The New Global Citizen - Winter 2014 by New Global Citizen

Winter 2014 | newglobalcit i zen .c o m

INSIDE Too Much Talk About Overhead Spending Can Undermine Impact p. 6

How Tech is Transforming the African Continent p. 10

Three Ways to Become a More Effective Global Leader p. 18

Global Ties Foster Better International Relations p. 34

Dow Makes an Impact With Virtual Pro Bono in Ghana p. 44

PepsiCo Lives Performance With Purpose in Brazil p. 48

SustainTech Transforms Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commerical Cookstoves Market p. 56

Winter 2014 The New Global Citizen

Editor In Chief Alicia Bonner Ness

Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world demands individuals and organizations prepared to thrive in a globally interconnected network of challenges and

Executive Publisher Amanda MacArthur

opportunities. Greater social awareness and innovative approaches have allowed a growing number of individuals and organizations to

Publication Manager Melissa Mattoon

Proofreader Matt Clark

Published Daily At: www.newglobalcitizen.com

cross borders and cultural boundaries to create shared value and understanding. The New

Global Citizen chronicles the stories, strategies, and impact of innovative leadership and international engagement around the world. This publication seeks to capture the ground-level impact of these approaches, providing an avenue through which beneficiaries and implementers alike can showcase their impact. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transformed and increasingly interconnected world has spurred a revolution in our global culture, reinforcing collaborative approaches to addressing complex challenges.

Send Your Letters to the Editor to:

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championing a better future for our world.

This is the world of the new global citizen. This is your world.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

CONTENTS 4 Inside the Issue EDITOR’S LETTER Ali c i a Bo nner Ness

CONTRIBUTORS

Comment IS LESS REALLY MORE? D e i rdre White

Happenings 14

OUR WORLD NEEDS RENAISSANCE OVER REVOLUTION N e t I m pact Conf erence

Features 10

‘SMAC’ DOWN IN AFRICA

MAPPING A GLOBAL MINDSET

Al i c i a B o n n e r N e s s

C a ri Gu i t t a rd

FULL THROTTLE PRO BONO

THE GLOBAL TIES THAT CONNECT US ALL

D a n i e l El l i o t t

J e n n i fe r C l i n t o n

PURPOSE TRANSFORMS THE BUSINESS OF TOMORROW The N e twor k Eff ect: The 2 0 1 3 BC LC C o rp or ate Resp onsib ility Co nfe re n ce

CAN A TOWEL MATTER? Jessica Custer

SEEDS OF GLOBAL LEADERSHIP USCC D J ap an Summit

#CONVENE4CHANGE So c i al G ood Summit

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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Around the World

P E RFO RMIN G 44 VIRTUAL CONSULTING MAKES REAL IMPACT

W I T H PURP OSE Am a n d a M a c Art h u r

48 PERFORMING WITH PURPOSE Sue Ts o k ri s

52 A TREE GROWS IN LYANTONDE

D r. S h a ro n Ru d y

56 COOKING FOR CHANGE

Paul B e l k n a p

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

INSIDE THE ISSUE

Letter from the Editor: Finding Inspiration in 2014

S This winter issue is filled with new perspectives and inspiration, and the ways in which they are transforming individuals, institutions, and economic realities around the world.

even years ago, I made a life-changing New Year’s resolution—I resolved to spend every New Year’s Eve from that point forward in a new place. Each December, this resolution forces me to look ahead and ensure that I will literally begin the new year differently from the year before. And, by spending New Year’s in a different geographic location, I force each new year to begin with new context and new perspective. New perspective yields inspiration, the seed of future transformation. While New Year’s resolutions are often overwrought and underserved, a moment of inspiration can motivate a resolution to try something new or to do something differently with rippling effect. Such resolutions, when authentically inspired, provide a pathway to individual evolution. Through such intentional personal growth, each one of us endorses a connected global culture of transformation. As always The New Global Citizen remains committed to inspir-

ing action and capturing impact. This winter issue is filled with new perspectives and inspiration, and the ways in which they are transforming individuals, institutions, and economic realities around the world. This issue captures the insights from some of the most significant convenings of the latter part of 2013, including Net Impact, BCLC, and the Social Good Summit. It captures new perspectives on leadership and citizen diplomacy, and explains how pioneering applications of technology, pro bono service, and social enterprise are seeding innovative transformation in far reaching corners of the world. Lastly, it highlights some of the most exciting transformations taking place in India, Brazil, Uganda, and Ghana. The path to inspiration and new beginnings starts here.

Alicia Bonner Ness Editor in Chief

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

DEIRDRE WHITE CEO PYXERA Global @DeirdreWhite

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JAILAN ADLY

CARI GUITTARD

LAURA ASIALA

Director MBAs Without Borders @JaiAdly

Principal, Global Engagement Partners @CorpDiplomat

Sr. Director Public Affairs PYXERA Global @LauraAsialaCSR

DANIEL ELLIOTT

MATT CLARK

JENNIFER CLINTON

JESSICA CUSTER

Key Client Manager PYXERA Global @Els_DC

J-Center Program Director USCCD @MasshuuClark

President Global Ties U.S. @GlobalTiesUS

Advisor MBAs Without Borders @Custer_Jessica

AMANDA MACARTHUR

SUE TSOKRIS

SHARON RUDY

PAUL BELKNAP

VP, Global Pro Bono & Engagement, PYXERA Global @AMacA_DC

VP, Global Citizenship & Sustainability, PepsiCo @PepsiCo

Program Director, GHFPII Public Health Institute @GHFPII

Advisor MBAs Without Borders @BelknapPaul

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

COMMENT

IS LESS R E A L LY

MORE? O verem phas is on O verhe a d S p ending U nder mines I mpac t By D eirdre White

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

L Achieving a low overhead ratio drives many charities to behaviors that make them less effective and means more, not less, wasted dollars. Paul Brest President, 2010-2012 Hewlett Foundation

ike any good business leader, as the CEO of PYXERA Global, I am always seeking ways to improve our organization. And like any good business leader, I look to learn from others what has worked in their companies. In Fast Company, Inc., Harvard Business Review, and across a dozen LinkedIn groups I’ve joined, I’m awash in news of achieving and maintaining an effective organization, the best ways to obtain and retain talent, the importance of employee engagement, and how new technology is improving the way businesses operate. Each author raises valid points about the financial and time investments necessary, the management skills that must be cultivated, and the equipment that must be procured in order to follow best practices and maximize effectiveness. Forward-thinking companies all over the world endorse these approaches and report that they are rewarded with high-performing employees, streamlined operations, improved financials, and better results—be those profit, innovation, service delivery, or production targets. Shouldn’t it make perfect sense, then, for PYXERA Global to make some of these same types of investments? The obvious answer to this question should be ‘yes,’ but there is one simple fact that makes such investments problematic—PYXERA Global is a not-for-profit business. That fact alone should have no bearing on our decision to invest in order to maximize effectiveness—like any business, we have a duty to do so. The challenge is that, like any not-for-profit, we are far too often judged by our ‘overhead rate’ or ‘administrative costs,’ not by the quality of our work or the results we deliver nor, oddly, by the total cost of a project or program.

