The Opsimath

Giving the Gift of Education

We all exist in a number of different worlds - work, family, friends and so on - so it is interesting when two worlds meet. The company that I work for - pearcemayfield - have just launched an initiative called "Giving the Gift of Education". This initiative means that for every person booking on one of their public training courses, they will donate £5 to the work of Roots, the registered charity that I serve as a Trustee.

However, the link is stronger than just giving to a worthwhile cause.

Every donation received will be used to buy books for a new primary school library that Roots in building in Yei, South Sudan. So, for every person that receives an education on a pearcemayfield training course, a child in Sudan will also receive an education. One place on a course - one book in Yei.

I feel very privileged to be able to be part of this initiative because it is so tangible. I will actually be leading some of these courses and so I can personally say thank you to the delegates attending. Then, at a later date, I will be able to visit South Sudan, walk into that library and pick up one of those books.

I find that quite exciting, I hope you do too.

If you would like to book on one of the pearcemayfield courses, take a look at the website www.pearcemayfield.com If you would simply like to buy a book for the library then email me and I'll be in touch - john.edmonds@pearcemayfield.com

CSR - reclaiming the abbreviation

This week in the UK we will finally see the results of the government's comprehensive spending review, a process which has often been abbreviated in the media to 'CSR'.

It will be a relief to see the back of this drawn-out process for a number of reasons. Not only will we now be able to come to terms with, and therefore deal with the consequences of the cuts, we can now reclaim the abbreviation CSR.

CSR is more widely understood as Corporate Social Responsibility.

To quote Wikipedia, "Corporate social responsibility is also known as corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, responsible business, sustainable responsible business, or corporate social performance."

A CSR approach believes that companies do not function in isolation from the society around them. How true this looks like being in the coming months and years! Yet the danger is that as the economic situation worsens, companies will abandon their responsibilities towards their communities, the environment and the wider world, focusing solely on their own financial situation.

It will therefore be interesting to see which companies are serious about corporate social responsibility, to see which companies really care.

For one view of CSR, take a look at this page on pearcemayfield's website

Ecological Intelligence

The author Daniel Goleman is well-known for his work on emotional intelligence. In our Change Management courses, we always refer to his work on the emotional competencies that are required by good leaders - self awareness, self management social awareness and social skills. It is material that really resonates with many of our delegates.

Now he has turned his attention to another vital issue - the environment.

In his book Ecological Intelligence he looks at the idea of 'radical transparency', and the idea that an organisation's impact on the planet should be clear for all to see. He says that this will introduce an openness about the consequences of the things we make, sell, buy and discard.

This is challenging stuff, and the opening chapter, titled "The hidden price of what we buy" gets straight into the challenge.

If this interests you, you might also like to take a look at the work of Annie Leonard. She has an interesting video to watch called The Story of Stuff. There is also a book that goes with it, also called The Story of Stuff, that has a great sub-title: "How our obsession with stuff is trashing the planet, our communities. and our health - and a vision for change". (I think that gives a fair indication of where the book takes you!)

We may be making an effort - printing on both sides of the paper, recycling printer cartridges - but Daniel Goleman says that this "don't amount to a hill of beans". Such efforts are "necessary but insufficient".

There are bigger challenges to face. The way that we buy and use things needs to change. The way we consume.

I am convinced that this is going to be one of the major leadership challenges in the years to come

Are we ready for this challenge?

Do we have the ecological intelligence, the skills and knowledge needed, to adapt what we do as organisations and consumers so that we can survive...?

Feature in Personnel Today...

...well, at least on their website!

 

 

The article begins to show how pearcemayfield - the great training company that I work for - partners with Roots.

Roots is the name of the charity that I helped to found (together with the indispensable Susan, Jacob, Ben, Jenny and John) to work in South Sudan.

This photograph was taken on our last visit there in June of this year. It shows the level of resources in one of the primary schools, and it is one of the reasons that we are about to start a project to build a library in that same school.

We will soon be starting to hunt down some funding for this, and we are open to any ideas...

Support your Independents

The march of the corporate giants in the UK continues apace, with a recent news item reporting that local people in a  town on the Wales/England border are protesting about yet another supermarket being due to open soon.

Let me share with you a quote from an article I read last week:

It is better to help a lot of people make a living than it is to help a few people make a fortune.

So, let's support our independents while we still have them - many towns are now so bland and dull because all they have are national chains - let's fight back!

Corporate Social Responsibility - is it for real?

The writer Philip Kotler describes Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the "commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and contributions of corporate resources”

It's a topic that I find of particular interest and one that I often discuss with delegates on training courses when we are considering the topic of business benefits. With more companies reporting on a 'Triple Bottom Line' basis, or the 3Ps - People, Planet, Profit (or 'Prosperity' as shown here), it is a subject worthy of discussion. Should we be thinking of benefits as not just those connected with Profit, but also those related to the Planet and the People aspects of corporate existence?

