Part of running a business with a social mission means you work with a set of stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, investors and community) versus with shareholders. We are used to evaluating our social mission in terms of the benefits it allays to a cause, consumers or revenue. Often, employee perks are mid-ranked priorities (at best) because they’re not seen as helping a cause or generating revenue. But the clever thing about running a socially driven business is that it gives us opportunities to see that economics and goodwill align more than not.
The Story
At the urging of his wife and partner, Malinda, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard decided to create an onsite child-care center because it would benefited the mothers and fathers who worked at Patagonia by making their lives simpler (no drop-offs & pick-ups) and allowing them to spend more time with their kids (lunch on campus). “Money crunchers,” as Yvon calls Patagonia’s accountantss balked at the expense, seeing it as a pure perk–no customer goodwill would be won and it was a clear expense with no signs of payback. For Malinda and Yvon, it was simply a part of providing for their employees (as a corporation might provide a company car or meal stipend).
So the child-care center was created and has been subsidized by the company for 25 years. However, “every time we make a decision because we think it’s the right thing to do, it ends up making us more profit. There’s an absolute, direct connection,” says Yvon.
The Benefit
This decision was no different. Yvon explains that the childcare center “makes more profit for the company than anything because we have more than 70% women in high-level positions. Now we don’t loose them when they have children. I can retain these great people.” Patagonia has determined that it costs $50,000 to replace an employee in lost productivity, headhunter fees and training. “I’ve saved $50,000 many times over, ” says Yvon. Patagonia also receives substantial tax benefits in addition to what the company saves on hiring and training.
The Take-away
I frequently use this story as an example of how leading with your conscience provides unanticipated benefits (financial and otherwise). In this post, I also want to highlight the importance of creating a social mission that involves and looks after employees. We can sometimes be so focused on finding the right cause and engaging our customers around it that we pass up the opportunity to grow the mission from the inside out. As you can please your employees by supporting a cause and empowering consumers, you can please your consumers (and number crunchers) by supporting your employees.
I want to use the story of what happened when I contacted one company for an interview for Cause Capitalism to point out that the way you treat people is a clearer indication of your company’s social mission than who you hire to launch a fancy cause marketing or employee-volunteer program. I’m not hurt by it because I understand the pulls of running a business, but it’s a good reminder that the behavior of employees (and CEOs) paints the clearest picture of a company’s ethos.
Here are the blogs and sites I read (about half of them I read or skim daily) for sustainable business news and perspectives on goodbusiness, marketing and blogging. I like to sign up for a daily or weekly email feed so I can skim headlines and ideas without having to remember to visit the sites individually.
3BL Media Committed to the triple bottom line. Daily feeds of CSR and sustainability news, companies, events and ideas.
Cause Shift A new platform for bringing together brand, non-profit, corporate, social media and political creatives to map a better a world. Hunger elimination is the current focus. [click to continue…]
The only social missions that work are the ones that you care a lick about. That’s the biggest indicator right there.
It’s not your marketing team or budget allowances and it’s not the press release or fundraising event you’re fretting over. The social missions that weld the greatest impact on a cause and in business growth are led by people who are emotionally committed to their social mission.
Before you research non-profits partners, choose your tactics or analyze what resources you can commit, you need to have an outline of what you want. I do this periodically when I’m thinking about what I want from work and from life. It’s not about subscribing to vision boards or “The Secret,” it’s about saying out loud (or on paper) what you want. The best part is that it doesn’t need to be specific. It can be ideas or qualities that trigger an emotion in you.
When I asked readers last week how I can make the greatest impact, I talked about laying out a plan that would lead me to my goal. I wasn’t clear on what this goal was, however, so I began by writing out a list of qualities that I knew I wanted (key words). Then I built a quick mission statement around those and created steps to get me where I want to go.
There are three reasons to write down what you want:
1) You dream bigger
2) You get clear on what you want (& when we know what we want, we’re powerhouses)
3) You have a vision to reference when you feel off track [click to continue…]
Once you understand that a social mission is an incredible asset for your business your first question is usually “Where do I start?” Many of the pieces I write focus on what an entrepreneur or CEO should consider when building a social mission. But if you are an employee looking to implement from within, your first question might be “How do I convince my boss?”
Before tactics, I want to share a story you can cue for inspiration as you sit across from your boss and share your vision of a stronger company. A sales director named Joyce LaValle left a copy of Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce on her CEO’s desk, which led to a complete transformation of the company, as well as the industrial carpet industry. Joyce’s daughter encouraged her mom to get the book into Interface CEO Ray Anderson’s hands. After several attempts, it landed–ultimately leading to Interface’s pledge of zero waste by 2020. This was 1994 when Ray was struggling to address his organization’s environmental policies. Carpet manufacturers were criminal polluters and resource hogs. Today, Interface is well on the way toward its goal and has eliminated hundreds of millions of dollars in waste, as well as increased sales by more than $1 billion. Sixteen years later, Joyce heads the marketing for InterfaceFLOR and continues to be tapped for inspiration by people like you and me.
Convince your boss to add a cause-oriented program by:
Painting a picture of company growth. Consumers prefer companies that make a positive impact on the world. Two out of three consumers will switch brands if one works with ’good causes’ and the other does not (Edelman, 2009). [click to continue…]
It’s a no-brainer to decide to run a cause marketing program. There’s ample evidence that (1) consumers choose products aligned with a cause, (2) employees and brand benefit from socially driven programs and (3) causes can use the help. But there are important considerations when deciding what type of program best suites your business, how to get it off the ground and what to expect. In this last segment on cause marketing with Joe Waters, we talk about measuring the success of a campaign and using location-based social media tools to build cause marketing programs that bring together consumer, cause and company to inspire an action.
