Corporate Social Responsibility & Core Values (Part 6)
Core Values Template prepared by C. Hodges Consulting, LLC
Happy Friday everyone! We are nearing the end of this series!
So far we have walked through introductions to core values as competitive advantages and how they relate to the leadership, operations activities, and supporting activities within an organization.
In this week’s newsletter on Core Values as a Competitive Advantage, consider how your organization engages in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The method that I generally prefer - as described in HBR here - for evaluating and planning CSR takes a holistic approach and includes the following categories (with examples):
Environmental Responsibility
Pollution reduction
Responsible use of natural resources (i.e. water)
Ethical Responsibility
Fair employment
Animal welfare
Economic Responsibility
Equitable value chains
Rural economic development
Philanthropic Responsibility
Volunteer projects
Charitable financial giving
A little primer to get you thinking. How does the organization that you are apart of design and employ CSR? How does CSR enable the business to embody its Core Purpose in an AUTHENTIC way? The key is to know your corner / neighborhood / lane and what matters to you and the organization (the alignment is key here).
Same as before, here are a few sample core values (also listed in the light blue part of the table) that might be appropriate for your organization. Keep noticing any trends building since we first began this series!
Accessibility
Dependability
Generosity
Sustainability
Wellbeing
For this week’s exercise:
Reference the table below. The format provided is offered as an example for completing this week’s exercise. In the light blue rows, I listed some suggestions if you need help with identifying your organization’s potential core values (using only the values that are relevant).
Take a look at the list of core values that you began this exercise with.
Identify the core values that relate to CSR
Note which of these core values 1) specifically support your organization in achieving your Core Purpose, 2) align with the values and needs of your Target Customers, and 3) enable you to deliver on your brand promise.
Focus on the core values that receive checkmarks all the way across.
Apply these core values to the ways that your business does things.
Next time we will wrap up this series on Core Values as a Competitive Advantage! I am especially looking forward to next week’s newsletter where we will summarize and put the materials covered into practice using the core values of C. Hodges Consulting, LLC.
Wishing you a great weekend,
Courtney
P.S. - here is a TEDx talk that I really enjoyed this week entitled “How Great Leaders Energize Their Organizations”. It was given by Author and Professor Ranjay Gulati of the HBS.
