A member of the Association for Consulting Expertise advises a reader whose business wants to take on more community leadership, but must also pay attention to the bottom line.
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Q: My employees have been encouraging my company to demonstrate greater leadership in our community. How are other companies balancing profits and corporate responsibility?
ACE Advises: The concept of corporate responsibility is complex and evolving. Businesses formerly focused on maximum profit; left to their own devices, they were likely to run roughshod over anything getting in the way. Or so they were seen.
Commercial organizations are now seen, at least by most of us, as sharing both the burdens and the benefits of life in this country. Modern businesses build brands based on their dedication to causes transcending short-term financial gain.
Many have full-time employees working in public relations. Synergies may be obvious — a publisher may invest time, money and effort in a literacy campaign — but sometimes they simply reflect the values of owners and the people who work for them.
My advice: Recognize the strength your company can offer through its numbers. A coordinated effort leveraging the capabilities of the entire organization will reap enormous rewards for your community. When you invest your company’s resources, your community’s return on investment will be greater if your efforts are focused on a few compelling causes important to your business and your people. Involve them in selecting the causes, identifying what needs to be done, and contributing in a manner appropriate their situations.
As to that other return on investment, think of the message you give to the marketplace when you demonstrate that your company can organize company-wide to help the environment, improve education and reduce poverty. Imagine what it’ll conclude about your ability to deliver goods and services. You can do well by doing good.
Jim Milliken of Portland is a former newspaper editor and writer who, in 1987, became a trainer and consultant specializing in management and individual skills. He can be contacted at millikenproject@gmail.com.