otential funders of 501(c)3 organizations often seek information on sites like Charity Navigator, which do provide a valuable service in helping people avoid

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charity scams. At the same time, Charity Navigator defines administrative costs as any dollars not spent on program expenses and gives a financial management score of zero to any non-profit with overhead costs of 30 percent or more and a top score of 10 to organizations that have less than 15 percent overhead, stating specifically that “lower is better.” While I certainly understand why funders want to see the maximum funds possible invested directly in the effort they wish to support, assessing the financial management of a not-for-profit on the “lower is better” scale makes no sense if the funder is seeking the most effective organization. An organization with zero percent administrative costs presumably has no paid accountants or executive leadership, no IT infrastructure, and no compliance or monitoring and evaluation functions. Such an organization cannot pay for an independent audit. In fact, it cannot even hold a general staff meeting or provide training to its staff, as these would be non-program expenses. Of course, every organization’s administrative needs are different. A charity that works strictly as a pass-through for humanitarian goods and services can be expected to have lower administrative costs, though is likely to have higher fundraising costs— also not direct program expenses. A notfor-profit that runs complex health, economic growth, or food security programs should have notably higher administrative costs, allowing them the in-house expertise needed to design and monitor these types of programs in order to provide maximum impact. An organization that has international offices and programs necessarily has even more complex requirements regarding accounting and compliance, without which a funder’s resources are almost sure to be misused. In my perusal of various websites that catalog non-profits, I found “top-rated char-

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

ities” that claimed administrative costs of as low as 0.9 percent. Before you get out your checkbooks to support such an apparently efficient organization, consider the following: Who is staffing such an organization? Does it have quality leadership and employees paid a competitive wage at which they can afford to stay in their jobs? Does it train and continue to raise the qualifications of those staff? Does it have a team of people dedicated to identifying new funding sources for sustainability? Does it have accounting software and qualified financial staff to track your funds? Does it have insurance? Does it have reasonable technology and communications infrastructure? In short, can this organization, in fact, do the job which you wish to fund, and do it well and in a sustainable manner? The answer is, based on an overhead cost percentage, you have no idea, but with administrative costs that low, you should probably be concerned. To put it another way, take the straightforward example Saundra Shimmelpfenning provides in her Lies, White Lies, and Accounting Practices:

Imagine walking into Wendy’s or Burger King…and insisting that you will only pay for whatever is actually on your hamburger. You’ll give them money for the cost of the bun, ketchup, hamburger patty, and pickles. But you refuse to pay for staff wages, building rental, electricity, the iconic golden arches, and certainly not a cent of your money should go to Super Bowl commercials or CEO wages.... We would never expect a business to be successful without spending money on overheads, yet we expect aid organizations to work under exactly those conditions. Most people don’t even think about the reality of this expectation because they’re not the ones that have to deal with the lousy service, bad location, or restrictive business hours.

Saundra Shimmelpfenning Lies, White Lies, and Accounting Practices.

ltimately, it is not the funder that deals with the consequences of underspending on administrative costs—they are not offered the inedible raw meat patty on stale bread—rather it is the very people they are attempting to serve. No wonder we see more and more situations where those we seek to assist say “thanks, but no thanks” to donor funds. In discussions with my colleagues that run other not-for-profit organizations, we find that we often agree with a potential funder on a reasonable overall cost of a program, only to later dig down into budget detail and be told we must limit administrative costs to the “gold standard”: 15 percent or less. I have never understood this; if the total cost for the services delivered is deemed to be fair and appropriate, then why should the funder be concerned about how those funds break down internally? At that point, a not-for-profit with necessarily higher administrative costs has just three choices, all unpalatable: 1) dip into their meager reserve funds to subsidize the work of the funder; 2) walk away from a good project that would provide needed services; or 3) deliver a sub-par result. A growing number of individuals and institutions—chief among them Dan Pallotta and the Guidestar initiative, The Overhead Myth—are beginning to turn the tide on this important issue, but much more remains to be done. As we begin the new year and new funding cycles, my resolution is to do a better job educating our clients and potential clients and funders about the importance of non-program costs to delivering results and long-term impact. I fervently hope that other not-for-profit leaders will take on this same charge and that together we can work to break this cycle and ensure that we are willing to pay the appropriate price to offer the highest quality ‘burgers.’

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

IMPACT & INNOVATION

SMAC DOWN IN AFRICA How S ocial, Mobile, Analytic, and Cloud (SMAC ) Technology is Transfor ming the African Continent

By Al ic ia Bon n e r Ne s s

ast month, one of the greatest human beings the world has ever known passed away. His departure has yielded an outpouring of both grief and gratitude for the legacy he has left, not just for South Africa, but for the world. Nelson Mandela, or Madiba as he is known to many, spent the prime years of his life imprisoned, patiently waiting for the right moment to negotiate his release. With patience, diligence, and humility, he worked tirelessly for gradual and peaceful change. While South Africa has suffered its fair share of political struggles since the end of apartheid in 1994, Madiba’s patience for gradual change and his relentless compassion for even the most antagonistic oppressor paved the way for South Africa’s peaceful transition to democracy. It was with great eagerness that Mandela witnessed the wave of technical innovation that has begun to emerge across the entire continent of Africa over the past two decades. Across the African continent, the rapid proliferation of increasingly advanced mobile technology—both phones and tablets—

has connected people across borders and geographies like never before. In referring to it as one entity, many often forget that Africa is actually a patchwork of countries, within which exist many different nationalities, tribes, languages, religions, and political legacies. It has already become evident that innovation has found footholds in unexpected corners of the continent, including Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, and Botswana, not to mention, of course, South Africa. Mobile phones have spawned the creation of mobile money transfer portals and a growing number of professionals across Africa are seeking technical credentials to respond to public demand for mobile apps and other tech infrastructure. In turn, a growing number of organizations and institutions have turned their attention to the power of analytics. Organizations like Senegal’s Directorate of Analysis and Forecasting of Agricultural Statistics are seeking ways to improve their analytical foundation in ways that will enhance their efficiency and impact. Many analytics tools designed in Silicon Valley are cloud-based solutions. Yet,

in Africa, even as public fascination with “the cloud” continues to grow, a number of factors constrain the proliferation of cloud-based technologies. Weak and erratic broadband internet access is the most significant limiting factor. Limited connectivity—combined with the fact that smartphones are far from mainstream— also limits the market penetration of mainstream social media channels, like Twitter and LinkedIn. These limitations make it difficult for a great number of people, especially those in more rural areas, to gain access to the cutting edge solutions that are quickly becoming mainstream in more developed parts of the world.

