Brown, who pointed out that the Boston College Center’s 2009 State of Corporate Citizenship survey showed that most companies did not pull back on corporate citizenship commitments, and that 10 percent were actually doing more.
Brown’s response to that finding: “I said, ‘whoa, corporate America really does have soul’.” She added that corporate America has “demonstrated that our collective value system is one that we share with our customers and our fellow citizens.”
Explaining how she sees core values as key, Brown said she took exception to Jim Collins’ proposition in his book “Good to Great” that all great companies possess core values but it didn’t matter which values were embraced by the company. She aligns her thinking more with that of Lynn Sharp Paine in her book “Value Shift”, where Paine describes the necessity of a mature corporate conscience for both sustainability and for profit making. Brown cited Paine’s contention that “an internal corporate compass leads the way for success in a very complex society and that compass must be informed by the same code that drives our civil society or it will fail.”
In addressing what makes a value core, Brown turned to writings from much further back in history. She quoted the Bible’s Book of Proverbs in listing six sins that “the lord hateth and a seventh that his soul despises.” Reciting the list that touched on dishonesty, deceit and sowing discord, Brown observed that it makes clear what should be the core values in establishing a civil society.
“Corporate citizens, like all citizens, have rights and responsibilities to the society in which they operate,” she said. “This is where, I believe, public policy in a democracy and corporate citizenship meet each other. We shape each other.” And beyond the civil compact between business and society, Brown said, companies must have core values.
These core values, Brown said, came through in 2009 when confidence in all major institutions was at an all-time low. But confidence in corporate America, she noted, is now rebounding faster than in other areas. “The companies in this room found their way,” said Brown. “Their compass worked.”
Brown credited her fellow corporate citizenship professionals for making sure companies followed their internal compass.
“We bring focus to the core values we say we believe in, and a discipline in executing on them,” she remarked. “We serve as interpreters between the demands of the business and the demands of our legitimate stakeholders. And we help to find the path to success for both. It’s our job to help set structure for all of this to make it part of how we do business.”
Brown encouraged attendees to have great hope that the economy is getting better and business is going to be a real force for growth and renewal.
“Keeping ourselves dedicated to that purpose really illuminates our work and should make us feel very good,” Brown said. “I think we should celebrate a little more and then let’s get back and do our jobs.”
