NETWORLDING

All New: Networlding Creates First Tele-Town Hall, Wednesday, May 28th

When you want to make a difference in the world, it helps to have a collective group who can make change happen faster.  Now you have the chance to participate in the Networlding Socially Responsible Group on Linked In…and become the change you want to see in the world.

You are invited to join our first Tele-Town Hall Meeting on Wednesday, May 28 (5:00 p.m. PST/8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. Central) where you will have the opportunity to hear two of the world's great givers, along with me, facilitate a Networlding Make a Difference initiative.

I, Charles Gay and Gary Goldstein are ready to inspire you to support your desire to make a difference  Their organization, HUB (Humanity Unites Brilliance - www.HubHub.org) was established to empower donors and teams who support the issues facing developing nations. Charles and Gary have been involved in global compassion work throughout their lives, concurrent with developing their vast professional credits in the music and film industries, respectively.  HUB is for-profit, and its vision is to use personal empowerment training as an economic engine, generating sustainable humanitarian funding.  It uses tools like micro-loans, education, food, water and environmental training to give developing nations the essentials to end the cycle of poverty. 

Their invitation to you is to consider what you or your organization can offer to make a difference in the world…and to make the commitment to becoming the change you want to see in the world.  You have the opportunity to make the commitment of your time, energy or economic contributions via the Networlding blog www.networldingblog.com and adding your comments after the blog entry containing this invitation.  Let Gary, Charlie and I know how you intend to make a difference – and then let them teach you how to fulfill that intention through personal empowerment and effective networking.

Charles (Visioning Founder of HUB) has been a powerhouse of US film production since his arrival in the US in 2002 from the UK, where he was already leading hugely successful concert promotions for musical artists like Pink Floyd and Pavarotti.  He went on to work with many of the biggest names in film and to co-found Promenade Pictures, a US film production and distribution company.  He has been involved as Executive Director with the Mineseeker Foundation and the Sole of Africa Campaign in Mozambique. 

Gary (a Founding ArcAngel of HUB) is currently President of The Goldstein Company and has produced or co-produced such critically acclaimed films as Pretty Woman, Under Seige and The Mothman Prophecies.  He continues to produce, speak and write extensively, both to make a contribution to on-going excellence in film and to make a difference in humanitarian issues.  He has served as a member of the steering committee for the Entertainment Industry Foundation and, through that foundation, has also contributed to the improvement of public education in Los Angeles. 

As the Founder and President of Networlding as well as an author, speaker and consultant I train people and organizations to use technology and social networking tools to increase their bottom lines and professional successes while keeping true to the values of sustainability and social responsibility.  I was moved to host this event as part of my own desire to impact global issues. This will also be a good chance to form a much stronger community for our LinkedIn Socially Responsible Professionals Group.

The Tele-Town Hall access is limited to the first 1000 callers, and we're expecting capacity crowds, so make sure email us at teletownhall@networlding.com today to reserve your seat and we'll also send you details to access the call. Thanks!

Melissa Giovagnoli
Founder and President
Networlding: Helping You Build Better Business Faster
Speaking, Coaching, Online Marketing Consulting Leveraging the Science of Networks
910 W. Madison, #707
Chicago, IL 60607
312-421-4213 (main)
312-560-0982 (cell)
Management and Marketing Consulting, Coaching and Training
Specializing in "The Science of Networks"
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Social Responsibility and Rand McNally: Doing Well by Doing Good

Interview with Courtney Marsh, Assistant Marketing Manager at Rand McNally (Chicago)

Tell me about how Rand McNally defines “socially responsible” and how they are accomplishing that goal?

We are dedicated to responsible purchasing practices because we purchase 4000 tons of paper a year, given the number of road atlases, street maps, local street guides and other products we print.  We use paper from sustainably managed forests, and we have made other strides in our efforts in this area, too.

We also work with an outside partner called NAEIR to donate obsolete or excess educational products to schools who might not otherwise be able to afford them.  And like a lot of companies, we have a paper recycling program.

Does your own definition of “socially responsible” differ at all from Rand McNally, and if so, how?

