Years back while discussing with a good friend how I was unable to work out where I stood in comparison to others, and how then what steps to take going forward, my friend old me to play my own ball. Imagine I'm golf course. Don't look around a how others are doing, or be intimidated by others, just focus on your own ball. Just hit the ball as hard as I can, get the ball into the cup, and let the…
While speaking with the investment head of a family recently, the concept of blended investing came up in the conversation. A theory put forward by Jed Emerson , blended investing is defined as: a conceptual framework for advancing a vision of value creation which is not based upon a bifurcated understanding of the nature of value (either/or), but rather a unified, holistic understanding of va…
Can conventional “Business as Usual” practice guarantee your business success? How can we capture the growing opportunity for doing “good business”, which means not only achieving your business objectives, but also going beyond to contribute to social missions, sustainability, and environmental preservation? Good business is about going beyond expectations, seeking out and addressing externalit…
For many CSR managers, one of the more challenging (mind numbing) aspects of transacting an international donation can be the regulatory hurdles, and for U.S. firms there are two IRS channels whereby this can be accomplished: 1. Equivalency Determination: Involves gathering a significant amount of background information and documentation from the foreign charity, and then having a US Based law fi…
Developing the business case for sustainability is growing easier by the day, and many executives are now identifying areas where their firm is exposed. It is a process that for many, even those with seemingly small operations, can be a difficult and complex one, and in our recent series of articles for Supply Chain Magazine we have identified a number of areas where firms can take immediate actio…
Over the last few years, as I have spent more time studying the impact of social enterprises and looked to understand how to maximize the impact of entrepreneurs who hold an issue of society, environment, or economy at their core, I have begun to understand that the future of social entrepreneurialism is VERY different today than what it will be in 5 years from now. At present, if you take a…
Last week, I was asked to speak at the British Chamber of Commerce about corporate volunteering in China. Specifically, how can firms develop a program that has a long-term benefit to the community. I was encouraged to see between 30-35 firms in attendance, and my counterpart, Roy Zhang from Abbott, and I spent about a hour on the process and benefits of building a program. In my presentation…
For many organizations, increasing headcount is a sign of "making it", of "scale", but as my former CEO once said to me when I asked to be made the GM of their Shanghai branch: "You really don't want the job and manage an office full of people. Stay in the field, make money, and leave the administrative headaches to George" Being the founder of a social enterprise can at times be tough, as I me…
A few weeks back, while a friend was preparing to give a presentation about her work (motivating others), she asked me a couple of questions about how I maintained my positive energy while constantly battling through barriers. It was an interesting way to frame it, positive energy, as it is something that I (and other social entrepreneurs) have spoken about as we built out our ideas. And my an…
In the recent HBR piece If the Auditors Sign Off, Does That Make It Okay?, Lawrence Weiss writes about a recent lecture by Andrew Fastow (former CFO of Enron) in front of his class. It was a lecture where Fastow runs through what happened, and where he felt things went wrong. How he, and others, ended up making decisions that bankrupted the company, defrauded thousands of employees, and ultimately…
In preparation for an academic paper that I am working on with several colleagues at CEIBS on the Responsible Leadership Program, I came up with a list of items that I felt were required for us to be able to effectively transform our students into responsible leaders of change. Clarity of Purpose Tangibility of Issue A strong kickoff - Regionally/ Issued Focused Getting off campu…
A couple of days back I was contacted by a headhunter looking to fill a position for one of the world's large international NGOs. A senior role, she contacted me because she thought I would know the right person, and she had it clear it wasn't me. IT wasn't until I read the JD that I understood why: Ten+ plus experience in the development of marketing and strategic communications plans, implement…
Following the upgrade of my Social Entrepreneurs/ enterprise and Environmental / Sustainability professional twitter lists, I thought I would expand to a third post that included some of the CSR professionals I know working in China. this list is a bit thinner than the others, partially because some practitioners are included on the other lists, so if you know of anyone who has been left off pleas…
A very interesting interview of Michael Porter focuses on his recent work (thoughts) on how firms going forward are going to have to rethink how they formulate strategies. Creating shared value, Porter effectively states that firms will have look at their value proposition, look at quality, and look at their role as members of society. That instead of operating through models that extract,…
Watching the Foxconn pays its low-level workers in Shenzhen the legal minimum wage at 900 yuan/month. Ma Liquan, a former employee informed China Central Television (CCTV, 11 May 2010): “After deducting mandatory social securities, we earn only some 800 yuan a month. No one seems to force us….and yet we’ve no choice but to do overtime work.” Set against the Harvard Business Review Case stud…
