3 Articles on: How Technology is Changing Sustainability Reporting and Strategy

• SAP Wants to Host Your Next Sustainability Report, GreenBiz.com, As a former SAP Consultant, I can attest to the power of SAP systems.  With the market power that SAP has, I think this is a good move to push towards more standard reporting.
• CSR – Advancing with Interactive Technology? TriplePundit, Interactive CSR reports have gotten a significant amount of attention this year.  Bill Baue, the Executive Director of Sea Change Media and a research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, explores how effective interactive CSR reports are at furthering stakeholder engagement.
• Can You Crowdsource Your Sustainability? CauseCapitalism, Consumers have ideas on how to improve sustainability at their most (or least) favorite businesses. Olivia Khalili explores how companies are using strategy and technology harness those ideas.

3 Articles On: The Best CSR Job Search Advice

• 4 Ways to Create a Successful Nonprofit Career Path, Stanford Social Innovation Review - There are special skills and strategies for advancing a non-profit career.  This article simplifies those ideas into four steps: Do Your Job Really Well, Become a Rainmaker, Don’t Be Afraid to Job Hop and Introduce Yourself to a Search Firm
• CSR from a traditional job - Career advice from the trenches, Just Means - 3 pieces of advice on how to start a CSR project from your current role : Find like-minded individuals, Position the project as a pilot, Let other co-create the program.  I would add the first rule from the Successful Nonprofit Career Path article above: Do Your Job Really Well.
• 7 Lessons My Job Search Taught Me About Networking, In Search of Good Profits - Blatant self promotion but networking is even more important for a career in social impact

7 lessons my job search has taught me about networking

Throughout my career in consulting and my MBA at Haas, I learned a lot about networking. I learned general things like the value of networking in business and career development.  I learned specific skills like when it is appropriate to follow up and how to make that follow up successful.  But my post-MBA job search provided a crash course in effective networking.  As a good networker, I want to share.  


Here are the 7 most important lessons that my job search has taught me about networking:

1. It's not like dating - I disagree with the experts that compare networking to dating.  Networking should be much less stressful than dating with much lower stakes.  A good networker only needs 5-15 minutes of a contact's time.  Time may be money and these are very busy people who are often doing you a favor but remember, you are looking for a connection, a lead or an idea.  You are not looking for a lifelong commitment or a million dollar investment. At most, you are looking for an opportunity to prove yourself.  Which brings me to the next lesson...
2. People want to help (if you prove to them you are qualified) - I have continually been surprised by strangers' willingness to open up their LinkedIn 'rolodexes' to help me and send requests on my behalf.  The key, I've found, is showing your contacts how qualified and competent you are.  People love to connect highly qualified people and appreciate when those people are referred to them.
3. You still need to ask for help - Getting some time to meet with your connection is only step 1.  Don't expect them to listen to your story and automatically know how to help you or even what help you need. Don't hesitate to suggest possible ways they could help you and end every meeting and follow up email with a summary of what they agreed to do to help you.
4. But don't expect them to do the work for you - No matter how helpful your connections wants to be, they are busy and do not know as well as you do what you need.  From coming prepared with a list of target companies and job titles to offering to compose drafts of the emails they offer to send out, it is your job to make it as easy as possible for them to help you.
5. People appreciate a "no thanks" - Some networking experts say that you should accept every networking opportunity and not limit yourself.  You never know where a connection will end up.  This adage may be true but in practice, it makes you look unfocused and ends up wasting your connection's time (as well as your own).  Don't assume that people will be offended by you politely saying that perhaps that contact would not be the right fit at the current time.  Nobody wants to waste the time of their colleagues and having some idea of who can help you shows professional maturity.
6. Check before you connect - A large portion of networking is finding out if you know anyone who can help your contact.  Be careful with this part.  As we learned in lesson 2, most people do genuinely like to help but they are busy. Sending a quick email to confirm that the person has the bandwidth for this connection (and setting the expectation with your contact that you will be doing so) is always greatly appreciated.
7. It's probably not too late to reconnect - When I began my job search, I assumed that if I had not spoken to someone in the past few months, it would seem odd to contact him or her.  I have contacted and been contacted by many people I worked with in consulting and volunteer work years ago.  People understand that life is busy and that even the best networkers fall out of touch.  So go ahead and reconnect, it probably isn't too late.