Africa’s Educational Legacy Unfortunately, human capital is a limiting factor, too. In the 19th century, the idea that history was made by a few great men gained great prominence. Across Africa, a few good men and women continue through force of will, birthright, or chance, to change the fate of their nations. Nelson Mandela is chief among them, who, even after his passing continues to remind future leaders to embrace the same compas-

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

sion he has always championed. Mandela believed that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Yet, South Africa and other African nations have struggled to live up to Mandela’s call to action. Many universities in Africa lag behind those in the United States and other more developed countries. Even as new educational approaches like Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs, disrupt the educational legacy of the United States and Europe, the absence of a more rigorous academic foundation jeopardizes the future of many Africans. In reality, university education in many African countries is insufficient for graduates to develop the technical and business acumen needed to devise and lead gamechanging initiatives. Some programs, such as the African Management Initiative, seek to overcome these gaps, but there is still Photo: Gates Foundation

a long way to go. Limits on technical skills are perpetuated both by lack of access and pedagogy. Many universities, largely for financial reasons, struggle to provide their students with access to the most cutting-edge IT platforms. As a result, many students graduate with a foundation in programs that are already out of date. Of course, this issue is not specific only to Africa. Many universities in the US and in Europe are similarly struggling to keep up with the rapid rate of change driving technological innovation worldwide. Everywhere in the world, technologies are evolving faster than human technical competency. The greatest difference for Africa is the economic disadvantage—most platforms developed in Silicon Valley are priced in dollars, pricing out a great deal of the rest of the world. Many universities, built on the legacy of

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European institutions, teach most subjects by rote and memorization; few create opportunities for students to develop their professional abilities through hands-on learning. Today, students with degrees in IT and computer engineering must depend on new organizations such as Coders4Africa for applied learning opportunities. A panAfrican organization, Coders4Africa creates post-graduate environments in which new IT and computer science graduates have an opportunity to enhance their technical skills by developing solutions to non-profit client challenges pro bono, applying what they have learned in school. In recent years, new enterprise and micro-finance have been popular tools by which to end poverty in many emerging African economies. Resources like SME Toolkit—a collaboration between IBM and and IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank—seek

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

to provide entrepreneurs around the world with the tools to start and successfully run their own businesses. The Toolkit provides sophisticated yet simple and practical guidance once only available to large companies—providing, for example, templates for legal, accounting and marketing operations. Public research institutes like ITA provide readily available technology (the manual variety) around which to build new enterprises. Yet, many African countries lack a strong culture of entrepreneurship. During my time in Senegal this fall, many Senegalese commented that their compatriots “spend a lot of time talking and not much time getting things done.” This trend is not unique to Senegal, and stems directly from the country’s educational and governance legacy. Learning through memorization encourages a riskaverse culture in which there is only one right answer, biased against experimentation. Starting a new business requires that an entrepreneur accepts the possibility of failure which, within this cultural construct, is difficult to do. Many would-be entrepre-

neurs in these countries fall prey to their risk-averse culture, and never begin at all. Moreover, as Jim Collins acknowledges in Good to Great, “Technology by itself is never a primary root cause of either greatness or decline.” Technology is aiding innovative transformation across Africa, but technology is only an implement to be utilized by humankind. It is dependent on human capital to effect results.

Innovation or Transformation? Many African nations are prepared to seize the latest technologies as soon as they become available and affordable. This fall, the Directorate of Analysis and Predictive Statistics in Senegal’s Ministry of Agriculture initiated a new IT infrastructure development process that will replace a manual CSPro entry process with tablets and Mongo DB. For all the obstacles, across Africa, technological innovation is steady and real. One effective way to bridge the human

capital gap is for multinational companies to contribute the skills of their top talent through pro bono service that enriches local capacity. Programs like IBM’s Corporate Service Corps is one example of this approach. By showing would-be entrepreneurs how to craft new approaches to previously intractable problems, global professionals mitigate risk and provide an example of what successful businessmen and women can achieve when they initiate new ventures. What’s more, Mandela’s words encourage companies to take up this fight: “A fundamental concern for others in our individual and community lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dream of.” Leaders across Africa must embrace the opportunity to follow in Mandela’s footsteps, reaching across borders, cultures, and languages to share resources and ideas, to leverage rapidly evolving technology and a growing innovative spirit to make the world that better place.

Technology is aiding innovative transformation across Africa, but technology is only an implement to be utilized by humankind. It is dependent on human capital to effect results. Photo: C.C. Chapman/CC BY-NC 2.0

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

HAPPENINGS

OUR WORLD

NEEDS

RE NA IS SA NC E OVER

REVOLUTION

Net Impa c t L ay s th e Fo u nd a t i o n fo r Colla borat ive a n d C o n s t r u ct ive G loba l Transfor ma t i o n T h ro u gh Bu s i n e s s

B y J a ilan A d l y

s an Egyptian-American, my friends and family were surprised when I did not enthusiastically celebrate the revolution in Egypt three years ago. My answer was (and still is) simple: I prefer renaissance over revolution. While change through innovation may be slower and more subtle, it tends to be less painful than the fallout of sudden upheaval—disruptive change often leaves no roadmap for the future. Solution-centered innovation can be more impactful and longlasting. It is this belief that brings me to the annual Net Impact Conference year after year. MBAs from around the world come to Net Impact to hear from global leaders committed to harnessing the power of business

for social good. Driven by the belief that we all have the ability to spark change, leaders from the private, public, and social sectors convene at Net Impact to discuss, learn, and collaborate towards a better future. As the Net Impact Conference has grown, its focus has significantly expanded to include a wider global scope. The road to change becomes even more complicated when individuals and institutions begin to seek ways to address challenges in emerging and frontier markets. I was curious to see if the conference would acknowledge the need for careful and thoughtful engagement when addressing complex global challenges. As I often tell our MBAs Without Borders Advisors, good intentions are not necessarily solutions. In preparation for their new roles as

pro bono consultants, our program gives MBAs three critical pieces of advice. First, there are no simple solutions to complex problems. Second, never show up with a solution—be curious and learn. And last, focus on capacity-building to minimize dependency. Each of these three themes was addressed at the conference this year.

There Are No Simple Solutions to Complex Problems Without question, the highlight of this year’s Net Impact Conference was the mainstage debate between Michael Brune, the Executive Director of Sierra Club and Ken Cohen, Vice President of Public and Government Affairs at Exxon Mobil Corporation.

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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Ne t I m p a c t a t t e nde e s ne t w o rk w i t h g lobal business leader s.