However, many feel that it is not for real, that organisations simply use the concept of CSR as a marketing ploy or gambit. That organisations are merely jumping on a bandwagon that is popular right now. The term 'green-washing' is a related idea, where organisations give the idea of being green by talking about it and making a few gestures, but that they will drop the idea quickly when another bandwagon rolls into town.

So, are there organisations that are doing this because they truly value it as a principle, or is it a big sham?

Yes, it is true what Harvey Golub said when he was CEO of American Express, “Not only is it appropriate for the company to give back to the communities in which it operates, it is also smart business.”

But is that all there is to it - just another marketing campaign?

I like this quote from William Clay Ford Jr, Chairman Ford Motor Company:

“There is a difference between a good company and a great company. A good company offers excellent products and services. A great company also offers great products and services but also strives to make the world a better place.”

The spirit of that statement does it for me, I buy into that sentiment entirely. And while I believe that there are companies who counterfeit a belief in CSR (and there always will be those who struggle to display any integrity), I believe that there are people trying to deliver a CSR agenda. I for one, want to be part of that strand of humanity.

Roots in Project magazine

Our charity - Roots - is featured in this month's edition of Project magazine as part of a focus on ethical thinking in project management.

The article is called "Projects in Uncontrolled Environments". Now there's a name that could catch on!

Social Capital

He had just finished busking and was now walking in the same direction as us a few metres in front; we had seen him earlier in his faded jester's hat, denim jeans dragging a little too long on the ground and baseball shoes that could not have kept his feet warm.

Then, with a slight change of direction, he moved in front of a man sitting, begging near a shop wall and gave the begging man some money.

This is an example of what sociologists call 'social capital', people giving to others, normally strangers, without expecting anything in return (sometimes referred to as 'generalised reciprocity').

What a stark contrast between this single event on one of our dark city streets and the stories that have dominated our press and media this last week.

One man, out of his own relative poverty, gives freely to another.

One man, in the midst of his incredible wealth, seeks more and more, refusing to give.

Social capital cannot be deposited in a bank - and perhaps that's a good thing. Social capital can only be invested into our communities, our workplaces and our families - and perhaps that's a very good thing.

Benefits - what to measure

In Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) we are encouraged to make the benefits that we are intending to realise as quantifiable and measurable as we can. This is a good discipline for our programmes and indeed, projects. MSP goes on to say that it is 'preferable' that we measure our benefits in financial terms.

But how do we measure those things that cannot be measured financially?

Current thinking around the 'Triple Bottom Line' can prove to be very useful here:

 PROFIT

At one time, this was the ONLY bottom line. Although still vitally important to the success of any organisation, it can no longer be considered in isolation. Today, the economic bottom line must be viewed alongside many other factors to ensure your organisation is operating efficiently and effectively.

PLANET

Environmental considerations include not only the world around us, but the health and well being of employees, customers and the wider community. The healthier all environments are, the more sustainable we will be, and our economy will be. What measures can we apply here?

PEOPLE

Corporate social responsibility, support for our wider community, and ethical behaviour are all important in maintaining and growing a business. Operating without these considerations makes a organisation vulnerable to negative pressure from stakeholders such as customers, governments, and the public. Being a positive social force should be an objective for all organisations

The triple bottom line allows us to really address the range of benefits (and outcomes) that we are seeking through our change initiatives.

Great developments at Roots

It's an exciting time at Roots, the education and training charity that we have founded to help the people of Southern Sudan.

First, we have recently been granted Registered Charity status by the Charity Commission. It took months to get there, but it's good to have that recognition, and of course it means that we can claim gift aid on all personal donations from tax payers.

Second, the cause-related marketing campaign that pearcemayfield have launched is going extremely well. The campaign gives Roots £10 for every training course booked, and the statistics are looking really good for both Roots and pearcemayfield. See www.pearcemayfield.com for more details. If you are interested in more information on the power of cause-related marketing let me know.

Third, our first major fund-raising event takes place this Sunday (26th October). This is a charity auction, details of which are on our website www.rootssudan.org. Ticket sales are going well, we've been given some tremendous items to auction (including a plane flight, holidays in Bulgaria, Cornwall and the Cotswolds, sports memorabilia, meals, and this week a firkin of ale!). We've received some good local press coverage, made contact with a number of very supportive organisations, and I believe that we can raise a significant amount of funds to help us to make a difference to the people of the Sudan. If you'd like to join us, or see a full catalogue of the items in order to make a bid, please let me know.