What lessons have you learned about networking through your job search?

Why I Didn't Post: Question about Weekly 3 Links posts

Some of you may have been wondering why this blog does not have a Weekly 3 post up every week.  The answer is short.
When I started this blog, I did not want to write posts just to post.  I don't want to waste your time with blog posts that do not add thought-provoking insight about CSR, social entrepreneurship and social impact.  I set a high bar for my posts and I enjoy reading blogs that have similar standards.

So, if I don't find articles that ask and answer important questions about pressing issues, I don't post a Weekly 3.  I hope you appreciate my posts and maybe this could be a trend with even more bloggers.

To avoid confusion, I am renaming the "Weekly 3 Links" posts to "3 Articles on."

What do you think?

Weekly 3: Topic - 'Buying' Earth Day

• Earth Day, at the Mall - Marc Gunther explores how Earth Day has become a "shopping holiday" and how some  companies are doing it right.
• The Perils of 'Green Watching' - Wood Turner of Greenbiz.com shows the challenges of vetting Earth Day Green claims.
• A Free Market Earth Day List - Jeff Seigel from Triple Pundit explores how to encourage business strategies that create real positive environmental impact.

What do you think?

Keep your behind the scenes visionary experience coming!

I've heard some great feedback from those of you with experience working in the front lines with visionary.  Keep your input coming and look for my summary post in the next week!

• How did you steer your visionary leader to or away from trouble?
• What do you wish you knew then?

Have you ever worked for a "visionary" putting his/her ideas into practice?

"The people behind the visionaries are the ones who truly change the world."

Have you ever worked for a "visionary" putting his/her ideas into practice? It's both exhilarating and challenging.  We have all heard stories about visionaries who are changing the world through CSR and sustainability but you never hear the story of the people behind the visionary who are actually implementing the change.  

Did any of you work for a revolutionary tech wiz, a VC tycoon, public health prophet or a person whose genius can transform CSR? If you have this experience and can share some advice, I'd love to hear from you.

Weekly 3: Topic - What's New at the Bottom of the Pyramid

As companies begin to invest again, the Corporate Social Responsibility community has been buzzing about how to harness the power of the bottom of the pyramid and bring positive social change. Here are three thought provoking articles to give you insight on current BOP issues.

• The Bottom of the Pyramid: A Disruptive Force to be Reckoned With? - Mark Beckford shows how BOP strategies force companies to toward innovation.
• Selling water to the global poor - Marc Gunther looks at how for-profit companies, like The Water Initiative, can bring water (and jobs) to the BOP.
• Multiple Facets of the Pyramid: Defining the BoP - NextBillion's Bloggers tackle how to identify the characteristics of BOP markets. Hint: It's not just low income level.

What do you think?

Weekly 3: Topic - CSR and Social Media

• Lessons from Nestlé on How to Handle CSR and Social Media - Associates from BSR give their advice on how to avoid CSR pitfalls in Social Media
• Social Media CSR Tips for Small Businesses - David Coethica shows how social media provides an effective way for small businesses to do good
• Opportunities to make business better - Straight from the WSJ: There are two revolutions going on in business: Social Media and Corporate Social Responsibility.  This posting explores how they can work together.

How to be a Full time CSR Advocate during your job search

Over the past few months, I have been thinking about how to embed social responsibility in the job search process.  I believe that Corporate Social Responsibility, like any revolutionary business strategy, is like a cause that needs to be advocated for and promoted.  While a job search is a great time to take on volunteer projects with non profits that may not have been feasible while working full time, another way to further social responsibility in a job search is to become a CSR advocate in the business community.  Any MBA-level social impact job search requires lots of networking and lots of meeting with interesting people who happen not to be working in your chosen field.  I see these conversations as an opportunity to advocate and educate the business community about what CSR is.