The buzz on the conference Twitter feed during this exchange was electric—most were surprised that Ken Cohen had showed up, knowing he was likely walking into a lion’s den. The debate was a fantastic display of what happens when two opposing viewpoints come together for a respectful and thoughtful debate. Neither presenter compromised his viewpoint, but it was their decision to avoid insults and antics that allowed them to safeguard the integrity of their respective cases. I’m convinced that this type of dialogue has the potential to move the needle forward far more than any picket line in front of an Exxon refinery. By focusing on the issues at hand and listening to one another’s solutions, they created space to find common ground. They agreed, as most of us do, that people want Photo: Net Impact

to live in healthy communities; they also agreed that most people have a desire to access affordable energy. They recognized that this creates a natural tension that is nuanced and further complicated by our collective history surrounding the quest to “power the world.” The audience walked away understanding that there is no simple solution and no one point of view has all the right answers. An effective solution requires ingenuity, collaboration, compromise, and most of all, the patience needed to try, fail, and try again.

Be Curious & Don’t Show Up With a Solution Denise Morrison, Campbell Soup Com-

pany’s CEO kicked off the conference with genuine words of wisdom: “Fail Fast, Fail Cheap, and Fail Often.” Session after session, entrepreneurial trailblazers like Chip Conley of Airbnb emphasized that the key to success lies in the ability to stay curious, embrace mistakes, and continue to iterate and improve upon ideas and processes. When businesses seek to expand into emerging markets, the imperative to understand cultural, social, economic, and historical nuances becomes even more important. Working collaboratively with local experts who have a deep understanding of the context will allow businesses to design solutions that meet the particular needs of those markets. Solutions that are tailored to the local market are far more likely to succeed and endure.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

Mic h a e l B r u n e, Si e rra Cl ub and K e n Cohen, E xxon take on con t ro ve r si a l c hal l e nge o f to mo rro w’s ener g y demands.

An effective solution requires ingenuity, collaboration, compromise, and most of all, the patience needed to try, fail, and try again. Unlike some other conferences, Net Impact both encourages those outside “the movement” to reflect on their ability to lead change while also provoking reflection within the movement itself. Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS shoes acknowledged that the company is engaging its critics to improve upon TOMS’ well-intentioned mission. As TOMS looks toward its future, it will focus on interventions that move away from creating a culture of dependency and instead towards one that creates and protects local jobs— building the capacity of communities to self-sustain. Photo: Net Impact

Build Capacity and Engage Building the capacity of local business and the entire value-chain increases the ability for business to generate wealth; supporting the entire “pyramid” helps break the cycle of poverty. Charu Adesnik, Manager of Corporate Affairs at Cisco shared how a mobile solution funded by Cisco for partner organization Living Goods helps deliver malaria treatment to a small child in Uganda in 30 minutes. Living Goods is an NGO working to build the capacity of women in Uganda to improve their livelihoods by earning a respectable income through a “microfranchise business model” like Avon. Understanding the significant role that basic mobile phones play in Uganda, Cisco saw the possibility to increase impact through the support of Living Goods’ mobile platform, which assists the women in communicating quickly and effectively with their clients. The platform not only allows them to quickly fill orders, but also disseminates important information about treatments and products. Engaging stakeholders from the base to the top of the pyramid ensures that solutions are inclusive and appropriate

for all members of society. Most corporations and enterprises are now seeking to engage the base of the pyramid, which at four billion people, isn’t a market to be overlooked. Many more are starting to understand that putting all members of society on a path of self-reliance is not just good for business, it is critical to creating a stable environment that enables the business to thrive. “Stay close to society to guarantee our future,” Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman explains when discussing Unilever’s feverish drive towards sustainability. Everyone around the world—from CEOs to fruit sellers in Tunisia—wants to keep their family safe, fed, healthy, and educated. Fulfilling the needs of individuals not only guarantees the future of companies, but that of society as a whole. The storied history of humanity has been shaped by inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, and writers as much as it has by disease, politics, and war. Through the ages, innovation and creativity in business, science, and art have transformed nations and cultures. As the Director of MBAs Without Borders, I have seen the difference an MBA Advisor can make in enhancing the impact of a social enterprise or non-profit organization. Yet, change rarely happens overnight and many roads can lead to a better tomorrow. Net Impact engages a new generation of young leaders to use their innovative spirit to disrupt the status quo and pioneer new ways of using business for good. Together, we are cultivating a renaissance in our approach to global transformation that will change our world for the better.

“This is my office.” Jessica Custer, an MBAs Without Borders Advisor in Kerala, India, brainstorms with the Kara Weaves staffs on ways to integrate the natural beauty of Kerala into the design of local artisans’ handwoven products to reach more consumers in new markets. MBA’s Without Borders sends business professionals into frontier markets to utilize and adapt the latest management tools and techniques to fuel economic growth.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

M AP P ING

A GLO BA L

MI N D SET By Ca ri G u i tta rd

ver the past several years, many American leaders in both the public and private sector have reinforced a stereotype that Americans harbor an uninformed global view. This is not to say that leaders across the globe are any better. Every region has its fair share of ‘global leaders’ and ‘global experts’ who do little to foster global understanding. The global community can and should do better. Doing so means aggressively rethinking and re-tooling how public, private, and social sector leaders prepare for global leadership roles. The world needs a new breed of global leader, now.

“How do you define global leadership?” In July 2013, I taught a class on women’s leadership at the Hult International Business School in Dubai, UAE. I ended class with this question, which not surprisingly received strong and deeply varied responses in a room of over 40 nationalities from around the globe. That evening after class, several students approached me with their thoughts and passionate viewpoints on the subject. I continued to receive comments over the remainder of the course and some even emailed me after the class with additional thoughts. I always enjoy throwing questions like this out to a Hult graduate class, which

naturally attracts students who are globally minded. Though their definitions varied, my students agreed on one thing: the current models of global leadership, as evidence by what they were reading and absorbing from global news outlets, was in dire need of a complete overhaul. When I pressed for specifics on where global leadership could improve, four key categories emerged:

Where Many Global Leaders Fall Short Weak Global Skillsets: Lack effective communication skills, mismanage crisis and risk, and fail to effectively collaborate across sectors

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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LEADERSHIP leaders one rarely reads about or sees featured in the press. They lead with humility, discretion, and listening. Moreover, they are the first to admit that no one leads all the time. Leadership emerges in moments, particularly in times of crises. These leadership opportunities present themselves more frequently in a global career that presents new challenges daily in an everchanging environment. Not everyone has the innate ability to succeed in a global leadership role, but everyone at some point in their personal and professional lives are presented with moments that offer the opportunity to lead, and everyone should have the courage and the tools to respond effectively.

