NPR's Morning Edition did a major piece this morning about how the structure of publicly held companies prevents them from doing good in the world. The premise was the directors and officers of these companies have a legal duty to maximize shareholder profit, and therefore could be sued if they did things that impacted the profit, even if done for social good. As an ex-Wall Street corporate lawyer, I can tell you that this is utter nonsense. It reflects a lack of imagination on the part of the directors and officers (and their legal advisors) and replaces their real legal duty with the profit-oriented economic theory that has gripped our country since the late 1980s.

The truth is, officers and directors are legally required to maximize shareholder VALUE, not shareholder profit. That is or can be a very different proposition. "Value" is what the company defines it as. Profit is only part of the value equation, but there is no legal, ethical or moral requirement that it is the only definition of value. So if the highest value of a company is to serve the common good and be profitable (which we at Dean's Beans, among others, have proven is possible for almost twenty years), then when shareholders invest in that company, they will know what they are getting into. There is no shortage of investors looking to put their money where their greater values are, as proven by the billions consciously placed in socially responsible investments in the last decade.

What is required is not a new form of corporation. Rather, social entrepreneurs creating their new businesses for the common good simply have to write their foundation documents (the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation) to enshrine their social mission into the very bones of their new company. They need to state clearly what the values of the company are that they are seeking to maximize. Thus it is a lack of imagination on the part of the company's lawyers and advisors, not a lack of legal possibility, that prevents new public companies from being organized for the common good, as they define it.

I will be happy to give free advice on this subject to any social entrepreneur who wants to insure that their new company can pursue its social mission without the fear of being sued by shareholders for not putting profit above everything else.

An Interview from the Sustainable Brands Conference ’09 with Kellie A. McElhaney, PhD, UC Berkeley

PART FOUR: Teach Them Well  & Let Them Lead The Way

Now, if you’ve read the other three parts of this blogpost, you already can see why I’m a huge fan of Kellie McElhaney. Yet, perhaps the biggest reason Kellie is a superstar to me is because she is the rockstar mother of two impressive little girls, who are both part of the same generation I am proud to consider myself a part of – the Millenials. Also know as Generation Y, the Millennials are the largest generation in American history. Born between 1978 and 2000, we are 95 million strong, compared to the 78 million Baby Boomers. A new book, Generation We, explains the emerging power of our Millennial Generation, and shows how WE (and older people who think the way WE do) are poised to change our nation and our world for the better. Take a look at this video or visit www.gen-we.org to see how WE are “politically, socially, and philosophically independent, and are spearheading a period of sweeping change in America and around the world”.

Kellie’s older daughter Isabel (who is nine years old, but Kellie says if you ask her she will tell you she is 9 & 7/8ths, ha ha) is quickly becoming Lioness material, in her own efforts to lead the charge of Gen-We. Little Miss Isabel was very disturbed when a tank-top that her mother had ordered from J. Crew arrived in two large cardboard boxes!!!  She decided to take a picture of the thoughtless packaging and include it with her perturbed letter to the CEO of J. Crew, Mickey Drexler.  Get excited for this one ladies and gentleman.  Little Miss Izzy is a sock-knocker-offer!

(Send this to Mickey Drexler, Okay mama?)

Dear Mr.Drexler,

I have something to tell you about J-Crew. Sorry, it's not the best thing about your company. But, your company is great.

Do you know the story called " The Giving Tree"? Well, in the story, that one tree gives up everything to the boy. Everything. Apples, wood, branches, and even the tree stump. Trees' are very valuable, and if we use them like the boy did, we won't have any. None. Zip. Nada. You probably don't get my point yet, but that's what I'm about to explain.

Packaging isn't the hardest thing. As a matter of fact, it's pretty easy. But sometimes you have to give the easier things more thought. And packaging, is an example. When you are packaging your products, what do you think about?  Do you just do it, and get it done? Or do you stop and think how you can make it even better? A big company like J-Crew affects the world in many ways.

My mom got a tiny shirt, in two big boxes. A way to make that issue better, is this: when you package your next products, think about this: Instead of giving her two, give her one. Or you can find a box that is big enough the product fits, but small enough it doesn't have enough room to get up and walk around.

