Community Change Leaders: Wendy Campbell's Blog

There's Winning ... and there's Winning

Wendy Campbell — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 08:01:00 +0000

We stayed up last night to watch the finish of the America’s Cup; Team New Zealand racing against Alinghi (Swiss boat with a mostly New Zealand crew and New Zealand skipper).

It had been a tough race. Although the boats were similar, Team New Zealand consistently pulled ahead with their better sailing skills. As they’d hammered towards the mark at the end of the first leg Alinghi pushed them off course, not breaking the rules but won the point by bending them rather than by superior seamanship. Then as the boats hammered towards the 3rd and last mark before the home stretch, Alinghi turned around and sailed at full pelt straight at Team New Zealand. “It’s like their attacking her!” exclaimed my husband. At the last minute Team New Zealand pulled out of the way. Then the umpire boat gave Team New Zealand a penalty, which meant that she had to do a full circle some time between then and the finish line. The commentator spoke of Alinghi’s skipper as a “Great skipper rather than a good skipper.”

Down the home straight, after putting Team New Zealand right off course with that tactic, Alinghi was at first in front, but Team New Zealand didn’t give up and were creeping in front when Alinghi’s spinnaker went out of control and blew her off course. While her crew were sorting that out Team New Zealand did their pirouette just in front of the finish line.

Then there was team New Zealand picking up speed again as they crossed the line, with Alinghi racing across next to them. It looked like a tie to us, but the clock said that Alinghi had won – by 2 seconds!

Kindness and Strategic Planning

Wendy Campbell — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 16:05:39 +0000

Flying home yesterday from Melbourne I pondered on the weekend just gone. After arriving there on Friday evening my brief had been to take the strategic planning sub-committee of the national board through a strategic planning exercise in one day!

Lots of preparation including extensive briefing of the Vice President had given all participants a good insight into where they had been and where the group wished to go. Even then, the goup had a history of not achieving objectives…

As I prepared myself for the day I put myself in their shoes, but with the vision of completing the exercise in one day. The day flowed well as each participant shared his or her vision of where the organisation should go. There was surprising consensus, even as I pushed them to keep moving. But no disparaging comments were allowed.

And they achieved their objective!

On time!

It just goes to show that treating them all with respect and kindness, from the first time they were contacted to the end of the planning day, got them treating each other in the same way and achieved the results they were looking for.

“Faith is not something to grasp, it is a state to grow into.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Social Responsibility and the Tree

Wendy Campbell — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 02:35:00 +0000

The leaves glistened in the sunlight. I love the way the rustling leaves on our eucalyptus trees catch the light and send it on its sparkling way.

Sitting in a cafe, I was waiting for someone.

The trees stood tall outside…

Birds called as they flitted among the branches. Each tree supports so much life!

Thinking about each tree as an organisation, from a rational viewpoint it supports our lives by providing timber, eucalyptus oil, shade, seeds and seedlings. It takes nutrients from the soil and makes them into the food it needs to survive, in the process producing oxygen which we need to survive.

A tree also supports many other stakeholders, providing homes, resting places, food and sheer enjoyment to many other living beings than just humans. Birds, animals, insects and tiny bacteria flourish within its ecosystem. The price the tree exacts is non-financial. Instead there is a delicate interconnectedness between the tree and its residents, temporary and permanent.

For example the bees and the pollen, a story we learn as children. The tree feeds the bee pollen in return for the bee pollinating its flowers so that the tree can reproduce.

Isn’t this what Social Responsibility is all about? Not a “fluffy” sentiment, but an arrangement of co-existence based on integrity and on kindness – the type of kindness that recognises the right that every living being has to thrive.

An organisation, as a tree, does not exist separately from its people. Rather it exists because of them, all of them. Whether staff, customers, suppliers, people’s needs and desires dictate what an organisation looks and feels like, and therefore what it achieves. Just like all the creatures in a tree’s ecosystem.

So the essence of Corporate Social Responsibility, the focus on treating all stakeholders with integrity and kindness, determines the successful longevity of a tree just as it does an organisation.

Lifting my eyes to the tree tops once more, drinking in the light that flashed from the dark green leaves, I was glad I’d had to wait here.

What an amazing thought!