I have a plan to move me from where I am to where I want to be. I sketched it out in a park in Buenos Aires in the last few hours of 2009. I’ve stuck with the plan. Working late, struggling through writer’s block and self doubt I’ve written one blog post a day, interviewed 18 social entrepreneurs and experts in cause marketing, CSR reporting and SRI, and agreed to build the non-profit network for a new social enterprise. I’m learning, sharing and implementing.
But this week I’m stuck. Out of no where the clouds gathered overhead and I felt ineffective. Suddenly, the blocks I’m building with seem too small. I want to be there already. I want to inspire and help entrepreneurs build businesses with social missions that can change the world. I want to build one myself. I want to create multi-sector partnerships that tease out our strengths and hold a bullhorn to inspiration to create something that vastly improves people’s lives. I want to take bigger risks and use my education, experience and compassion to make an impact.
How can I make the greatest impact?
Is it by continuing to write about tactics and options for a social mission? Is it by continuing to show the evidence for sustainable business? Is it even through interviews? I’m not the best interviewer, but that’s okay because it’s not my final destination. I interview people because it’s an amazing way to learn from the businesses they’ve built, their moment of inspiration, their triumphs and their days of overhead clouds.
My hope was that the act of writing out and preparing to share these questions and frustrations would provide some clarity. And while I do feel better for giving a physical presence to my cycle of thoughts, at this moment the clarity continues to elude.
I’d like to ask you. How do you think I can make the greatest impact? Are you in your moment of impact or still searching or preparing for it? What steps do you take to get there and do you ever feel like you’re there? I’d love to hear from you, either in the comments or by email: olivia(at)causecapitalism.com.
How often in life we complete a task that was beyond the capability of the person we were when we started it. –Robert Brault
What do world-class brownies and hard-to-hire employees have in common? A bakery called Greyston.
Greyston Bakery founder and Zen Buddhist teacher Bernie Glassman started with a social mission and built a profitable business around it. To carry out his mission–providing jobs, training and income to low- or non-skilled workers–Bernie needed a business plan. For most of us, it’s the opposite; we start with a business (plan) and then look for a social mission that resonates. We are well trained to think about revenue models, but what about social mission models? What successful models can we draw from and what can we learn from other companies? [click to continue…]
It’s the simplest programs that drive action and results. Three days after Haiti was struck by the January 12 earthquake, Discover Card enacted a simple relief program that raised $3.1 million. Card members could contribute their cash back bonus points to the American Red Cross and Discover would convert this to dollars and match the donation.
In addition–and this is critical to demonstrate support–Discover made an initial gift of $100,000 and matched $1 million of card member donations. The company is also waiving merchant transaction fees for 17 organizations providing support to Haiti (allowing 100% of your donation to reach Save the Children or MercyCoprs). The simplicity, directness and immediacy of the program leveraged a greater pool of donations and gave cardholders an appreciation for Discover as an enabler of giving–rather than of consumption.
$100,000 initial gift by Discover to demonstrate immediate support
$2,000,000 donated in cash back bonus points by card holders
+$1,00,000 matched donations by Discover
_________________________________________________
$3,100,000 to the American Red Cross for relief and rebuilding in Haiti as of February 10
I have almost 2,000 points from a past United Airlines Visa credit card which are set to expire in five days. Far from enough for an airline ticket, it could get me a lavish dinner at Outback Steakhouse. But as I’m a vegetarian now living in Buenos Aires who writes about social missions and corporate sustainability, United and Visa have missed an easy opportunity to connect with me and to help others.
Has your credit card company launched programs to assist Haiti? Do you believe it’s their place to even do so? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
For Jill Fink, it started with a desire for a neighborhood cafe, the application of her personal values to business and a 10% commitment. Jill’s story is lucky but not unusual. Her Philadelphia neighborhood lacked a coffee house and she saw a market need. After initially tabling the idea, she partnered with a friend, did her due diligence and opened Mugshots CoffeeHouse & Cafe across the street from the historical Eastern State Penitentiary. Today, she and Angie Vendetti are on the brink of opening their third sustainable coffee house in Philadelphia.
I invited Jill to Cause Capitalism to talk about how she scaled Mugshots’ sustainability programs, and through these, grew the business. [click to continue…]
I created Cause Capitalism to show you how to grow your business by incorporating a social mission.
I'm Olivia Khalili. I've worked extensively with both non-profits and for-profits. I found that when you combine the two, you impassion all your stakeholders, grow your profits and do good in the world. Read more.
At the urging of his wife and partner, Malinda, Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard decided to create an onsite child-care center because it would benefited the mothers and fathers who worked at Patagonia by making their lives simpler (no drop-offs & pick-ups) and allowing them to spend more time with their kids (lunch on campus). “Money crunchers,” as Yvon calls Patagonia’s accountantss balked at the expense, seeing it as a pure perk–no customer goodwill would be won and it was a clear expense with no signs of payback. For Malinda and Yvon, it was simply a part of providing for their employees (as a corporation might provide a company car or meal stipend).
The only social missions that work are the ones that you care a lick about.
I have a plan to move me from where I am to where I want to be. I sketched it out in a park in Buenos Aires in the last few hours of 2009. I’ve stuck with the plan. Working late, struggling through writer’s block and self doubt I’ve written one blog post a day, interviewed 18 social entrepreneurs and experts in cause marketing, CSR reporting and SRI, and agreed to build the non-profit network for a new social enterprise. I’m learning, sharing and implementing.
It’s the simplest programs that drive action and results. Three days after Haiti was struck by the January 12 earthquake, Discover Card enacted a 
I created Cause Capitalism to show you how to grow your business by incorporating a social mission. 