I think if you try this, you will end up not spending as much money on boxes, as well as gas for your trucks, not killing as many trees and getting better feedback from customers, kids, mail men, anybody.

Sincerely,

Kellie's* daughter, Isabel

P.S. I am nine, please respond and, don't take this personally, because it's not only you.

* Kellie McElhaney, author of JUST GOOD BUSINESS

***

This is the photo Isabel took of the J. Crew packaging that the clothing company used to send one tank top to her mother.  She included it in the letter that she sent to J. Crew’s CEO, Mickey Drexler.

Isabel (right, age 9) and her little sister Juliana McElhaney (age 7).

Now, first of all, I’d like to comment on how impressed I am by the fact that this little girl knows the difference between affect and effect! You can tell she’s a real smarty. And secondly, how about that letter?! I wish we could get her in front of Mr. Drexler personally so she could put him on the spot and ask, “Do you get it yet?” Haha!

When Kellie found out that I wanted to post a whole separate piece on her daughter, she asked me to be sure to not give her too much credit for Isabel. “She really is just a product of her generation. She learns a lot just from growing up in today’s world” said Kelly. A true Millenial, and truly one to follow. I’ll be sure to loop you in as I do.

Having said that, Isabel has still not received any response from Mickey, though she did get two standardized and faceless responses from J. Crew telling her to let “them” know if there is anything else “they” can help her with – to which she responded verbally to her mother, “Yeah! Can you help get me a real response and improve your packaging, hello!?!?!”.

They decided to send Mickey a copy of The Giving Tree, and a copy of Kellie’s book, Just Good Business, The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility & Brand. Sounds like J. Crew isn’t ready to engage, but hopefully one day… they will. Until then, it’s our job to keep inviting them into the dialogue. I’m so razzled by Isabel’s work, and am making it my goal to do something of similar value this week. However, I might let myself consider this blog enough for now! Time to catch a few Z’s.  Let me know what you decide to take on. I can’t wait to hear about it!

Part One: A Force of Nature

Part Two: Being Effective Is More Important Than Being Right

Part Three: The Rules of Engagement

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An Interview from the Sustainable Brands Conference ’09 with Kellie A. McElhaney, PhD, UC Berkeley

PART THREE: The Rules of Engagement

Kellie could tell that just like everyone else at Link TV, I am very nervous about how we are going to start accepting corporate sponsorship. I mean, what drew me to want to work for Link TV in the first place was the boundless freedom that our network shelters. No allegiances means no obligations. At Link TV our only obligation has been to tell the truth. 

Similarly, working in academia, Kellie has created a situation for herself where even though she just received a ten million dollar grant from Dow Chemical (which she admits a lot of people really freaked out about), she is protected by academic freedom. So Dow, according to Kellie, in no way can tell her what kind of research Berkeley can publish even if it’s negative towards the company! She suggested that when we start to work with corporations, Link TV must also write in some sort of journalistic freedom clauses, “Something that states clearly to the sponsor what it means for Link TV to accept money from them– here’s how it’s going to be used, here’s the disclaimers, and if we come across some negative information about you (the sponsor), we are going to have to run it, and hopefully you would be responsive.” According to Kellie, a company like Nike would want to respond, because they don’t want to see a chill in the debate, “They know that is how fallacies get spun into realities.”

That last comment prompted me to tell Kellie that I’ve heard that the more money a corporation has, the more they are able to "greenwash" themselves. I explained that it has been difficult for Link TV to really trust even the most reputable rating systems for CSR in our research. Kellie’s response took me by surprise: “You know, I just read a really interesting statistic that greenwashing is more of a phenomenom that media has construed and less of a reality. There are very few companies who are lying, it’s just a stupid strategy. You could lie on your product and there will be one hundred Youtube videos within a minute, or seven thousands tweets, within a MINUTE that will get the truth out! So even though there are bad people in the world, there are very few who will lie or spend money on branding that is a lie, because if they do it they are going to get caught.”

One of Kellie’s rules, which she is pretty adamant about, is to never work with the corporate handlers, whose jobs she says are to often times obscure the truth. She advises going straight to the company itself, ideally the head of CSR, illuminating that PR agencies and the branding people typically don’t know what the company’s CSR strategy is. 

