I was watching a TED talk by Barry Schwartz. His talk was called, “The Real Crisis? We Stopped Being Wise” In his talk, Schwartz dissociates “wisdom” from the idea of ‘being smart’ and defines ‘practical wisdom’ as the ability to see the right thing and the will to do it. He argues that this ability to see right and then do it for no other reason than it IS right, will help to re-build our world. We live in a time when views about aid to the developing world raise strong emotions and arguments. It is by no means clear that aid is “the right thing” or that it is always done for “the right reasons” or that its effects are good for the people it is intended to help. The COINS Foundation has some pretty strong reservations about a lot of aid. Just today, the Archbishop of Canterbury called on Anglicans to “pray, fast and give” to highlight Zimbabwe’s slide toward starvation. Dr Williams and the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu said people should give now rather than wait for a political solution. – I was prompted to hope that this, perhaps outmoded response to the troubles of the world, would nonetheless deliver a healthy dose of ‘practical wisdom’.
Archive for February, 2009
The Wisdom Of Aid.
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009Corporate Responsibility – How Does THAT Work & Do We Really Care?
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009I just wonder, as a stranger to the corporate world – CR or CSR; reporting on a triple bottom line – how much does it really matter to companies? Especially in these tougher times.
Make no mistake, over the course of the last twelve or so years I’ve been involved in raising a great deal of money for charitable causes and in the course of that time I have met many, many individuals and groups who undoubtedly care about the outcomes for those less fortunate than themselves. Dedicated people who work extraordinarily hard and with great generosity on behalf of those they perceive to be less fortunate than themselves.
But CORPORATE Responsibility; how does that work exactly? I can see how individuals feel responsibility – they give because they feel they should – they feel better for knowing they have put something back. It is easy enough to argue that these are qualities of our humanity. But a CORPORATION doesn’t feel responsibility, or feel better or guilty. So how do these things become manifest reality in a company? Does it come from the top or the bottom? Are companies REALLY better off if they are seen to be charitable?
