This call to the nation is also a call to American business. The price and promise of citizenship is at the heart of the reconfiguration of business that is currently playing itself out in the midst of the most critical economic crisis in several generations.

The concept of business having responsibilities to society has been going through its own transformation for the past 10 years. Indeed, a great deal of rethinking and recalibrating corporate responsibility has been taking place, positioning citizenship at the heart of the enterprise. As Lee Scott, the chief of Walmart, said this month speaking to the National Retail Federation: “Let me be clear about this point. There is no conflict between delivering value to shareholders and helping solve bigger societal problems.”

But just as President Obama is challenging all of us as citizens, the private sector has to take this challenge seriously both as a key component of business success in the 21^st century and as a citizen responsible for doing its part creating a sustainable society. As Lee Scott emphasizes, the two are not mutually exclusive and in fact are intricately entwined with each other.

So what are the implications of the price and the promise of citizenship?

For too long we have been aware of the price that business has paid by not taking citizenship seriously, and especially by not seeing it as a critical component of sustainable business. The plummeting loss of trust in business – sparked by obsessive attention to profits and short-term gains, disregard of environmental standards and excessive executive compensation – built a reputation that dispelled any notion of meaningful citizenship. The attempt to use charitable contributions and visible community involvement in the midst of core misbehavior and callousness was laid bare by Enron, among others. So the price for ignoring citizenship has become quite clear in recent times.

Today’s price for companies will mean a more significant engagement and involvement that will clearly manifest to all stakeholders that business contributions to society will be deeds and not words, leadership and not follower-ship, and active and visible engagement, not simply checks and boosterism.

It will require a significantly deeper engagement of the tough social problems that Mr. Scott referenced, from education to health care; from creating an energy independent and sustainable country, to insuring affordable health care for all. It will require putting brands aside and holding hands together in a new spirit of collective leadership and citizenship.

The price of citizenship will be to create a new capitalism that values business and social sustainability in the same breath. The hardcore measure of profits will have to be tempered by progress in citizenship, and a new belief that one feeds the other.

The price of citizenship will be to create new measures of business success, to find new ways to use the total assets of a company to address social problems. The price of citizenship will be to reinvent citizenship within the firm, embed it throughout the business in its relationships with stakeholders, its products and services, and in the very processes of conducting business. 

While paying the price will involve more than the cost of a simple makeover, the value of citizenship’s promise will far outweigh its price.

Just start with your employees. It is clear that most employees are looking to be part of an enterprise that has meaning beyond its profits. The Cone Millennial Cause Study found that about 75 percent of those entering and moving up into today’s work force want to work for a company “that cares about how it impacts and contributes to society.”

Growing evidence from the consumer movement and the green revolution clearly point to a new set of expectations of a company’s citizenship that not only cares about social and environmental issues, but walks the talk in terms of its practices and its products. Companies are judged less by how they minimize any harm from their footprint of their operations, and more by the lasting handprint they leave through positive contributions to communities and society.

Indeed, the promise of corporate citizenship is bright. Despite the current doldrums resulting from our collapsing economic system, there is little doubt that whatever the way out is, and whenever it is, the role of business will have to look quite different than that of the previous decade.

The spectacle of Bernie Madoff can no longer be the prevailing face of business, and the aspirations of Lee Scott and others will find a much more promising set of results for both business and society. The vision and voices of a new capitalism will find a much more engaged business and a greatly energized employee base. Luckily we have had a beginning base forming over the past decade with new innovations in social entrepreneurship, collaborative business partnerships, and many examples of companies using their innovation to spark breakthroughs and major contributions to the larger society.

Sometimes it takes a crisis such as the one in which we are deeply mired to find and articulate the promise of the new day. But the seeds of change are spread across a wide spectrum, and the desire to create a new society is no less real for President Obama than it is for our corporate leaders.

Now is the time to lead, innovate, commit and create. This is the promise of America and American capitalism.

Let citizenship thrive!

The financial meltdown of 2008 will be remembered for the seismic changes it created.  The socio-economic and political structures in the world as we knew them have all shifted and this requires business to reexamine the role it plays in the large civic arena. As we try to comprehend these changes, there’s not a minute to spare in reassessing the handprint a company leaves on society.

Full civic engagement by a company involves five critical components: people, products, philanthropy, public policy, and presence. Like a hand, these five elements provide strength and value when working together. 

So often a company leads its community engagement story with what it is donating to whom, and how many volunteers are doing great things in the neighborhoods. This is the people and philanthropy part of the handprint.  These things are important and contribute wonderful value but are they the most effective way for business to be truly engaged. Do they demonstrate the real value of a company and what it can contribute to society and to its own business? In light of the tremendous energy and influence of business in the 21^st century, current engagement activities are too often unimaginative, stale, outmoded and not tied to the innovation that is at the heart of business.

The dynamic forces of globalization, rapidly changing political and economic forces, and even shifting societal norms and expectations have all contributed to a very different operating environment for corporate citizenship. Business today is much more aware that it is embedded in a web of social and environmental communities and stakeholders that are critical for its success as a business. Concern from the corporate sector is growing about the soundness and viability of societal systems such as education and healthcare. This is the public policy part of the handprint.  

This broadening stakeholder engagement poses new risks but creating effective relations and strategies can minimize their cost to the business. At the same time, business today is increasingly aware of opportunities for using corporate citizenship as a competitive advantage in increasing market share, introducing new products and services – “green is green,” says GE – and adding to brand value and reputation. This is the product part of the handprint.

Consequently companies must rethink and transform their engagement strategy to insure that it is strategic, effective, and tied to their overall business strategy. A more vibrant civic engagement will strengthen existing elements, make innovation a driving force and signal to communities, stakeholders and societies that it is an authentic relationship. It will demonstrate a company is bringing to bear its financial assets, its people and their knowledge, and its unique resources and innovation in equal measure when working to address civic issues ranging from education and a sustainable environment to community and economic development.

This new handprint of business must be a lasting impression-and a consistent presence-rather than a fleeting influence. This handprint will be evidence of a company’s conscious effort to make a difference for the better.

Opening up a new sense of civic engagement could not come at a more opportune time. With trust in business at an all time low, CEO compensation defining corporate reputations, and rising expectations of the corporate role reaching impossibly burdening levels, a real transformation is called for. This handprint also can bring a longed for leadership in the civic arena at a time when community life and institutional relevancy are struggling to become relevant in a 21^st century world.

Let’s step back and bring a group of business together to create a new vision and some new approaches to civic engagement. It is long overdue and will be widely welcomed and appreciated. Not to mention that the real promise of capitalism can finally be viewed by the active handprint of thousands of businesses in working together for a more sustainable and ennobling society.

We can’t always choose whether or not to leave a footprint but the kind of handprint we make is our choice. What kind of handprint is your company making?