Too Little On-the-Ground Experience: Deficiency in global knowledge and geopolitical context, compromising effective crosscultural collaboration Misunderstand Global Citizenship & Stewardship: Fail to see corporations and individuals as global citizens and do not understand the responsibility such a perspective imparts Obstinate Leadership: Lead with ego, fear, and intimidation In many ways, it is easy to criticize and identify weaknesses in the most visible global leaders. Uncovering what makes for an effective global leader, one who sustains success over the course of a lifetime, is much more difficult. These are the global

Not everyone has the innate ability to succeed in a global leadership role, but everyone at some point in their personal and professional lives are presented with moments that offer the opportunity to lead, and everyone should have the courage and the tools to respond effectively. “Why would anyone follow you?” Over the course of my own global career, I have been fortunate to work on-theground all over the world, where I have learned from many exceptional yet subtle global leaders. For years, I have been asking these individuals how they have effectively navigated their global careers and successive global leadership roles. When I have asked them what makes an effective leader, many responded with the essential

question: “Why would anyone follow you?” I routinely relay this question back to my graduate students because it gets to the root of what drives all successful leaders in any role they undertake: passion. You can’t fake passion and without it, you can’t inspire others to follow you. In addition to passion, I’ve collected hundreds of insights on specific skillsets and experiences that have aided these global leaders in their careers. Irrespective of their educational and cultural backgrounds or their professional pursuits, all had underlying strengths in the following three areas: global mindset, global skillset, and global experience.

Essential Foundations for Effective Global Leadership 1) A Global Mindset: Intellectual, Psychological, & Social Capital The most apt definition of a global mindset aligns with that put forth by the Thunderbird School of Global Management, which has an entire institute dedicated to the study and measurement of Global Mindset, outlining and measuring three primary global competency categories they term capitals. I have spoken and written about the capitals extensively as they are leading indicators of one’s potential success in a global role. The Global Mindset Inventory (GMI) is a diagnostic I routinely use in the classroom to give students a starting roadmap that uncovers where they need to focus their attention and energy to build competencies for global roles. Western leadership pedagogy focuses an inordinate amount of attention on Intellectual Capital—knowledge of industry, market, competitors, economics—at the expense of building Social and Psychological Capital. For a business audience, Social and Psychological Capital are typically weakest. Social Capital captures the ease with which an individual builds and leverages

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trusted relationships in a global context. Psychological Capital refers to an individual’s self-assurance and self-confidence, and their enthusiasm for diversity. Of the three capitals, Psychological is the toughest to develop as it takes time, is based on experience, and involves leveraging intellectual capital. All of the effective global leaders I have engaged with aggressively and systemically build strength in all three capitals continuously throughout their careers. 2) Global Skillsets: Internal/Personal and External Global Skillsets are essential for successful global leadership; however, most global leaders break skillsets into two distinct areas: Personal or Internal Skills required to successfully manage yourself and External Skills, those needed to effectively manage individuals and emerging risks. Most business literature traditionally leverages countless models, formulas and frameworks to develop external skillsets, which are important but irrelevant if you can’t manage yourself. Over the past several years, I’ve been Graphic: Cari Guittard

deeply engaged in fostering personal leadership, especially as my work in Women’s Leadership has expanded. Additionally, those pursuing global careers often lack multi-sector skillsets and experience. I am encouraged to see this issue finally gaining recognition. In a recent HBR blog on “TripleStrength Leadership” the authors noted: “We are convinced that as organizations increasingly face challenges no sector can address alone, they will feel the need, as Google has, to recruit tri-sector leaders for senior positions.” 3) Global Experience Effective global leadership begins with direct, on-the-ground experience working cross-culturally. I am amazed at how many people assume global roles with no prior engagement with the countries, regions, or cultures demanded by their work. Further, few have direct experience working and building relationships with governments and NGOs—which, depending on the country or region, often wield tremendous power and influence. Gaining this experience takes time and, as one global leader offered:

“If you are going to manage and lead a global effort…follow the old axiom: if you want to know you have to go. Never, never, never stop learning and listening because the ground rules, even the cultural nuances change and you have to be receptive to the constant changes.”

No Place to Go But Up Building competencies and strength in each of the global leadership foundations is essential for anyone who intends to pursue a global career or aspires to a global leadership role. Regardless of which graduate course I am teaching, I always build these leadership foundations into my work. Moreover, it is encouraging to see schools like Hult focused on developing global leaders in new and innovative ways. To foster a more competent future global leader in any sector, we have to rethink how we seed and nurture global leadership capacities early on, through strategic professional development and career coaching. Constant adaptation and disruption is the new global reality. The next generation of leaders must be prepared to compete and succeed in this evolving global context.

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HAPPENINGS

PU R P O S E TR A N S FO RMS TH E BU S INES S OF TO MORROW Th e Network E ffect: T he 2013 BC LC C or p o ra te Respons ibi l i ty C onfe renc e

By L au ra A si a l a

eff Lundy, PhD, Research Manager of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, opened the Business Civic Leadership Center’s Annual Corporate Responsibility Conference with a report on obesity. I wondered how this would set the tone for a conference I expected to focus on international development and engagement. Discussions of hunger, malnutrition, and food security seemed more appropriate for this cross-sector group gathered in Washington, DC, but I shelved a passing thought of a “Fat Chance” and made the conscious decision to embrace the unique perspective the conference was attempting to promote for its attendees. That turned out to be the right approach. The obesity report, and the following discussion, set the tone for the the whole conference. It introduced key themes that would be repeated again and again over the next three days in addressing a myriad of topics: applied technology,

social innovations, sustainable packaging and recycling, job-skills training, community capacity-building, leadership development, disaster response, sustainable supply-chains, environmental restoration, and even global food sourcing. The theme of “purposeful engagement” carried through each conversation in turn, recognizing that the path to solve the most difficult challenges of our time requires a few key steps. First, those concerned must develop a common understanding gained with and in the community in question. To develop that common understanding, a group must value curiosity first and expertise second, all while withholding moral judgment. Through such a process, mutual respect leads to mutual value, which in turns leads to mutual benefit, leading those seeking to find a solution to embrace collaboration, because no one sector can solve these challenges alone. Only after a mutual understanding has been reached,

and a collaborative solution developed can the final step be achieved: Action!

Community Engagement: you must be present to win The U.S. obesity rate is at an all-time high, a statistic most alarming for young people. In response, Campbell’s Soup Company has charged Kim Fortunato, Campbell’s Director of Healthy Communities, to address this challenge in Camden, New Jersey, where the company has an important stake, and consequently, responsibility to improve the lives of its community. Seeking a long-term vision that delivers a scalable model, the immediate objective is to dive deeply into one community to develop a collective action and strategy, effective communications, mutually reinforcing actions, and appropriate measurement of long-term behavior change. The process—not the individual details—will be scalable across communities.