This lack of holisticity made me wonder if I personally have mistaken corporate ignorance for corporate greed, which reminded me to tell Kellie that KoAnn Skrzyniarz, creator of the Sustainable Brands Conference, had told me that she truly believes there are just as many good people in the corporate world as there are bad ones. Kellie said she actually thinks there is more good than bad to corporations, “They have probably just become a little passive in assertive their goodness. Good people don’t get press.”

She reminded me again of the Cisco example, and how she believes Cisco of course would not want to be seen as bad just because they laid off janitors. “They probably have really good numbers on why they had to lay them off, but mainstream media now only provides one sided exposés about why companies do what they do. I’ve always thought media has been part of the problem, so I’m glad you want to be part of the solution.”

As Kellie said, “There is definitely an element of fear, and definitely an element of risk, but it’s going to be different from company to company.” She explained how Walmart tends to be pretty risk-averse, but how even they are changing. “I mean they are in their shareholder meeting this week and it’s all on Youtube and Twitter— It’s amazing how much they are opening up.” 

So we’ve got to be brave and open up too. Trust me, it wasn’t easy to write this!  It didn’t necessarily feel right, but it does feel effective— and that’s the empowering, self-sustaining energy that delivers us down from our towers and onto the grounds where a foundation needs to be built for a better future. Our mission here at Link TV has always been to create cross-cultural understanding.  We cannot stop tearing down fences when it comes to corporate culture. With corporations becoming larger than countries and part of all countries, this type of dialogue is perhaps the most powerful one we will ever have on Link TV.

Part Four: Teach Them Well  & Let Them Lead The Way

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An Interview from the Sustainable Brands Conference ’09 with Kellie A. McElhaney, PhD, UC Berkeley

PART TWO:  Being Effective Is More Important Than Being Right

One of the things Kellie tries to practice in her personal life in addition to her profession is to “focus on being effective instead of being right”. She told me how when she was growing up, if someone had shown her a chart of the 100 Top Economies in the World, they would’ve all been countries. But now it only takes until you get to number 22 before you see Walmart’s ranking. This means the size of Walmart’s business activity is larger than over 70% of the countries in the world! “So to ignore them and to exclude them, and say, ‘we’re not going to work with them’ is probably not an effective strategy”, Kellie explains. “It might not feel like the right strategy in terms of pure, journalistic freedom, but if our focus is to open up discussion and dialogue, and to do so effectively, we cannot afford to alienate anybody”, says Kellie. Dialogue is really the missing link, which is great to hear since that’s why we decided to call our network by that name, for that very solution extends itself to all of the world’s dilemmas.

But do corporations really want to be dissected by the people, in particular, the informed and influential viewers of Link TV— Us steely citizens who have been digesting the bulbosity of uncompromising programming such as Who Killed the Electric Car and The Corporation?!

Kellie truly believes our corporate neighbors do want to engage and respond to our questions and concerns.  According to her, many of these behemoths value opportunities to rise above the noise and differentiate themselves from their competitors, even if it means having to sit in a hotseat. I was sure to warn her, proudly, that Link TV viewers are people who would truly crank up the heat to sweltering levels...

However, what we’ve been coming to realize is that although the hottest fire yields the purest gold, it is only the coolness of finding solutions that solidifies that gold into something worth its weight. What I’m trying to say here is that these problems we bring to light on Link TV will not be solved on a meaningful scale if we breed
an “us against them” mentality. Link TV has grown to admit that we really need to work together, like David & Goliath. It’s a scary place to be when you’re taking your first step into this unknown territory— Ask Adam Werbach! As the interview continued, Kellie helped me to have faith that we are doing the right thing, in our choice to be effective.

Kellie understandably likes to explain that the effective way to engage is to approach from a position of mutual interest. She uses the giant technology company Cisco as an example. It just so happened that before our interview, KQED had called Kellie and asked her if she could comment on a story about Cisco, and how one of the janitorial services they had been subcontracting had just laid off one of their workers. Justice for Janitors had already started waging a big political campaign against Cisco, and KQED wanted to know if Kellie thought that was an effective strategy.

