The Answer to How is Yes

I see so many of my friends around me right now asking “Should I make that big change in my life? I am unhappy in my job / unhappy where I live – I have some ideas about what I would rather want to do – but will it work out? Will I have enough money? Is it the right thing?”

Peter Block’s book ‘The Answer to How is Yes’ can be so helpful here – I recommend it to anyone who feels she/he is at a crossroads. From the book description: ‘People keep asking “how?” as a defence against living their life. This guide places the “how to” craze in perspective and teaches individuals ways to reclaim their freedom and capacity to create a world for themselves that they want to live in.’

Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1576752712/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1ZY4H95SN68TTY691Y21&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467198433&pf_rd_i=468294

Small inventions can make a huge difference to society

I am so impressed by this that I would like to share it on my blog:

Just Milk nipple shield prevents transmission of HIV/AIDS between mother and child – and adds important nutrients. Have a look at this: http://tech.ashoka.org/justmilk_nipple_shield

Pre-order our new book ‘Corporate Community Involvement’ now at 30% discount!

Dear all,
if you’d like to benefit from a 30% discount, our publisher Greenleaf has already made it possible for you to pre-order our book at that reduced price. You can pre-order here: http://www.greenleaf-publishing.com/productdetail.kmod?productid=2945

Co-facilitating session at Boston College conference in April

Will be co-facilitating a breakout session at Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s annual conference 11-13 April in Boston (http://www.bcccc.net/index.cfm?pageId=2142), together with Billy Brittingham, BCCCC Assistant Director, Executive Education.

Topic of the session:
Corporate Community Involvement: At a Value Crossroads?
Despite great progress over the past 20 years, many Community Involvement departments continue to tell the Boston College Center they suffer from a credibility gap. While its value is clear to those who manage Community Involvement, it is not well known or understood by the rest of the organization. In contrast, we are seeing the value of green initiatives being enthusiastically embraced and understood by the entire company. What’s going on here? And what can we do about it? Recent Center research spearheaded by the Community Involvement Leadership Roundtable points to three things that may help: 1) focus Community Involvement strategy and put value at the heart of program design; 2) demonstrate the value of your work through effective evaluation and measurement; and 3) communicate more effectively about Community Involvement, both inside and outside the company. In this interactive session we’ll consider the challenges Community Involvement practitioners face and discuss potential implications and solutions.

Advance endorsements for our upcoming book

We’re honoured to have received a number of very complimentary advance endorsements for our upcoming book ‘Corporate Community Involvement: The Definitive Guide’.

Here are a few:

Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing, Kellogg School of Management:
“The authors are to be congratulated. I can’t imagine a better guidebook for any company that plans to enter or improve its community relations.”

Brad Googins, Executive Director, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship:
“It is refreshing to pick up a book in the corporate citizenship and responsibility field that reflects the wisdom and battle scars of practitioners who have drawn on their on-the-ground experiences to create a manual as much as a book. For those wanting to know how to drive corporate citizenship and community involvement from the ground up, from inside out and outside in, this is a book you want by your side – not on the bookshelf. This is a very useful and practical guide to the challenges that all companies face today in engaging with their key stakeholders and communities who are increasingly critical for achieving business success. Lakin and Scheubel have succeeded wonderfully in bringing all of the essential elements in community engagement into one very readable and hands-on book that any company attempting to reset their corporate citizenship will find immediately and essentially useful.”

Sir David Bell, Chairman, Financial Times Group:
“This is an invaluable read for everyone interested in corporate Community Involvement. The authors have gathered together a wealth of helpful information in a single, highly readable space. It will be great for experts and newcomers alike.”

Jeff Hoffman, former Vice President, Worldwide Outreach, The Walt Disney Company:
“In this evolving world, business cannot afford to ignore the community around them. Healthy communities are critical for efficient operations, productive employees and a loyal consumer base. Business also has the opportunity to positively impact some of the most important issues facing society. This book is a must read for the business practitioner.”

Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Secretary General, International Save the Children Alliance:
“There has been a lot of good rhetoric about corporate citizenship and multi stakeholder partnerships – but still too few examples of action. That’s why I really welcome this handbook – so timely – we really need to share practical experience and to be inspired by what’s working. I’m convinced working in partnerships is the key to better solutions for the future – and this book is a great tool to get started or to bring new life into already existing partnerships. Not a day too early…”

Marjorie Thompson, author of 1999 business bestseller ‘Brand Spirit’:
“A thorough and comprehensive, invaluable guide to help make your company a truly good corporate global citizen, written by authors who within a few years quietly and assiduously each built up a multi-country network—phenomenal!”

The book will be out in mid-March.

Haiti, koman ou ye?

“Koman ou ye?” means “How are you?” in Haitian Creole. The answer tends to be “M pa pi mal” – which means something like “Not too bad.” After the horrible earthquake, Haiti and its people are not well. All the help that is conceivable and possible is so badly needed for a country that had already been ailing so much for so many years. And yet, Haiti’s people are incredible. During the years I lived in Montreal, Canada, I knew quite a few people from the Haitian community. I was always impressed with their love of life and people, positive spirit, love of music, dance and play, and deep spirituality. I learned to appreciate the music of Manno Charlemagne. I believe that the spirit of Haitian people will carry them through … I only hope that aid will be effective, and that the millions of dollars donated will reach the people who so badly need that support. I am worried about a similar risk that Bernard Kouchner, the founder of Medecins Sans Frontieres and now the French Foreign Minister, warned about after the Tsunami five years ago: That of each Euro or Dollar donated, only 50 cents would reach the people in need, and the other half would be lost in the many aid organisation’s administrative overhead … And I agree with Kouchner pleading in mid-January this year: “… our attention and efforts must go beyond immediate humanitarian relief. We must engage the Haitian people and help them on their path toward a new future.” I read in the news that Haiti is asking for help over the next 5 to 10 years. That looks like a reasonable period. Our commitment must be long-term.