While networking around the city of Chicago, I have met some very impressive people. When they hear that I am passionate about CSR, they often volunteer some aspect of their job where they see social or environmental responsibility “may sort of” be involved. For example, a brand manager who was asked to weigh in on the costs of the new EH&S (Environment, Health and Safety) commitments being asked of the company.  Or a Hospital HR executive who wants to find new ways to engage employees and help them to understand the purpose of the latest gold star certification scheme.  

I find these parts of my conversations exhilarating. As we talk more and I probe them about these aspects and how they relate to overall business strategy, I can sense the wheels turning in their heads. I can often suggest a contact at another company or at a non-profit that is doing a similar project. It is wonderful to be able to provide concrete help to someone who is giving up their precious time to help me. Also, by brainstorming about how CSR relates to other parts of the organization, we both learn more about the complexity and power of CSR. We learn what CSR touches at that their organizations and the language that their organizations us to discuss CSR strategies.  And isn’t that what CSR is all about: making small changes that have the prospect to make huge changes?

Here is my advice to others who want to be a full time CSR advocate during their job search:

1. Look at every informational interview as an opportunity to learn more about how CSR affects different groups.
2. Don't go for the hard sell.  An informational interview is not the place for a lecture on CSR or a place for you to tell your interviewee how to do their job.  
3. But look for any opening.  Listen closely to what your interviewee says and if it relates to something in CSR, speak up and explain yourself.  
4. Offer contacts and resources freely.  By connecting people who are working on similar issues in different companies you really can bring value to your interviewee and help move the needle on CSR issues.

What do you think? How do you think I can further the cause of CSR in my job search?

Weekly 3: Topic - CSR and the Job Search

What does it mean to pursue a socially responsible job search?  My thoughts on the how any job search can utilize Corporate Social Responsibility strategies will be in my next blog post.

But first, three links (with my comments) to get you thinking:

• Using ‘Strategic’ Volunteering to Help With the Search Angela Dorsey, a blogger for the Wall Street Journal, writes about how volunteering for professional organizations or your target companies can help you network.  While I agree with her argument, I think she missed out by not mentioning how volunteering for other type of non-profits can help you to exhibit your relevant skills in another way to an employer and will give you a perfect way to talk about those skills with any professionals you meet via networking.
• Sustainability Is a Growing Theme: Corporations Work With Schools to Train Potential Employees, but Jobs Are Scarce This article makes it clear that some MBA employers realize that CSR is important for recruiting top talent and also touches on what CSR skills professionals need and how schools are teaching those skills.  Rather than just speaking at schools and hosting recruiting events, I would love to see more companies follow Dow's lead and actually ENGAGE with the students outside recruiting events.
• CSR Jobs Report - The State of the CSR Job Market: Key Findings and Trends Ellen Weinreb of Sustainability Recruiting shares the state of the market for CSR professionals in a very complete and academic analysis.

What do you think?

How to Leverage Employee Volunteerism Programs in a Difficult Economy

Some readers have asked for the full version of the white paper I wrote about employee volunteerism. What do you think? Making the Connection with Employee Volunteerism Programs

How to Leverage Employee Volunteerism Programs in a Difficult Economy

Introduction

            During the economic downturn of the past year, many companies have been tempted to eliminate or scale down their employee volunteerism programs (EVPs).  Yet, EVPs are a perfect example of programs that “does more with less.”  In fact, EVPs are cost-effectively achieving very many strategic goals for companies.  If EVPs are aligned and organized around a strategic business goal, they can even grow in this economy.

Making the Connection: What are the different strategic goals that EVPs can further?

Human Resource Goals

Goals of improving human resource metrics are high in the mind of every CEO.  The struggle for EVP managers is to make that connection between the EVP programs, employee engagement and the strategic goals.   In his Letter to Our Shareholders in Targets 2008 Annual report, Gregg Steinhafel, Target’s Chairman, President and CEO writes:

In today’s environment we recognize, perhaps more than ever, the importance of providing a workplace that is preferred by our team members and the value of investing in our communities to improve the quality of life.  Our legacy of community giving — both in terms of financial support and team member volunteer hours — is a hallmark of our brand and a differentiating factor in our ability to attract and retain top talent.

