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We Need to Re-learn Our Own Lessons
Most people I know who work in the non profit sector - especially those in the arts and entertainment fields - take pride in their belief that the sector is driven by strong values and “doing good� principles, not simply profitability. It goes even further; it is why many people choose the non profit sector for their careers. Nobility of purpose is a part of their identity construct. They say “I am where I work, too.�
It is said that people create identity in two ways: by what they are and what they are not. We create identity as much through differentiating ourselves from “the other� as we do by pursuing the “ideal self.� Many people in the non profit sector see themselves as value- and mission-driven. Conversely, they see the corporate sector as profit- and status-driven. I think it is important that we ask ourselves, “Is this true? Is it an accurate representation of reality? Or is it vestigial of some earlier time?�
During these times, when evidence of corporate excess and greed abound, it is all too easy to engage in tarring the whole corporate sector with the brush of a few bad actors. This is nothing but stereotyping and, in real terms, I believe that the corporate sector evolved from a pure profit motive long ago. They haven’t abandoned profitability, they’ve enriched the concept, embracing the belief that it is possible to do better by doing good. The movie Wall Street’s famous “Greed-is-good� speech does not reflect core values with many corporate leaders today. Increasingly, I see the successful adoption of principle-centered and value-centered leadership.
Non profit = Good and Corporate sector = Bad may resonate with some people, but in terms of what is really happening in the world, it’s a gross generalization. If you put your ear to the ground, you’ll hear a different drumbeat. Doing good while doing well is a standard that many good corporate sector leaders voluntarily embrace. I don’t think they get nearly enough credit.
It is easy to be cynical and assume that these CEOs are just adopting these values because it is yet again another way to increase the bottom line. I don’t think it’s that easy. It certainly isn’t that simple. Broad movements in the culture are forcing changes on the corporate sector. People don’t want to buy products from companies that exploit workers or worse. Brand is an issue. Nike can’t afford to sell shoes made by children any more than Tiffany can afford to sell blood diamonds. Consumers won’t stand for it and brands can’t survive bad corporate behavior. Every successful brand is just one big bad story away from serious damage or being consigned to oblivion.
Last Friday, I had a meeting at the corporate headquarters of AutoZone in Memphis, Tennessee. I’ve been there a number of times and I’m struck by the power of the culture that founder Pitt Hyde and his successors have created within the company. When one comes into the lobby, one cannot help but notice the 20-foot banners suspended from the ceiling with words like Innovation, Respect, Accountability, and Leadership. This is an organization that doesn’t have its value statements gathering dust on bookshelves somewhere. They are core to culture and critical to success. They are important and it’s obvious.
Earlier in the week - in a conversation I had with a former AutoZone executive - I learned that Pitt Hyde (one of AutoZone’s founders and its most celebrated CEO) used to wear the same shirt that his store salesman wore day-in and day-out. “We had it drilled into us that nobody in this company is more important than the guy who waits on the customer,� the exec related. “It wasn’t a bunch of executives running around in Armani suits.� Clearly Mr. Hyde walked the talk. If you want to build a strong culture in any organization, it starts at the top. Do-what-I-say, not-what-I-do has no juice with people nowadays.
In my five-plus decades here on the planet, I’ve seen some interesting changes. The Republican- and Christian-Right wings have adopted and prosecuted the movement-politics strategies of the Left far more successfully than has the Left has continued to use them. The Right learned from the sea changes of the late 60s and the 70s. Similarly - learning from Peter Drucker, no doubt - the corporate sector has taken the best strategies that the non profit sector has created and re-purposed them toward their own ends.
Nobody can blame the corporate sector for wanting to find a way to tap the commitment, passion, perseverance, and self-denial that so many non profit workers have put in evidence. That zeal was worth a fortune. As many sociologists know, the non profit sector was capitalized by the passion of its workforce. It sure didn’t have the money.
As our sector looks forward, we have some serious introspection to accomplish. For one thing, we’re not as different from the corporate sector as we used to be. The ideal young can now find principled work outside the non profit sector. If the non profit sector is forced to pay more, create better work environments, and offer competitive benefits to ensure that we have a work force to make ourselves sustainable, what will this mean? People who study work force dynamics report that younger generations aren’t necessarily willing to make the sacrifices that previous generations made.
We had a cultural icon in John F. Kennedy who asked us to consider “Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.� I, along with many others, answered that call. As is all too apparent, leadership matters and what leadership says matters as well.
Values matter. Principles matter. These things are a part of human nature. We’re wired to do good and to do well. Community is a vestige of vulnerability. We find connection because being alone is dangerous.
Today, so many non profits seem rudderless, especially in terms of their values. It disturbs me that so many non profit leaders - who should know better - think that mission, vision, and values work isn’t practical. They think it’s navel-gazing in the extreme. Yet they seem to want to emulate the tough-mindedness, singularity of focus, and discipline of the private sector. The truth is that the non profit sector does not enjoy a patent on being mission-focused or value-driven.
What’s more, it seems like many of us are turning our backs on these things - the principles and ideals that made us special and powerful.
These things won’t disappear. The private sector has plenty of visionaries - people like Pitt Hyde - who will breathe new life into them and make them powerful.
Posted on June 26, 2007 11:59 AM | Permalink
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Comments
Brilliant, Neill, and well timed. We NEED to read stories of visionaries like Pitt Hyde in this time when too much attention is put on so many who lack that vision. In the corporate sector, as in our government, it's not all roses, not all AutoZones, yet there are plenty of good eggs being scrambled along with the bad. Thanks for reminding us to not let take rampantly recriminative broadsides presented by the talking heads of mainstream media as the only bellwether of corporate reality!