Collaborative Thinking

The Times They Are A-Changin'...

Worth reading (or at least scanning), the entire report (registration required). There's also this link Global CEO Study: The Enterprise of the Future. Note: right now the registration link seems broken but I assume someone will notice and fix it.

IBM Global CEO Study: CEOs Battle to Keep Up With the Pace of Change

... Overall, 83 percent of surveyed CEOs expect substantial change in the future, an increase of 28 percent in just two years. However, CEOs report their ability to effectively manage change is increasing at a far slower pace.

... CEOs point specifically to their own customer base as the source of the most important changes they will have to address, as two new and more demanding classes of customers emerged: the 'information omnivore,' and the 'socially-minded' customer. Of all the trends identified in the study, surveyed CEOs plan their most substantial increases in investment in response to these customer sets.

... The "information omnivore" craves all types of information and often broadcasts its views and expectations worldwide via the Internet. These customers are swapping passive roles for much deeper involvement. "Consumers" are becoming "producers," often creating entertainment and advertising content for their peers, while demanding flexibility and responsiveness from companies with whom they choose to do business. Although these customers are more demanding, the majority of CEOs do not see them as a threat, but as an opportunity for differentiation based on meeting the heightened expectations of this group, and capitalizing on new market opportunities that will emerge.

... CEOs agreed that customer expectations around corporate social responsibility ('CSR') are increasing, and that CSR will play an important role in differentiating an enterprise in the future. Customers are coalescing around organizations' CSR profile -- including, but not limited to "green" initiatives -- and are increasingly demanding socially-minded products, services, and even supply chains.

... Overall, the CEOs see opportunities in CSR and are using it for their competitive advantage. They indicated that CSR is critical to maintaining current market share.

... Eighty-six percent of the CEOs surveyed plan substantial changes in the capabilities that distinguish leading organizations -- their knowledge and asset mix. CEOs expect to carefully calibrate business model designs based on principles of global integration, which includes global searches for sources of expertise, resources and assets that can help it differentiate.

... For more information on additional findings from the study, visit www.ibm.com/enterpriseofthefuture.

IBM Global CEO Study: CEOs Battle to Keep Up With the Pace of Change

Volunteerism: Employee Participation Helps Companies As Well

The news release below makes an excellent point: aligning external volunteer programs with internal training and professional development activities can be very synergistic with strategic talent initiatives. Skills-based volunteering could also help develop leadership capabilities that supplement succession planning needs. Adopting such a broader approach might additionally include consideration of how volunteer programs should be connected to corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs to reinforce those efforts as well.

This type of management perspective on a complex organizational challenge can also help build a business case for use of social media to augment those volunteer programs (e.g., social networks, communities, and other social applications) and potentially bridge them to internal systems.

Missing Out: New Deloitte Survey Finds Most Corporations Overlook Cost-Effective Opportunity to Unlock New Training and Development Resources

The national survey of Fortune 500 human resource managers found that, while training and development is perceived as vital to corporate success, many managers are laboring under shrinking or flat budgets, underscoring the need for cost-effective innovation. One solution could be found in an unlikely place — the company's volunteer program. Fully 91 percent of respondents agree that skills-based volunteering (which involves the contribution of business knowledge and experience to help nonprofits increase their capacity) would add value to training and development programs, particularly as it relates to fostering business and leadership skills. However, only 16 percent make it a regular practice to intentionally offer these opportunities for employee development, suggesting a missed opportunity to boost learning in a way that offers substantial benefits.

"Talent development is one of the most critical priorities facing corporate America today," said Barry Salzberg, chief executive officer, Deloitte LLP. "By intentionally linking two often unconnected areas like community involvement and training, innovative companies can meet strategic business goals, save money and, at the same time, release new resources for the community. It's powerful."