Some CEOs may not make that connection as quickly as Steinhafel.  But there are specific strategies for linking your CEO’s goals and your EVP program that can be extremely effective in making that bond.

If your business’s strategic goals are	Your EVP adds value in this way	EVP Strategy
Focus on team building Example: “Take an enterprise view of our people and processes and work as a single team to advance Allstate rather than our individual interests.” Allstate 2009 Annual Report	When teams of employees go out of the traditional office setting and focus on a common goal, they forge new bonds and experience the benefits of working as a team to achieve a singular goal of which they previously had little commitment. Rather than their personal silo-ed goals.	Volunteering Together: Team Volunteering
Strengthen culture Example: “People come to GE because they understand there is more to life than making a buck. People come here because they want to make a difference, and never has this been more important than it is right now.” Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, GE 2008 Annual Report	Volunteering provides a very tangible expression of the core values of most of the most successful companies in the world. Furthermore, employee volunteerism programs show employees that you “walk the walk.”	Living Our Commitment
Build morale after a layoff or realignment “Our company just went through a huge transformation.  Now we need to refocus. We need to reassure the employees that are still here that our commitment to them and to the company is strong.”	Volunteering as a team or supporting individual employees’ volunteering provides a constructive venue to reignite employees’ passions and remind them why they choose to join your company.  Also, a reduction in force has an effect on the local community as a whole, employee volunteering reminds the community that your company is here to stay and still values the community.	Engaging Employees’ Passions
Cross train employees to take on new expanded roles or to reduce employee turnover Example: “To remain competitive, we need to cut costs dramatically.  We need to reduce employee training and recruitment costs.”	Skills based volunteering not only helps build capacity in non-profits; it also builds core competencies in your employees.  An employee who will soon take on project management skills can strengthen those skills by planning and executing a department-wide volunteer event. An employee who has just taken on more website design responsibility can help a non-profit to ramp up their online presence at the same time as he or she can gain experience with new web design technologies.	Volunteer to Grow: Skills Based volunteering

CSR Goals

In the past decade, many companies have made aggressive and admirable goals to around environmental and social responsibility.  Some companies are scrambling to find ways to maintain their commitment in an era of tighter budgets and increased corporate scrutiny.  Maintaining the commitment is important to proving to internal and external stakeholders that your company takes its responsibility seriously and is not just green-washing.

If your business’s strategic CSR goals are	Your EVP adds value in this way	EVP Strategy
Be involved in solving community problems Example: “We are responsible to the communities in which we live and work.” – Johnson & Johnson Credo, Allstate 2009 Annual Report	Having your employees volunteering in the community is a concrete way to make a difference in the local and global community.  Because groups of employees volunteering in company t-shirts is easier to see than philanthropic donations, the public will give your company more credit for what your employees do versus what your foundation donates.	Living Our Commitment
Bring attention to pressing environmental or social issues Example: Johnson & Johnson’s Campaign for Nursing’s Future helps bring attention to preventing the impending nurse shortage.	Make sure to aligning your employee volunteerism program with non-profits that are working toward the same goal as your initiative.  This alignment will show your stakeholders that you are not just talking about the problem; you are dedicating your most important resource, your people, to that cause.	Living Our Commitment
Make our philanthropic donations more strategic Example: “It is not enough to just give away money anymore.  We need our philanthropic dollars to make a difference in our customers’ world.”	Many companies have goals to give away a certain amount of money to help an important cause.  Donating through giving hours of employees’ time allows your company to give money in a more authentic and effective way.	Living Our Commitment

Marketing Goals
Beyond human resource and basic corporate social responsibility goals, employee volunteering is a powerful tactic for achieving marketing goals. Whether your company is entering new markets, delivering customer focused innovations or finding new ways to make your brand more relevant in your customers’ lives, volunteering can provide a new way for your employees to get close to your customers.  If volunteering with or for your customers is not possible, volunteering will provide your marketing or R&D employees with a constructive break that will lead to more creative and inventive thinking.