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

Yet, with this approach, the company has acknowledged that each community has its own DNA and to be sustainable, only approaches that match that DNA can succeed. Cheryl Heller, Chair of the Design for Social Innovation program at the School of Visual Arts advised, “Invite people from the neighborhood. It’s all personal. It’s all listening. Nothing works unless everyone gets value.” International volunteerism or global pro bono is one strategy that Intel has employed to effectively open new markets, in part because it places employees directly into communities. “The reality is that if you’re going to succeed in emerging markets, you’re going to have to address social challenges. You have to recognize that this is a different time horizon—you need to work at building and fostering innovation in those economies, and that takes time,” said Michael Jacobson, Intel’s Director of Corporate Responsibility.

Mutual respect leads to mutual value, which in turns leads to mutual benefit, leading those seeking to find a solution to embrace collaboration, because no one sector can solve these challenges alone.

Photo: Ian Wagreich / © U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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Curiosity Before Expertise: solve the right problems, in the right order Emerging solutions—not pre-determined—have proven to be the most effective in Campbell’s “Health Communities” work. “You have to leave your ego at the door,” said Fortunato. Jim Coughlan, President of Customer Solutions at UPS, concurs. Discussing the strategic partnership between UPS and CARE, to improve the efficiency and efficacy of global supply-chains in disaster relief, he said, “CARE introduced us to the magnitude of what they have to do every day. It’s not what I thought it would be. Don’t bring traditional solutions; be innovative and creative.”

Make It Mutual: respect, value, benefit “Everyone has something to offer,”

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Everyone wants to work for more than a check, to work for more than themselves, to do more than a task. When you make that purpose part of your business, everything changes.

H ugh We l sh a ddre s s e s tho s e c o nve ned for the Networ k E ffect.

said Deirdre White, CEO of PYXERA Global. Warmly including and appreciating diverse points of view and the experience upon which they are based builds mutual respect, and opens the door for mutual value and benefit. Patrick Gaston, President, Western Union Foundation reflected, “There’s no magic in all of this. All relationships require work. It’s give and take. You have to consider capabilities and competencies, interest, impact, experience, and personality. As we enter into partnerships, we need to make sure the relationships are cared for and that there is a shared value proposition. Edward Martin, Director of Mobile Marketing, The Hershey Company advised, “Presume decent intent. Don’t dismiss a group because of their label. In my experience, you can find common ground with the vast majority of people.”

Collaboration: no sector can go it alone Participants in every session empha-

sized the need for collaboration across public, social, and private sectors, with particular focus on the appropriate roles for businesses, governments, and NGOs. “No longer can any of us expect the public sector to be the dominant source of philanthropy, said Scott Jackson, President and CEO of Global Impact. Janet Foutty, Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, agreed, “Government used to have the widest reach, the deepest pockets, and the loudest voice. Government plays an important role, not as an ATM, but a catalyst.” With each sector, and each organization, playing to their strengths, and in alignment with their core mission, the path to impactful, sustainable collaboration is clear.

Action! Common understanding, mutual respect, willingness to collaborate—all of these are essential to putting in place a solid foundation, but ultimately the intent becomes real only through action. Jackie

Photo: Ian Wagreich / © U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Hugh Welsh President, DSM North America

Montesinos Suarez, Corporate Social Responsibility, SAP North America summarized: “You can get caught up in the strategy and the vision, but until you make it tactical, nothing actually gets done.” Suarez credited PYXERA Global for enabling the on-the-ground success of SAP’s Social Sabbatical, which doubled in size this year. Deborah Holmes, commenting on EY’s commitment to College Mentoring for Access and Persistence (MAP), agreed. “These are real people in the program. If you don’t focus on the details, you’ve got nothing.” Of course it doesn’t end with action. It all becomes a circle, with action leading to greater understanding and mutual respect, while reinforcing collaboration and a greater commitment to contribute from one’s strength. Hugh Welsh, President of DSM North America, noted, “Everyone wants to work for more than a check, to work for more than themselves, to do more than a task.” Heller concurred, “When you make that purpose part of your business, everything changes.”

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Team building at Rede Cidadã. Social Sabbatical, Brazil 2012

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For SAP, it can: • Extend strategic social investments in key markets. • Support social innovation and teach us more about the needs of NGOs and emerging entrepreneurs. • Energize employees who participated in a once in a lifetime experience.

We deliver upon our vision to help the world run better and im prove people’s lives in many ways, including social investment. By focusing our talent, technology, and capital on education and entrepreneurship, we strive to enact social change through economic growth, job creation, innovation, and community.

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CSR at SAP – Social Investment to Help the World Run Better by Improving People’s Lives SAP embraces its commitment to the communities in which we operate. We believe the private sector plays a vital role in creating a level playing field, driving innovation and building an environ ment that enhances education and entrepreneurship to foster economic growth. Our approach is driven by four core principles: • Create social impact. Make strategic social investments that have a lasting benefit on society. • Leverage our core expertise. Utilize our technology and talent to help find solutions to social issues. • Generate lasting impact on SAP. Align approach to support our market and people strategy. • Engage multiple stakeholders. Drive innovation through a multi faceted dialogue with internal and external stakeholders.

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GLOBAL PRO BONO

F U LL THROT T LE PRO B ON O A S pe c tr um o f Volun te e r S e r vice Can Increase Em pl oye e Enga g em ent, Co r p ora te C i t ize nshi p, and Gl oba l Im pa ct By D a n ie l E l l i ot t

n an abandoned beer brewery in the 4th District of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Walker Massa sees the future of his city. His organization, Nós Coworking, has retrofitted the building and turned it into a shared workspace where small businesses, budding entrepreneurs, students, artists or anyone who is looking for space to ply their trade can buy credits (about $4 for an hour) and use their facilities. An open floor plan, equipped with work stations, conference rooms, high-speed Wi-Fi, and a shared refrigerator, it is on par with the hundreds of other shared workspaces sprouting up around the world. Yet, Nós Coworking is different, nestled in the heart of a run-down part of Porto Alegre—the 4th District—where prostitutes rub shoulders with vagrants, drug dealers, and stray dogs. By establishing Nós Coworking in this neighborhood, Walker has planted seeds of revitalization. Under its influence,

the 4th District has the potential to become an entrepreneurial, high-tech hub that can attract business and investment. Given its central location, countless buildings just waiting to be rehabbed, and city hall’s commitment to the area, this vision only needed a team of highly-skilled, energetic people to dedicate themselves for a period of time to get it off the ground. A team from SAP’s Social Sabbatical, the company’s global pro bono service program, was there to help. SAP sends teams of employees for onemonth assignments to work with non-profit organizations, entrepreneurship incubators, and social enterprises in emerging markets around the world, to help them address specific business challenges or organizational issues. A team of three SAP employees worked with Walker last October to strategically solidify his vision for the 4th District. He now has the blueprint he needs to get started.

As corporate social responsibility initiatives advance and pro bono ventures become more strategic in nature, the future of pro bono service becomes vital to ensuring its relevance to the organization’s broader corporate objectives.