Kellie’s killer response was that “It depends on what the goal is. If you want Cisco to engage with you, then no.  Why not just have a conversation? Instead of starting out from a polarized position and saying, ‘Cisco, you are evil! You are laying off the poor working man’, why not approach them in the spirit of mutual concern and figure out how it might be possible to come together around that common agenda. They will not agree all of the time, but you don’t just break up because you have one disagreement.”

I started to imagine how Link TV could facilitate this type of dialogue. I agree with Kellie when she rhetorically exclaimed, “where has it ever been written that it is inherently socially irresponsible to lay somebody off?” She pointed out that the world goes through economic cycles. We are obviously in a recession right now. Kellie continued, “Cisco is laying off their own people, so it makes sense that everyone who contracts to Cisco is going to have to lay some people off too.” 

What would it be like if Cisco had the chance to explain this on Link TV? How would you respond? Tell us what you think! You are the missing link!

And I’m a closet rapper  ; )

Part Three: The Rules of Engagement

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An Interview from the Sustainable Brands Conference ’09 with Kellie A. McElhaney, PhD, UC Berkeley

PART ONE: A Force of Nature

One of the ways in which the Sustainable Brands Conference 2009 fulfilled their mission of showcasing the innovators and stories of emerging best practices and successes in sustainable business is by getting Dr. Kellie A. McElhaney (below) on the roster.

While reading her book, Just Good Business, The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility & Brand, I couldn’t stop imagining how exciting it must be for her students over at UC Berkeley to take classes from the woman who founded the Center for Responsible Business six years ago.  It’s probably safe to say that Kellie’s work at UC Berkeley is a huge reason for why Haas is currently recognized as one of the best graduate business schools in the country.  She has helped to place corporate responsibility squarely as one of their core competencies and competitive advantages.   She was named a Faculty Pioneer by the Aspen Institute, and she bridges her academic focus into the practitioner world by consulting to several Global 1000 companies on how to develop integrated CSR strategy.

We got to the conference just in time to see her give a presentation on “Best Practices in Driving Brand Value Through CSR”.  What immediately struck me as we got seated was how young, attractive, and seriously cool Kellie is. With credentials like hers, I didn’t expect her to be so hip!  She showed us adorable and funny videos, made jokes, and referenced P. Diddy.  The latter was to explain a phenomenon the rapper had coined as “The Lioness Factor,” which stresses the fact that women make almost all household purchase decisions and therefore should always be considered when a company is sculpting its brand.  She taught us how crucial it is for messaging in this distracted time to be simple, fun, and empowering. 

Next year at SB10 I would not be surprised if they decide to open up the conference with Dr. McElhaney. One thing’s for sure, I was becoming super excited about the fact that we had scheduled an interview with Kellie right after her presentation!  That’s when I learned what she thinks the missing link is for Corporate Social Responsibility.  I’ll give you a hint:  double entendre.

Part Two: Being Effective Is More Important Than Being Right

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An Interview from the Sustainable Brands Conference ‘09 with Founder & President KoAnn Skyrzniarz

From June 1-3, 2009, 650 business and brand strategists, designers and sustainability executives gathered together for three days of extraordinary conversation, inspiration and insights into new strategies and tactics for leading profitable innovation for sustainability in 21st century business.

The mission of the Sustainable Brands Conference (SB09) was to help people and their companies to understand what’s driving change in today’s business landscape; to point out the innovators and stories of emerging best practices and successes, and to groom people into becoming innovators of more sustainable business strategies, products, and practices.  As one of the conference speakers said during the event, "SB09 brought together the finest and most life-serving minds [we've] ever had the privilege of engaging with.” 

If you’ve read the first blogpost on here you already know that KoAnn Skyrzniarz, Founder & President of Sustainable Life Media (right), is the woman behind the Sustainable Brands Conference. I had the opportunity to speak to KoAnn before the conference, which is why I was able to write the first blogpost. However, at the conference, I was able to get a little one-on-one time with KoAnn to ask her just a couple of questions that I think will show our viewers why Link TV wanted me to attend this conference. Here’s what I got:

CD: KoAnn, we’ve heard from you that you feel very lucky to have had an inspiring, possibly sheltered, but nonetheless incredibly inspiring experience working for a corporation. And when you left that chapter of your life, you said you were very determined to apply yourself towards something bigger - building a bridge between media, corporate entities, and sustainability…

KS: That’s exactly right. The company I was fortunate to work for was family owned for the majority of the time I was there, which was somewhat unusual. And having had a very intimate experience with purpose driven leadership, I saw firsthand what that can do to a bottom line, how that can help you grow a business, and how it can impact people. You get an incredible level of engagement, productivity and creativity out of believing that people are your biggest asset, which was the perspective of the chairman of our company.