If your business’s marketing goals are	Your EVP adds value in this way	EVP Strategy
Entering new markets, affinity-based line extensions, diversity marketing Example: “As the demographics of our communities change, we need to focus on entering these new growing markets.”	Volunteering in the community you wish to enter will help expose employees to the needs, desires and culture of the target customers in a very authentic way.  Working side by side with your target customers will give your marketing team insights that they could never learn in a focus group.	“In Our Customers’ Shoes” Volunteering
Being more customer focused Example: “In this environment more than ever, we need to listen to our customers and design products for them.”	When marketing teams become isolated from their customers, they are less productive in speaking to their customers.  Volunteering with and for your customers can help lead to breakthroughs in product design, promotion development and other marketing mix components.	“In Our Customers’ Shoes” Volunteering
Make your brand more relevant in consumers’ lives Example: “To thrive in this economy, we need to become a lifestyle brand for our customers.”	No matter if your brand means trust, like Allstate or value and good design like Target, marketing teams want to find new ways to make your brand relevant in your consumers’ lives.  By aligning with brand-right volunteer opportunities, you can strengthen your brand in more authentic ways while engaging your employees and helping the community.	“In Our Customers’ Shoes” Volunteering

Definitions of the Employee Volunteerism Strategies

In order to thrive in this economy employee volunteerism programs should pick one strategy to pursue in alignment with the business’s larger strategic goals.

Below is a brief list of some volunteerism strategies defined:

Strategy	Brief Description
Volunteering Together: Team Volunteering	This program focuses on getting employees out to work as teams outside the typical corporate structure in new creative ways.  This program would be flexible in impact areas and types of organizations served.
Engaging Employees’ Passions	This program focuses on getting grassroots involvement from employees in the company.  Passionate and empowered employees will drive and shape this program with support and guidance from an EVP manager.
Living Our Commitment	This program focuses on a few impact areas that are culturally important to the company and maintains a consistent message of commitment by the employees and the company.
Volunteering to Grow: Skills Based volunteering	This program focuses on building capacity both for non-profits and within your company.  This program works closely with managers and human resource departments to identify which skills need to be developed for which types or levels of employees.
“In Our Customers’ Shoes” Volunteering	This program focuses on the community being helped and can cross many impact areas that serve that community.  This program works closely with the marketing and business development team to make sure the community served is relevant.

Conclusion

Employee Volunteerism Programs take many different forms to support different goals.  This flexibility is one of the strengths that make employee volunteerism programs such a valuable tactic for achieving business goals.  These programs will be most successful and most effective when they are aligned with CEO and senior leadership goals.

Weekly 3: Topic - Measurement: Why Measure CSR AND Why Not

Measurement is always a hot topic in the Corporate Responsibility world.  These articles focus on the pros and cons of measurement:

• Ethical Corporation: Stakeholder engagement – Must everything important be measured? Mallen Baker points out the pitfalls of focusing on measurement over substance especially when dealing with stakeholders.
• Stanford Social Innovation Review: Corporate Giving Needs Better Metrics Todd Cohen argues that bringing measurement to corporate philanthropy will bring corporate philanthropy into the serious business realm by doing "a better job showing it is worth the cost and in sync with the corporate bottom line."
• Mission Measurement: The Blueprint: Measurement as a Tool for Scaling What Works Effective measurement make it easier for successful programs to scale more efficiently.

What do you think?

Why you need to hire me! Aka My #HAPPO Post

In honor of HAPPO (Help a PR Pro Out) day on Twitter, you NEED to hire me because:

• I have a unique set of strategy consulting, marketing communication, corporate responsibility and creativity skills that will set your CSR/Sustainability programs ahead of the curve.
• I am extremely dedicated to CSR, Sustainability and Chicago.  Two years ago, I left Chicago to pursue an MBA focusing in CSR and communication at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business.  My goal was to master cutting edge CSR and social innovation techniques and bring them back to the city I love, Chicago.

Check me out on LinkedIn, Twitter or leave a comment here.

Weekly 3: Topic - Philanthropy

Once a week, I will be posting three links about one specific topic in CSR.  