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

Taking It to the Next Level As corporate social responsibility initiatives advance and pro bono ventures become more strategic in nature, the future of pro bono service becomes vital to ensuring its relevance to the organization’s broader corporate objectives. This means that CSR, Sustainability, and Corporate Citizenship departments are seeking to strategically redefine themselves from “nice to have” to “need to have.” Companies who value

the impact of pro bono service and want to increase employee engagement should consider three strategic approaches: Creating an immersive global experience to engage ‘early talents,’ SAP’s term for new hires with high potential; aligning skills-based volunteering opportunities with domestic engagements; and fostering strategic partnerships with local organizations that can empower multiple teams to develop even more effective solutions to bigger challenges.

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Immersive Global Exposure Can Orient New Hires A recent study by PwC, the University of Southern California, and the London Business School examines the aspirations, work styles and values of Millennial and Gen Y employees—those born between 1980 and 1995. Two data points from the study perfectly align with two key benefits of global pro bono programs. First, Millennials are

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

“loyalty-lite”—54 percent say they expect to work for between two and five employers during their career, and a quarter say they expect to work for six or more. The second was how mobile this generation expects to be and that they truly value cross-border experiences. Seventy-one percent expect or desire overseas professional experience. SAP’s Social Sabbatical and other pro bono service programs help retain top talent. A survey of 48 recently returned SAP Social Sabbatical participants—33 percent of whom fall in the Millenial and Gen Y generations—showed that all either agree or strongly agree with the following statement: “After my Social Sabbatical experience, I am more motivated to perform in my work at SAP.” What’s more, 98 percent said they are proud to work for SAP. In 2009, Deloitte created a fellowship program for recent MBA graduates that provided global orientation prior to the start of their full-time jobs as consultants.

Utilizing global pro bono experiences for identified early talents in the new hire pool can help scratch that traveler’s itch while at the same time increasing the employee’s loyalty to the company and likelihood that they will stick around. Millennials are quickly becoming a plurality of the workforce; companies must prepare to offer the benefits and incentives they demand.

Ninety-eight percent of Social Sabbatical participants say they are proud to work for SAP. DOMESTIC SKILLS-BASED PROGRAMS PROVIDE ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE EMPLOYEES Some companies face pressures to expand their global pro bono service initiative

T he SAP So c ial Sab b atical team in Por to Al e gre , B ra zi l e nj o ys t he c o untry’s favor ite p astime.

to all employees, not just early talents, high performers, or future leaders. Not everyone is cut out for the cultural and professional shock immersive international pro bono consulting brings, nor can most employees commit to extricating themselves from their day to day lives for an extended period of time. Yet, there are plenty of ways in which companies can engage employees at all levels to leverage their business skills to help local organizations closer to home. Non-profits in the developed world are as much in need of skills-based assistance as those in emerging markets. Organizations like Taproot and Catchafire place corporate teams with organizations across the United States. In Kazakhstan, Tengizchevroil, a business unit of Chevron, has created a similar domestic skills-based program that engages the company’s employees in skills-based assignments with NGOs in need in Atyrau, the center of the country’s oil industry. Traditional volunteer activities like cleaning up a park or helping to paint a school will continue to be valuable activities for community engagement and development, but why not also design a program that can help the local parks department more efficiently coordinate their garbage collection system, or assist a school in developing a “Young Entrepreneurs” afterschool program? A domestic skills-based pro bono program can tap into a company’s entire workforce by offering similar engagement to what others are doing abroad.

EXTEND PRO BONO IMPACT THROUGH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS THAT INVOLVE MULTIPLE TEAMS Feedback from virtually all organizations that receive the support of a team of pro bono consultants is overwhelmingly positive. “Game-changing” and “a breath of fresh air” are common ways their work is described. The biggest limitation global pro bono programs face; however, is the time constraint. Virtually all host organiza-

Photo: David April

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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Executed correctly, corporate citizenship departments can utilize global and domestic volunteer programs to effectively leverage employee skills and experiences, while at the same time aligning those programs to the business strategies of local market units. tions wish the program could be longer, or that the engagement with the team could address their organizational challenges in greater depth. Unfortunately, there is only so much time that a company can release an employee from their day job to engage in a pro bono program. The standard has become about one month, with one month of virtual part-time pre-work prior to deployment. Thankfully, this challenge is not insurmountable. A growing number of companies are experimenting with developing a longer-term scope of work approach that can be started by one team and finished by another. SAP is sending another team back to Porto Alegre in April 2014 to continue working with Walker and Nós Coworking on the project started in October. Their focus will be to take the blueprint designed by the first team and begin outlining concrete steps for Nós Coworking to turn that vision into reality. By increasing the time horizon of projects across teams, companies can mitigate

the time crunch factor all teams face and build more in-depth projects that will truly transform the client organization. A simple model of concept development followed by a team who guides execution could provide a powerful roadmap for implementing longer term, more sustainable projects. The 21st Century demands that multinational companies become increasingly strategic in how they allocate scarce resources and develop their most important asset—their human capital. Strategically aligning with the business interests of local market units can establish a strong base from which to build a case for sustained global pro bono programs. While the primary goal of pro bono projects is not to specifically generate business leads, the residual effects of such engagements often leave business opportunities ripe for the picking. Incorporating a far-sighted approach by selecting strategic cities where the sending company has a strong and active local presence, or partnering with organizations that already have an estab-

lished relationship with the local team, can enable pro bono ventures to fertilize business strategies. The business case makes itself. Executed correctly, corporate citizenship departments can utilize global and domestic pro bono programs to effectively leverage employee skills and experiences, while at the same time aligning those programs to the business strategies of local market units. The culmination of this investment is a more engaged and energized workforce whose increased pride and loyalty will enhance professional performance. Jose Cesar Martins, one of Walker’s associates who also seeks to revitalize Porto Alegre’s 4th District, wrote in Portuguese about the experience he had with the SAP team. “They really left a contribution that, for me, can be historic.” Companies that embrace a strategic approach to their employee volunteering programs will one day change Jose’s “can be” to “will be.” These new ways of thinking are just scratching the surface of what is possible.