According to the American Society of Training and Development, corporate America invests heavily in training and development, spending more than $100 billion a year. The 2008 Volunteer IMPACT Survey revealed that the slowing economy and threat of a talent shortage are placing increased pressure on talent development programs, often without added financial resources. Eighty-seven percent of human resource managers surveyed agreed that their company’s training and development program is under pressure to develop the next generation of leaders, yet 70 percent indicated that their budget either remained flat or decreased over last year. Skills-based volunteer activities are perceived as a cost-effective development option; only 2 percent of total respondents believe that incorporating skills-based volunteering into talent development programs would cost more than traditional training and development options.

"Skills-based volunteer programs provide valuable experiential learning opportunities for employees that build business and leadership skills without the expense often associated with traditional corporate training programs," said Evan Hochberg, national director of community involvement, Deloitte Services LP. "As leading companies become adept at leveraging their community investments to drive key business goals, corporate community involvement programs will be positioned to deliver more business value and social impact."

Missing Out: New Deloitte Survey Finds Most Corporations Overlook Cost-Effective Opportunity to Unlock New Training and Development Resources

Social Media Helps Patagonia Get The Message Across

A good example of a well-known company leveraging blogs, slide shows, videos and other techniques to participate more transparently and, as their CEO puts it so well, "learning out loud" (I love that phrase). These types of strategies are not only important for a variety of traditional reasons (e.g., sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and brand value), but also valuable in terms of recruitment and talent strategies. There is a growing body of research that suggests that Gen Y-ers want to work for companies that are good citizens, participate in community-building efforts and promote volunteerism).  Note: One of the citations below includes links to what some other organizations are doing regarding transparency and social responsibility - those references and links are also informative.

Patagonia is First to Track Environmental and Social Impact of Its Products

"We believe that to avoid complacency, we must constantly examine our internal processes to improve upon the positive and mitigate the negative," said Casey Sheahan, president and CEO of Patagonia. "The Footprint Chronicles allows us to do this publicly -- sort of learning out loud."

...

"Our customers are scientists, activists, professors, doctors and more -- they have the collective experience and knowledge we're looking for," said Sheahan. "We're highlighting exactly what happens in the manufacturing process and asking customers for their suggestions and help in efforts to find solutions to our less sustainable practices. It's a unique dialogue to engage in -- but one that will ultimately allow us to cause less harm to the planet."

...

The Footprint Chronicles includes more than 35 filmed interviews and slideshows of factory workers, farmers, owners, designers and third-party auditors to provide an unprecedented level of transparency both internally and externally -- from the factories and manufacturing partners that create its products, to the end of the product's lifespan.

Environmentalism: Current Campaign

Freedom to Roam, a long-term initiative, is dedicated to establishing migration wildways for animals between protected areas. Patagonia’s partners in Freedom to Roam include other companies, conservation organizations and recreation groups.

The following essay, "Paths to Survival" by Rick Ridgeway, appeared in our Heart of Winter 2008 catalog and serves as the introduction to Freedom to Roam.

Freedom to Roam: Current Campaign

Patagonia is First to Track Environmental and Social Impact of Its Products

Patagonia Takes Next Step in Corporate Transparency and Accountability

The 2003 Gap Social Responsibility report set an early high water mark in transparency by disclosing violations of its Vendor Code of Conduct. The next year, Nike took the next step of disclosing the names and locations of all its contract factories worldwide in its 2004 Corporate Responsibility report.

In 2006, Timberland's “Our Footprint” labeling program took a major leap forward by disclosing the environmental and community impacts of its products (as well as the factory where they were manufactured) right on the packaging, like nutrition labels on food. The next year, Timberland unveiled its Green Index labeling, which went further by disclosing climate impacts, chemicals uses, and resource consumption associated with its products.

Last year, Stonyfield Farm took corporate environmental engagement to the next level by funding Climate Counts, a nonprofit that rates carbon emissions reduction strategies of companies on a 100-point scale (Nike came in second place with a 73, Stonyfield sixth with a 63, and Gap 25th with a 39--Timberland wasn’t rated.)