This week's topic is Philanthropy.  Specifically, I have been thinking quite a bit about how nonprofit social enterprises can be more effective in raising money.  Check out these articles for some interesting insights:

• Stanford Social Innovation Review: Grantmakers Can Do More Than Make Grants: One positive outcome of the decline in financial markets is that it might spur foundations to get more involved in program and mission related investments.
• The Power of a Case | Social Velocity: Nell Edgington makes a compelling case for why nonprofits should all have a "case for support" at the heart of every funding raising campaign. Although I do think that such a case should be shared with major donors in their entirety.
• Does Philanthropy Have a Place in Social Enterprise? | Social Entrepreneurship | Change.org: Nathaniel Whittemore comments on the Tactical Philanthropy track at this year's Social Capital Markets conference and discusses the historical debate over whether the phrase "social enterprise" should include both nonprofits and for-profits.

In five years, what (new & better) problem do you want to create?

"What problem are you trying to solve?" 

"What will success look like for this problem ten years down the line?"

Last night, I attended Chicago Green Drinks. The topic was "Premature 10th Anniversary: Looking Back on the Next 3 Years."  For those of you who don't know, Green Drinks is a monthly event sponsored by the Foresight Design Initiative.  Every month, they organize an event around a certain topic (ex: Social Enterprise, Wind Energy or Sustainable Food) and hold a speed-networking session before the event. I always enjoy the speakers but this session was different. This session focused on the future of Foresight Design Initiative. While some of it felt like I was crashing the third hour of a "Mission Planning Session" for a non-profit board, Peter Nicholson (Executive Director of the Foresight) was asking some very interesting questions.

Peter says he likes to start discussions with partners and clients by asking: "What problem are you trying to solve?" "What will success look like for you ten years down the line?" The really interesting part came when Peter asked the second question of himself. His answer was something like "I want to create new problems. I want people to say 'we have new problems because of Peter. He helped us solve our old problems and now we have new more evolved problems.'"

That made me think. Five years down the line, what new problem do I want to create? As a CSR practitioner, I want to create the problem of too much employee engagement.  I want companies to have CSR initiatives that are so engaging, so transparent and so measurably valuable that employees find new purpose from the initiatives and customers are inspired by these initiatives.  Employees and customers what are too engaged in what you are doing?  That seems like a nice problem to have.

What problem do you want to create five years down the line?

Looking at Toyota's Problems Through a CSR Lens

Corporate Social Responsibility is not a cure-all to avoid all risk.  Let’s get that out of the way. 

Yet, as I read the article in today’s New York Times Toyota’s Slow Awakening to a Deadly Problem, I saw more and more how Toyota’s failure is a failure of stakeholder engagement among many other failures.

Stakeholder Engagement is a key tenet of CSR. Stakeholder Engagement involves looking broadly at the groups that have an interest in your business and involving their input in the decision-making process.

Toyota did not have to go out and discover the interested parties.  Because Toyota is a loyal and trusted brand, the groups came to Toyota with their grievances directly. Yet throughout the process, Toyota did not seem to take them seriously.

1. The first stakeholder group that raised an issue for Toyota was customers complaining of stuck gas pedals. 
2. The second stakeholder group that approached Toyota was credible safety and advocacy non-profits. 
3. When the media, the third stakeholder group, gets involved it is often the final sign that an issue has reached the stage where it must be addressed before it spirals out of control.  
4. The fourth stakeholder group that got involved was the final straw.  The US government began proceedings that forced Toyota to look at this problem with the seriousness it required.

Through this whole situation, Toyota’s strategy seemed to be: ignore, deny, shift blame.

Toyota may have been trying to do their best to address the issues all along.  They may have taken the concerns seriously and worked to eliminate every other possible outcome except the floor mats.  But it doesn’t matter to most of the public what they did do, it only matters what they appeared to do.  First they appeared to ignore the complaints and even ignore customer deaths.  Then, it appeared that they took an “it’s not our problem” stance and blamed it on an user error (incompatible floor mats improperly installed).  Then, when well covered and high profile accidents where floor mats could not have been the cause were covered by national media, they appeared to close their ears and blindly stick to a position that was resulted in the death of their customers. 