Inspiration for Breakfast

Wendy Campbell — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:17:00 +0000

This morning I was inspired…

by a lady called Barbara Etter.

Telstra Business Woman of the Year 2006 and Assistant Commissioner for Corruption Prevention and Investigation at the WA Police, she had been invited to speak to a breakfast meeting at the University Club.

Her strong sense of right and wrong, and the way she held these values dear in the face of often unfair treatment, was inspirational.

The way she kept her sense of humour even when things got really tough was inspirational.

Her constant focus on the social and intellectual aspects of her work, during her talk and during her life, was truly inspirational.

She had us laughing over “nice girls don’t get the corner office”. But there was truth here – she suggested that many of us tend to unconsciously sabotage our own careers. We apologise when we don’t need to, we avoid politics and are often the last to speak up. We ask permission when none is necessary, we are overly modest and generally deny our power. I thought of the effort I now make to speak up when something needs to be said and the difference it is making to my profile…yes, she had a point.

Barbara invited us to think about “What if the three wise men were the three wise women?” They would bring practical gifts for the home. Again, among the laughter, there was truth here.

As she closed, with urging us to “be true to yourself and your integrity” and “be the type of person your dogs think you are”, I was glad I had scrambled out of bed in the dark to come here.

Starting my working day with inspiration was a great gift.

And it lasted all day!

It's Your Intangibles that Matter!

Wendy Campbell — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:48:00 +0000

“When you buy a business today, on average 71% of what you are paying for is intangible,” says Ramesh Thomas, principal executive officer at India’s largest branding company, Equitor Management Consulting. “Twenty-five years ago that was only 18%.”

What this means is that most of a company’s value is no longer in the capital part of the business – the machines and the computers – but lies in the way the company interacts with its customers and the relationships it has with them.

…the valuation of intangible assets, such as brands, has become a hot issue. It’s also the law. New international accounting standards require public companies to record the value of intangible assets – such as brands – on their balance sheets when they are acquired.

AFR BOSS January 2007

The article goes on to explain that valuing your brand gives you the opportunity to design your people systems by focussing on the improvement of that part of your assets that contains the greatest value: your intangibles.

Reading this article was an “Aha!” moment! There has always been a conviction in my mind that people are the driver for the profits or other measures of an organisation’s success, but this really brought it home.

It gives legs to the value of an organisation’s commitment to its Corporate Social Responsibility, its Ethics and the culture that underpins these.

And it gives credibility to a strategic direction that is based on increasing the value of relationships with all stakeholders.

Yes, Kindness really is the Key.

Social Responsibility and Ethics in Real Life

Wendy Campbell — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 13:35:00 +0000

“Kenny – A Knight in Shining Overalls”

A DVD web site describes this movie:

“From the biggest festival to the smallest church social, Kenny Smyth delivers porta-loos to them all. Ignored and unappreciated, he is one of the cogs in society’s machinery; a knight in shining overalls taking care of business with his faithful ‘Splashdown’ crew.

Follow Kenny as he tackles every septic challenge that comes his way, culminating in a pilgrimage to that Mecca of waste management, the International Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Nashville Tennessee – or as Kenny affectionately calls it, “Poo HQ”.

With fly-on-the-wall honesty and wit, ‘KENNY’ lifts the lid on one of Australia’s roughest diamonds as he juggles family tensions, fatherhood and sewage with charm, humour and unflinching dignity.

Part philosopher, part comedian and all heart, KENNY is living proof that in sewage, like life, the best will always rise to the top."

I really enjoyed this movie. It was very real, the situations that Kenny faced ones which any of us might face – the irritable parent, the questioning child, the unhappily divorced spouse, the angry or violent customer. Yet through it all Kenny holds his ethical values of honesty, respect and kindness with an iron fist. Even in the most unbearable circumstances, when many of us would resort to unkind actions, he is the same honest, respectful and kind person that he is at the best of times.

And he does win in the end, but on his own terms.

There is also humility and gratitude here, a salient reminder that to be alive and be able to live with the values we hold dear is something to be grateful for, not a right to demand.

Thanks Kenny!

Is this Responsible?

Wendy Campbell — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:14:00 +0000

The Yangtze river dolphin has been declared extinct – Washington Post

Does this matter?