The Latest Corporate Social Responsibility News - Patagonia Takes Next Step in Corporate Transparency and Accountability

Corporate Social Responsibility: New Application Landscape For Social Software?

Interesting article. Perhaps too early to tell whether a large company can really balance its market objectives with societal expectations. Wal-Mark brings out strong opinions on both sides of the issue re: can a corporate be socially responsibility without such efforts being perceived as cover for an agenda tied to profit motives. Still, the trend is worth monitoring and the article highlights some thought-provoking stories. In the article ad if you keep a background conversation going on how social software applications might help facilitate transparency, community building and network relationships (assuming that the organizational dynamics are being addressed in parallel).   

... Against this backdrop, Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott Jr. unveiled a new plan to reduce the company’s environmental footprint. In an October 2005 speech broadcast to all 1.6 million employees in all 6,000-plus stores and shared with some 60,000 suppliers worldwide, he announced that Wal-Mart was initiating a sweeping “business sustainability strategy.” The idea was to reduce the company’s impact on the environment through a commitment to three ambitious goals: “To be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy; to create zero waste; and to sell products that sustain our resources and the environment.” ³

But these weren’t the plan’s only goals. “Sustainability represents the biggest business opportunity of the 21st century,” says Jib Ellison, founder of Blu Skye Sustainability Consulting, which helped Wal-Mart formulate its business sustainability strategy.⁴ His firm pointed out that actively pursuing an environmental agenda would help Wal-Mart differentiate itself from its competition, maintain a license to grow, and make its supply chain dramatically more efficient. In other words, a good business sustainability plan would help Wal-Mart get even better at what it does best: drive down costs to generate profits.

To go green, Wal-Mart, with its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., would have to think outside the “Bentonville Bubble.” For years, the company had operated in relative isolation from its external stakeholders, including nonprofits, government agencies, consultancies, and academic institutions. Without much in-house expertise on sustainability and environmental performance, it would need to involve these stakeholders in its new plan.

...

And so Wal-Mart began to reach out to its external stakeholders. The corporation first identified areas of maximum environmental impact and then invited stakeholders to join 14 “sustainable value networks” – such as the seafood network and the packaging network – to work toward business and environmental sustainability in each area. (See “Wal-Mart’s Sustainable Value Networks,” above.) In return, network participants would gain information about and say in Wal-Mart’s operations.

Elm and Andrew Ruben, Wal-Mart’s vice president of corporate strategy and business sustainability, directed Wal- Mart’s network leaders to “derive economic benefits from improved environmental and social outcomes,” says Elm. “It’s not philanthropy,” he adds. By the end of the sustainability strategy’s first year, the network teams had generated savings that were roughly equal to the profits generated by several Wal-Mart Supercenters, Ruben and Elm report.

Stanford Social Innovation Review : Articles : The Greening of Wal-Mart (March 11, 2008)

Recruitment & Corporate Social Responsibility

Given some of these data points on the level of volunteerism across college students, companies (such as Deloitte in this example) might want to consider how hiring practices align with broader outreach programs. In a program co-hosted by United Way, 35 Deloitte employees work with approximately 80 students in an alternative spring break program in an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Additional details in the full article (citation link below).

It will also be interesting to see how companies leverage social media as part of such community efforts. In an earlier post, I pointed out Deloitte's Film Festival and its use of YouTube. In this instance, I can imagine a group blog or wiki and other types of social software tools to help capture experiences of student and employee activities. 

TREND DATA

• The percentage of college students who volunteer grew from 27 percent in 2001 to 30 percent in 2006, according to the most recent data available from the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency. That more than doubles the growth in the adult volunteering rate.
• According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, college students are twice as likely to volunteer as individuals of the same age who are not enrolled in an institution of higher education (30.2 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively).
• Participation in alternative spring break programs overall was up about 15 percent in 2006 to 35,000 students, according to the most recent data available from BreakAway, a national nonprofit organization that develops and coordinates alternative break programs.
• Four out of five Y respondents to Deloitte's 2007 Volunteer IMPACT Survey believe their work-related skills are valuable to a nonprofit and nearly two-thirds said they want to work for companies where they can apply their skills to a nonprofit organization.
• According to the results of the 2006 Deloitte/Points of Light Volunteer IMPACT study, 77 percent of nonprofit leaders believe that skilled volunteers could significantly improve their organization's business practices.