It is easy for me to Monday morning quarterback this issue and to espouse what Toyota should have done.  I am more interested in the possible organizational and myopic strategy-based reasons why they did not. 

What do you think?

Coming Next: Some theories on why is Stakeholder Engagement so difficult for a company like Toyota?

Selling "Good" to Businesses: Social Enterprise in the B2B world

Yesterday I went to an event at the PR firm Edelman where the car-sharing service I-GO was presenting to Corporate Responsibility executives about using their service as a replacement for their corporate fleet of cars.  The presentation was engaging.  I-GO does have a significant value proposition but it made me think about the challenges social enterprises face when marketing to businesses.

In case you didn't know, "I-GO was launched in 2002 by the Center for Neighborhood Technology as a non-profit corporation to introduce car sharing to the Midwest." (from I-GO Company profile) Unlike its competitor (ZipCar), I-GO has a deep social mission to not only achieve the environmental savings of a car sharing service but also provide further transportation options to all areas of the city to help spur economic development in underserved areas.  ZipCar, while a great company and possibly a social enterprise on its own, does not have that expanded mission to serve traditionally underserved markets with convenient transportation.

When it comes to marketing to consumers, we know that consumers place some value on brand and the feeling of social responsibility.  But this situation is less obvious when selling B2B.  Companies are likely to make sourcing decisions on a more traditional economic trade-off.  Especially for sourcing that is not likely to have brand consequences. 

What should a social enterprise do to make them more competitive in a B2B marketplace?  I have four suggestions:

1. Focus on the economics at the beginning.  Just simply saying, "this will save you money over competitors" is not enough.  The B2B community expects concrete examples, spreadsheets, formulas case studies and testimonials.  After you attack the economic hurdle, you can expand on your product's (and company's) unique attributes
2. Go at it from the correct angle and involve a company's corporate responsibility department from the beginning.  This is what the team at Edelman was doing with this event.  Bringing in the leaders of the CSR and Sustainability strategy at a company puts everyone in a different mindset and gives those CSR leaders an opportunity to further demonstrate their value to the company.
3. Provide plug and play CSR material that the purchasing manager can use to justify purchasing to supervisors.  Unlike the Corporate Responsibility executives at the Edelman event, most purchasing managers will not have expertise in corporate social responsibility.  As CSR professionals, we know that they way you communicate the story and value of your product is even more important than typical products.
4. Understand how your product fits into your prospective client's larger CSR and sustainability goals. If you look broadly at the company's CSR goals, you may see that your product helps to achieve other goals as well.  For example, I-GO may not only further a company's environmental commitment.  It can also dovetail with some diversity goals that focus on making the company more attractive to under-served minorities since I-GO has cars in underserved locations that can cut down on commute time for your employee living in those areas.  Even if it feels like a stretch to you, it is worth mentioning.

What do you think?  How can social enterprise more effectively target the B2B market?

Thoughts from UC Berkeley talk by John Anderson, Levi Strauss CEO, “A New Way of Thinking About Companies, Society and Sustainability”

I recently returned from a visit to my alma mater, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Along with meeting with some of the wonderful people at the Center for Responsible Business, I got a chance to relive some of what makes Haas so extraordinary.  I attended a talk by Levi Strauss CEO, John Anderson entitled “Levi Strauss & Co.: A New Way of Thinking About Companies, Society, and Sustainability.”

Anderson started by going through the greatest hits of Levi’s social responsibility performance and commitment to profits through principles.  He mentioned

• Keeping employees on after the damage of CA Earthquake of 1906
• Integrating factories in the South long before any other manufacturers
• Developing a comprehensive strategy to support employees with HIV/AIDS long before any other brands
• Setting up the Red Tab foundation to support current and retired workers
• All the way to the current matching grants for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti

While all of these achievements are laudable, Anderson stressed what makes Levi Strauss a socially responsible company is the consistency of these actions.  He talked about the trust that Levi Strauss has built with its customers as an authentic brand.  He was candid about how Levi Strauss had to trade of that trust when Levi Strauss lost their grasp of what products the consumer wanted.  He says that Levi’s values bought them the time to figure out what consumers want and deliver on that. 