In a world where reputations rise and fall with the publication of the next edition of a newspaper or television news, yes it does. Because, in the end, we are judged on what we do, not what we say.

Every nation on earth has been the extinguisher of at least one non-human species. So none of us are immune from causing these sad events. But some of us learn from it, especially people grouped together as “the general public”. These groups are becoming increasingly vocal and involved in the outcomes of the actions of their governments and corporations. And through their voting and buying powers they are not afraid to effect those who they see as acting irresponsibly.

As groups they have a collective wisdom that demands a fair go for all, even non-human species, and a sense of responsibility for the effect we all have on this planet. And in their eyes the loss of a species does matter.

Something to think about…

Acting on Conscience

Wendy Campbell — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 13:46:00 +0000

“Acting on Conscience – - How Can We Responsibly Mix Law, Religion and Politics?” by Frank Brennan

Well may you ask!

A review of this book by Roy Williams in the Weekend Australian “Review”, November 4-5 2006, explores Frank’s thesis that conscience voting – where MPs can vote on their most strongly held beliefs – occurs too rarely in public affairs.

Roy goes on to summarise Frank: “The way to a more civil and truthful democracy, he argues, is to afford greater respect to the primacy of individual conscience.”

Roy takes us through Frank’s views on religion – “Frank would like greater tolerance of religious discourse … where people of faith speak out boldly but respectfully on pressing issues.”

And “judges with strong religious beliefs must sometimes walk the fine line.”

Although Roy does not agree with all Frank’s contentions, he concludes by stating that Frank would endorse John F Kennedy’s words in “Profiles of Courage”:

“[When] party and officeholder differ as to how the national interest is to be served, we must place first the responsibility we owe not to our party or even to our consitituents but to our individual consciences.”

Putting this in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility, which is the responsibility of an organisation to all stakeholders, we see that the consciences of all these people can play a great part in the organisations’ governance and future direction, if only they were given a say. From those who come in to clean when everyone else is gone, to those who only participate from the boardroom, there are valid views and wisdom on the best way forward for the organsisation.

Wouldn’t it be good to give respect to all these consciences, giving them the opportunity to “speak out boldly but respectfully on pressing issues”? And to take them into account when making decisions?

What a wonderful asset to any organisation!

Space Race - Is the Finish Line Kindness or Armageddon?

Wendy Campbell — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 17:28:00 +0000

While watching a special show on the “Space Race” I pondered on the experiences of the astronauts who left our earth for a time. Although the Russians and Americans were deeply competitive about getting the first man on the moon, the asronauts themselves were focussed on doing the best they could in a very alien environment.

It was a Russian who first saw the earth rise over the moon’s horizon. He and his fellow space travellers were in awe. The race ceased to matter. What mattered instead was to appreciate this precious planet that is our home.

Later, one of the American astronauts captured the legendary image of the earth suspended in the blackness in space that we have come to know so well:

Spaceship Earth

Our home

Will we mend our ways and learn to treat this home with kindness?

Or will we make it our Armageddon?

If we only learn to give more than we take as a way of life then life on earth will thrive, including ours!

Corporate Social Responsibility in Action!

Wendy Campbell — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 14:58:00 +0000

There is an organisation, a global organisation, let’s call it CSR, which operates entirely outside the “normal” monetary world. It was set up by volunteers because they saw a need for what it delivers. They don’t get paid, they will never get paid. In money – no money is involved in any of CSR’s transactions. And yet they watch over the way that CSR works. They watch closely and carefully that the way it was set up to operate, the ethics and values that are held dear, are upheld with almost religious fervour.

Why?

Because every day CSR brings people together who have never met before to interact in a mutually beneficial manner. Because the managers are so watchful that each person “does the right thing” with each other and with her or his environment, people feel safe to share snippets of their stories as they do business with each other; people feel valued for the ethics and values they bring. So the managers get a great deal of satisfaction over making such a difference to these people’s lives. And in a way that is profoundly socially and environmentally sustainable.

All stakeholders are valued, and engaged in CSR’s future. They all care about CSR’s future.

CSR is a highly socially profitable venture.

This IS Corporate Social Responsibility in action\!