Deloitte Connects With Gen Y Recruits on Spring Break

From Corporate Responsibility to Backstory Management

Interesting from two perspectives: external facing situations as described in the article below, but also how the backstory influences employees internally - workers like to be associated with ethical and responsible organizations as well. If the organization fails to establish a sense of community internally, then whatever it does externally is built on a brittle foundation. Management needs to focus on the backstory as it aligns with social corporate responsibility but also in how it affects internal human resources and the level of employee engagement and the solidarity of its workforce. The ability of an organization to be resilient is becoming more important, especially if you are looking at challenges and risks associated with shifting employee demographics (such as aging workforce and acquiring/retaining talent), globalization and so on.

It's difficult to imagine how an enterprise can expect people to go beyond what their job demands in terms of information sharing, collaboration, community-building and networking - if the environment is unstable, unhealthy or perhaps even hostile. I don't mean this as a return to the "job for life" world - one statistic I read was that the average worker will now have something like 10-12 jobs over their career lifecycle. So during a worker's tenure with a particular company - what programs, methods and practices need to be put in place? In the past we called this knowledge management. Sometimes KM programs were coupled with human capital management strategies as well. Now we seem to be telling "old stories in new ways" by labeling such endeavors as Enterprise 2.0 or social media (and other derivatives like social computing).

In any case, an interesting read - but keep in mind the notion that a backstory is important period - and that employees are often the authors, editors, actors and audience of that story. To get the external story right - you need to start with the participants themselves...

As the consulting outfit SustainAbility puts it in their report The Changing Landscape of Liability, "boundaries of accountability will progressively expand through the value chain and through the whole life-cycle of a product's development, production, use and disposal."

.....

But in this new phase, it is not enough simply to stop being evil. As Marks & Spencer executive Ed Williams said, "consumers increasingly want to be sure that the companies they deal with reflect their values, can be trusted to behave responsibly, are who they say they are and are the kind of organization they like to be associated with." In simpler terms, companies are finding themselves held responsible for the whole backstory of their products.

A product's backstory, you'll remember, is everything that happened to get the object or service to us, everything that will happen behind the scenes while we use it, and everything that will happen after it leaves our lives. The backstory tells us who we’re being when we make a choice.

Good companies are getting better at telling the backstories of the things they make. Other companies -- the ones who can’t figure out how to tell their backstories, or whose backstories are shameful -- are sailing into the storm. Indeed, how companies tell their backstories is the critical business communication challenge of the next decade. We're entering an era of holistic accountability and backstory management.

WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: From Corporate Responsibility to Backstory Management

Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value Shift

Interesting interview and a book to add to my long reading-list:

In recent years, however, I have seen more attention being paid to the positive side of ethics. More managers are waking up to the ways in which positive values contribute to a company's effective day-to-day functioning, as well as its reputation and long-term sustainability. In the book, I trace these connections in some detail and show how they play out in practice—sometimes in surprising ways.

In the future, I think more managers will recognize that risk management is only part of the story and that the benefits of positive values go well beyond problem avoidance. I have seen this progression in some companies that initially turn to values as a damage control measure when confronted with a scandal in their organization or industry. Then, over time, they come to take a broader view as they see the positive effects on work life, product quality, relationships with their constituencies, or their standing in the community.

....

This shift in our understanding of the corporate personality has profound implications for management. Among other things, it means that managers must develop more robust ethical reasoning skills and increasingly subject their decisions to ethical as well as financial analysis. In a world in which companies are expected to behave as moral actors that conform their activities to certain ethical requirements, financial tests of acceptability alone are insufficient.

Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value Shift — HBS Working Knowledge