Season’s Greetings

Dear  clients and colleagues,

It’s the end of a turbulent and unsettling year – and we all ask ourselves “Will this situation continue into 2010, with each of us facing a mix of uncertainty and hope?” The global financial crisis – when will it be over? What will the world need to look like after it? And how can each of us contribute?

In November, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, announced he’d go on a 24-hour hunger strike to raise awareness that one in seven of each of us in the world face starvation. For those, what will their season’s celebrations look like, going to sleep hungry? And then there is climate change – how far are we from the ‘tipping point’, after which any change we will try to make will simply be too late?

You might agree that being patient and hoping that somebody else will take care of all these things for us will no longer be enough … Working with Sustainability and Change, I cannot help noticing the urgency of each of us feeling personally co-responsible and each of us taking personal action.

Many of us tend to celebrate this season because more than 2000 years ago, a caring changemaker was born who took personal responsibility. Most of us admire changemakers like Ghandhi and Mandela. The Nobel Peace Prize committee awarded this year’s prize to President Obama for the spirit he carries into the world and his willingness to effect change.

All of these people are/were regular human beings, only with a serious dose of awareness, energy, courage and commitment. And that’s where the hope lies – in responsible citizens around the world taking action, out of a passion for caring about each other and the world. I know you will be doing something, taking an active role, rather than letting the world’s events just wash over you. And I would love to hear from you about that – post your comment here about what you do, in your life or on behalf of your organization.

We are each a part of all of this. Each of us can make choices, and together, we have achieved so much already. In this spirit, I do wish you a few quiet, restful and reflective days with your loved ones at the end of the year, and then a new year 2010 full of opportunities, for you and your nearest and dearest to prosper and experience personal happiness, and for all of us together to engage, contribute, and turn things around!

Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year!

New consulting partner: Darius M. Ghiai

I’m happy to share that I have started working together with Darius M. Ghiai, owner of Commitis (www.commitis.eu) – an excellent and experienced change consultant and leadership coach with a warm heart, passion for his work and for people, and deep human understanding. He can really help people and organisations grow. Together, we’ll next help a multimillion-Euro cross-sector partnership to constructively enhance and improve their working relationship.

From Community Involvement to Social Performance Management

As language has kept changing and developing over the past decade, from philanthropy via Corporate Citizenship to Corporate Community Involvement, there is yet again a change to be noticed. Increasingly, the mining, oil and gas companies (e.g. Shell, e.g. BG Group) talk about Social Performance Management and develop their own Social Performance Standards. In their companies, Community Involvement is now part of overall Social Performance Management (the third line of the Triple Bottom Line). As they have been trendsetters before, it will be interesting to see whether their language will ‘go mainstream’ soon …

Turning inward – and losing relevance?

 

Just read through an interesting research report and thought I’d share the essence – regarding companies engaging in real dialogue and exchange with stakeholders in the community:

Key content:

The authors’ research shows that just when companies need to turn outward toward their communities, they turn inward toward their organisations. 

The dominant focus becomes their own programs, strategic planning, internal board matters, etc. It is in this realm that leaders believe they can exert the most control and where they feel most confident in their abilities. The research clearly shows that the more leaders and organisations try to turn outward and focus on the communities in which they work the more they reach for inward practices for guidance about what to do. The result is a cycle that binds them ever closer to a posture of inwardness.

And yet, it is within our communities where people live, and where the aspirations and challenges to address reside. The fundamental issue raised in this report: What does it take to turn outward to create real change? The authors position stakeholder dialogue and engagement as a *core competency* to be learned and acquired, and they point out how necessary it is for organisations to lose the *fear* of engaging in deliberation with stakeholders – daring to embrace citizen-based values, or losing relevance.

Thought this perspective could be interesting? 

Just read through an interesting research report and thought I’d share the essence – regarding companies engaging in real dialogue and exchange with stakeholders in the community. Key content:
 

The authors’ research shows that just when companies need to turn outward toward their communities, they turn inward toward their organisations. The dominant focus becomes their own programs, strategic planning, internal board matters, etc. It is in this realm that leaders believe they can exert the most control and where they feel most confident in their abilities. The research clearly shows that the more leaders and organisations try to turn outward and focus on the communities in which they work the more they reach for inward practices for guidance about what to do. The result is a cycle that binds them ever closer to a posture of inwardness.
 

And yet, it is within our communities where people live, and where the aspirations and challenges to address reside. The fundamental issue raised in this report: What does it take to turn outward to create real change? The authors position stakeholder dialogue and engagement as a *core competency* to be learned and acquired, and they point out how necessary it is for organisations to lose the *fear* of engaging in deliberation with stakeholders – daring to embrace citizen-based values, or losing relevance.
 

Thought this perspective could provoke reflection on current state and needed change? 
 

(The report: ‘The Organization-First Approach – How Programs Crowd out Community’ by Richard C. Harwood and John A. Creighton; prepared by the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation with the support of the Kettering Foundation; published 2009)