Overall, there were no groundbreaking insights or ideas that came out of Anderson’s speech.  It was more of going over what we already know about Levi Strauss but that is not necessarily a bad thing.  In fact, I think that it is a good thing.  It means that (with this audience at least) Levis is doing an effective job communicating their CSR and sustainability goals.  I think the goal of Anderson’s speech was more to inspire MBA’s and show that Levi’s program has top level executive commitment.  I wonder what else they could have done with this platform.

What do you think?  If a company is already doing a good job telling their story, how should they push the envelope in communicating?

Making the Connection with Employee Volunteerism Programs - Employee Volunteerism Strategies (Part 4)

How to Leverage Employee Volunteerism Programs in a Down Economy (Part 4 of 4)

Definitions of the Employee Volunteerism Strategies

In order to thrive in this economy, my advice is that employee volunteerism programs should pick one strategy to pursue in alignment with the business’s larger strategic goals.

Below is a brief list of some volunteerism strategies defined:

Strategy	Brief Description
Volunteering Together: Team Volunteering	This program focuses on getting employees out to work as teams outside the typical corporate structure in new creative ways.  This program would be flexible in impact areas and types of organizations served.
Engaging Employees’ Passions	This program focuses on getting grassroots involvement from employees in the company.  Passionate and empowered employees will drive and shape this program with support and guidance from an EVP manager.
Living Our Commitment	This program focuses on a few impact areas that are culturally important to the company and maintains a consistent message of commitment by the employees and the company.
Volunteering to Grow: Skills Based volunteering	This program focuses on building capacity both for non-profits and within your company.  This program works closely with managers and human resource departments to identify which skills need to be developed for which types or levels of employees.
“In Our Customers’ Shoes” Volunteering	This program focuses on the community being helped and can cross many impact areas that serve that community.  This program works closely with the marketing and business development team to make sure the community served is relevant.

Conclusion

Employee Volunteerism Programs take many different forms to support different goals.  This flexibility is one of the strengths that make employee volunteerism programs such a valuable tactic for achieving business goals.  These programs will be most successful and most effective when they are aligned with CEO and senior leadership goals.

Making the Connection with Employee Volunteerism Programs - Achieving Marketing Goals (Part 3)

How to Leverage Employee Volunteerism Programs in a Down Economy (Part 3)

Marketing Goals

Beyond human resource and basic corporate social responsibility goals, employee volunteering is a powerful tactic for achieving marketing goals. Whether your company is entering new markets, delivering customer focused innovations or finding new ways to make your brand more relevant in your customers’ lives, volunteering can provide a new way for your employees to get close to your customers.  If volunteering with or for your customers is not possible, volunteering will provide your marketing or R&D employees with a constructive break that will lead to more creative and inventive thinking.

If your business’s marketing goals are	Your EVP adds value in this way	EVP Strategy
Entering new markets, affinity-based line extensions, diversity marketing Example: “As the demographics of our communities change, we need to focus on entering these new growing markets.”	Volunteering in the community you wish to enter will help expose employees to the needs, desires and culture of the target customers in a very authentic way.  Working side by side with your target customers will give your marketing team insights that they could never learn in a focus group.	“In Our Customers’ Shoes” Volunteering
Being more customer focused Example: “In this environment more than ever, we need to listen to our customers and design products for them.”	When marketing teams become isolated from their customers, they are less productive in speaking to their customers.  Volunteering with and for your customers can help lead to breakthroughs in product design, promotion development and other marketing mix components.	“In Our Customers’ Shoes” Volunteering
Make your brand more relevant in consumers’ lives Example: “To thrive in this economy, we need to become a lifestyle brand for our customers.”	No matter if your brand means trust, like Allstate or value and good design like Target, marketing teams want to find new ways to make your brand relevant in your consumers’ lives.  By aligning with brand-right volunteer opportunities, you can strengthen your brand in more authentic ways while engaging your employees and helping the community.	“In Our Customers’ Shoes” Volunteering

Next up - Definitions of the Employee Volunteerism Strategies