CD: What were some of the moments here at this year’s conference that stand out for you?

KS: Oh there were so many! You'll have to check out the Highlights Reel:

Dacher Keltner from the Center for Greater Good and UC Berkeley definitely stood out— Just the way he was able to elevate the conversation about the emerging science of altruism and empathy, and how that can actually become a benefit for business.

CD: UC Berkeley is such a pioneer in CSR! I’m looking forward to Dr. Kelley McElhaney’s presentation on “Best Practices in Driving Brand Value Through CSR”!

So, how has this conference differed from last year’s conference?

KS: Well there’s two major things. One: Numbers. We are quite a bit up from last year than we were the year before, which is remarkable for this environment. And two, generally, the community is just continuing to get smarter and smarter about the needs and opportunities. So the level of the conversation has stepped up a lot from last year, and the energy is getting better and better. In light of the economy it’s just so wonderful to see the amount of enthusiasm, passion, creativity and forward momentum that’s continuing to happen. I definitely heard the reverberated statement that this is not going away. I don’t think it’s true that we are in a green bubble.

CD: What is Sustainable Life Media planning on doing in the coming year?  Anything in particular that we should look forward to?

KS: Looking to this fall we are going to be delving into the fragmentation and emergence of eco-labels and certifications. You’ll see there is a lot of need for convening and conversation around that topic. So we’re talking to a lot of people who might be able to construct something that could be helpful. You’re going to be seeing a lot more from us!

***

Recently, Sustainable Life Media posted that Highlights Reel that KoAnn suggested we check out and I’d like to leave you with a little excerpt that I think sums up the conference nicely. Here’s what John Marshall Roberts, author of Igniting Inspiration, had to say about Sustainable Brands 2009:

 “You gotta start somewhere and there’s so much stuff out there. You wanna go to a place where there is some integrity, where there are people who understand you need to balance practicality with ideology. People who are results driven, yet in a way that still honors the spirit of sustainability, that sort of emotional quality. All that comes together in the brand of Sustainable Brands.”

Be sure to check out the other blogposts that are a part of this series! While at SB09 I also interviewed Kellie McElhaney from UC Berkeley and Gil Friend from Nat Logic.

And as we move through the summer, I’ll be interviewing other socially responsible business leaders and experts. Feel free to write in to tell me who you’re interested in knowing more about!

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To kick-off this blog on Corporate Social Responsibility, Link TV is sending me to the Sustainable Brands Conference in Monterey this coming Wednesday, June 3rd.

This conference is described as "the preeminent event for discussing the rapid rise of sustainability as a driver for revenue growth and brand equity in the 21st Century." To me, that means it is a platform for business leaders and entrepreneurs to come together and learn from proven experts about how to make a profit by doing good.

The assumption that businesses must choose between doing good and making a profit is becoming easier to dispel as visionaries like Tom Szaky from TerraCycle and Mike Hannigan from Give Something Back are now competing with large corporations.

Sustainable Brands is being produced by Sustainable Life Media, which was founded by an incredible woman named KoAnn Vikoren Skyzyniarz.  KoAnn is one of the few people I've met with a corporate background whose story does not have an apologetic twang to it.  She described her experience in the corporate world as being both inspirational and quite possibly sheltered. The time she spent working for corporations led her to believe that there
are just as many good people in corporations as there are greedy ones.  And so, she wanted to take her experience and optimism and apply it in a way that creates a bridge between the businesses that will lead us into the
future, and the consumers and media entities that will either support or correct their efforts.

I invite you all to follow me as I interview change agents like KoAnn next Wednesday.  Feel free to send in any questions you might have to the blog!  The leaders of sustainable business know that viewers like you, who have been nourishing themselves with the raw information we air on Link TV, are the people who will decide if their businesses are going to sink or swim.  This is an opportunity for us to have our voices heard.  I hope to hear from you soon... You'll be hearing more from me!

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