I was a political science major in college, and my minor was in environmental studies.  I did a lot of work on public policy related issues and sustainable development.  I got interested in the intersection of doing good but also doing well.  I was taking environmental economics classes as part of my minor, and a lot of classes were about how to solve the world’s problems but how to do that in a business-friendly way so that it made sense.  You’re not just trying to fight the good fight, but you’re also taking into account the cost to corporate America.  So as I explored careers, I tried to marry the “do good” and “do well” messages I encountered in college.

I also had a couple of career changes after college – I was a commercial banker for about four years.  Before that, I also worked at an international development consulting firm in Washington, D.C. for a couple years.  I then decided to go back to business school.  I wanted to look at how to combine all the different interests I had in the business world with my desire to get closer to the social responsibility issues I had encountered during and right after college.

I got my MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern here in Evanston, IL.  As I was looking at my job search, I wanted to work for a company whose products I felt good about and whose products made an impact in the world.  I had several friends who went to consumer packaged goods companies, but it just wasn’t my thing.

The CEO of Rand McNally happened to speak in one of my marketing classes.  I went up to him after our class and introduced myself.  He had spoken about the education business in his presentation.  I thought, “Wow, what’s better than helping kids discover the world?”  So I just approached him afterwards and chatted for a few minutes, and we agreed on the spot that I should send him my resume.  It was a great example of networking and taking advantage of opportunities that arise.

So I sent him my resume, and it took several months as it got passed around the company.  But it just so turned out that the company at the time was going through a transition, and our CEO wanted to invest more in our education business.  It had been ignored for quite a while under previous management.  They were looking for a marketing manager, and it was a perfect fit for me, in terms of getting involved with products that had an end-mission. 

What are the challenges as well as advantages to being a socially responsible company?

Every company faces the reality at any given time of the budgets and resources they can dedicate to socially responsible programs and initiatives.  There are some companies who take a holistic approach, though, and incorporate it into everything they do – companies like Stonyfield Farms, Starbucks, Home Depot and Timberland are all good examples.  They infuse it across the entire chain – not just the operations, but also the marketing and how they talk about themselves.  The message that the consumers get is that they are purchasing products from a company who eats, sleeps and breathes social responsibility. The idea is that this makes good business and will give these companies a competitive edge. It’s hard to get to that point, I think, but that would be my idealistic view of what it means to be socially responsible. 

What is necessary to make that leap?

I think it is often senior managements’ priorities.  There are just some CEOs who see social responsibility differently than others do.  Some take a one-off project approach, while others, based on their personal beliefs or views on the intersection of business and society, take a more systematic approach. 

Do you see how social networking can assist with this process or how it helps you with some of your marketing choices?

We’re always looking at ways to promote our educational products. Given the nature of Rand McNally’s educational product line, which I consider socially responsible, corporate partnerships are a great way to extend the reach of our marketing efforts with companies who may have a similar “mission” to help kids discover the world.  And this is a great time for that because of how these social networking technologies support those kinds of conversations.  That’s actually how I reconnected with a friend at a company, one whose mission is to get technology into the hands of students in developing countries.  I knew him from Kellogg, and he was a part of my LinkedIn network.  Through the LinkedIn network, we reconnected and are talking about ways in which we might partner in a win-win scenario.

I don’t know the full extent to which sites like LinkedIn are taken advantage of in terms of partnerships between companies.  I see a lot of job postings or requests for expertise.  But personally I haven’t seen a lot of people exploring partnerships, at least not openly. There’s a tendency, which is understandable, to be really cautious about anything that may compromise trade secrets; so using social networking sites openly for this purpose may not necessarily make sense in all cases.

To the extent that you can get companies (versus just the individual consumer) participating in the dialogue, there is a higher potential that social responsibility and sustainability will take off.  When you get companies really behind those issues engaging in those conversations with consumers on a social networking platform, that’s when you’ll start to see larger scale change. 

Lora Freeman, Networlding Partner Blogger
for more information on our interviews on social networks, social responsibility or the science of networks for your organization, email us at info@networlding.com.