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SE ED S O F GLO BA L LE A D ER S H I P Le aders C onvene at a Lea ding Tokyo U niver sity to Forg e Ne w U. S .-Japan Partners hip in E duc a tion, E x cha nge

B y M at t C l a rk

ume Hidaka, Program Director at The Laurasian Institution, stood before 50 thought leaders convened last month for a summit at Waseda University in Tokyo, hosted by the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) JCenter program. Yume, an advisory council member to the J-Center, manages student and young professional exchange programs between Japan and the United States. She delivered a simple and powerful summary of her organization’s mission that also spoke to the reason for the gathering in Tokyo she addressed. “We are helping thousands of students

become tomorrow’s global leaders.” Dozens of scholars from primary, secondary, and higher education, leaders of international non-profit organizations, and representatives of U.S. and Japanese government agencies came together for the two-day summit. They explored ways their work can more purposefully achieve their shared objective: fostering globally competent leaders that will guide the next generation of the U.S.-Japan relationship. The summit was facilitated by the JCenter program, an initiative that networks organizations and resources that exist to promote Japanese culture, language, arts,

and educational exchange in the American Midwest. The program was made possible with grant funds from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, a publicprivate foundation that promotes Japanese culture around the world. The gathering in Tokyo created an opportunity for educational leaders in the United States and Japan to discuss issues of common concern, share best practices, and reaffirm their shared interest in fostering the next generation of American and Japanese partners. While these leaders all work in different disciplines of the field, consensus emerged that encouraging peo-

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HAPPENINGS ple of all ages to not only learn about one another, but also to their home campuses and while studying abroad. All participants learn with one another is a powerful force for global competency embraced the idea of a continuum of student engagement. A key question was central to their discussion: how do we engage and cooperation. That theme was front and center for the two-day summit students in meaningful ways before, during, and after their crossin Tokyo. Working sessions were separated by panel and group cultural exchange experience? The most impactful student programs meet three specific discussions that focused either on primary and secondary or higher education. The elementary and secondary school lead- criteria. First, they ensure a thorough pre-program orientation ers explored the idea of using virtual classroom partnerships, that provides students with the tools necessary to succeed. Second, successful programs invest in a low-cost way for schools to make timely monitoring of the program while connections globally, as a tool for it is unfolding to evaluate feedback in international education. They also real-time. Lastly, they provide a postdiscussed how community groups, engagement period of reflection that often interested in contributing to encourages the students to think about educational initiatives that connect what they have taken away from the students to world cultures, can be 1) Pre-program orientation experience and empowers them to use more purposefully leveraged to de2) Timely monitoring those lessons moving forward. liver educational experiences that 3) Post-engagement reflection Ultimately, cross-cultural educational have a lasting impact on students. exchange activities must be thoughtfully The higher education sessions explored issues of vital importance to colleges and universities designed and implemented in ways that underscore the idea in the United States and Japan. Institutions on both sides of that these are not just one-off experiences, but the foundation the Pacific are interested in maximizing opportunities for their for globally competent leadership. Despite any number of associations and conferences that students to have meaningful cross-cultural experiences, both on

The most impactful student programs meet three specific criteria:

A a ron G i lli ng ( lef t) f rom the A ssociation o f J a p a n E x c h a n g e a n d Te a c h i n g , K a o ru U t a d a ( cen t er ) f rom the U. S. -J a p an Council TO MODA CHI I n i t i a t i v e , a n d We s l e y J u l i a n (ri g h t ) fro m t h e JE T A l u m n i A s s oc i ati o n o f Chicago at the USCCD Japa n S u m m i t a t Wa s e d a U n i v e rs i t y i n To k y o .

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Pa m e l a F i e l d s , D e p u t y S e c re t a r y - G e n e r a l o f C U L C O N , Ro s i e E d m o n d , Re g i o n a l D i re c t o r o f Nort h e a st Asi a & The Pac i f i c f o r Educ ationUSA, Nor itaka Takezawa, Japan Director o f Ki z u n a A cross C u l t u re s at t he Japan Summi t in Toky o. allow educators and administrators to network, these individuals have limited opportunities to engage with other community leaders outside of their specific educational domain, even though their parallel work is often complementary. In addition to the ideas explored and suggestions made by the working groups, a fact that was evident during all of the sessions was a basic desire for more opportunities to discuss these issues and form more impactful partnerships. There was clear value in the simple act of convening these individuals who, together, can better connect classrooms, campuses, and communities across the United States and Japan. The U.S.-Japan relationship has always been a unique one that has far-reaching implications in international politics, economics, and security. Japanese culture â&#x20AC;&#x201D; both traditional and contemporary â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has captured the imagination of Americans for

Ultimately, crosscultural educational exchange activities must be thoughtfully designed and implemented in ways that underscore the idea that these are not just one-off experiences, but the foundation for globally competent leadership.

generations, and the same is true of American culture for people in Japan. One need only look to the Japanese love of baseball and Lady Gaga to see the impact of U.S. cultural exports on Japanese society. Earlier this summer and fall, I had the pleasure of touring Japanese culture festivals around the Midwest. The regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vibrant network of community organizations create regular opportunities for citizen diplomacy interactions between the two cultures. These festivals showcase the ways people in the middle of America learn more about Japan in their own backyards. Global engagement is not always a highly structured, scholarly interaction. Sometimes it takes the form of a child in Nebraska learning how to make an origami paper crane from a Japanese woman wearing a kimono, or a blonde Minnesotan toddler learning to use chopsticks, or even a skinny man in Missouri challenging a group of profes-

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

sional sumo wrestlers. After each of these simple interactions, people go home with more understanding of people and cultures different than their own. Their worldviews are forever changed. Between virtual classroom collaboration, university study abroad, sister-city exchange programs, and language learning, community members in the United States and Japan engage with one another in meaningful ways on a daily basis. In addition to being personally enriching, this engagement feeds the perhaps obvious but vitally important realization that increased cultural exposure enhances global understanding. The leaders that recently spent two days in Tokyo exploring ways to strengthen and amplify their work together did so knowing that their efforts are important not just to the U.S.-Japan relationship, but

also to creating a model of transnational cooperation. When a Japanese high school student visits somewhere like Iowa as part of a class trip, that student realizes the English she has studied for years was not just another subject to pass, but was indeed a tool of communication that now allows her to make new friends around the world. When an American college student spends a semester studying somewhere like Kyoto, he comes away from the experience feeling empowered by the fact that he knows he can operate in a society very different than his own. In other words, these experiences create individuals that are equipped to lead, regardless of the cultural context. The fact that so many of these opportunities exist in the U.S.-Japan relationship is a testament to the strength of that particular international partnership. It also

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raises some questions worth reflection: Does the unique relationship that underlies U.S.-Japan partnerships through cultural and educational institutions offer a model that could inspire cultural bridges between other parts of the world? Can we do more to leverage the power of citizen diplomacy and maximize the potential in existing relationships? Rosie Edmond, Regional Director of EducationUSA in Northeast Asia and the Pacific, summarized the sentiments of the Tokyo summit. In her closing remarks, she called on those convened to consider the future of their relationship and the importance of individuals and institutions working in the U.S.-Japan space to re-realize their collaborative potential. “In other words,” Rosie suggested, “Let’s not divorce and find new partners. Let’s honeymoon again.”

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CITIZEN DIPLOMACY

Th e Gl oba l Ti e s Th a t C o n n e c t U s A ll I nte r na ti o nal E xcha n g e Move s f rom th e Pe riph e r y to the Cen te r of U. S . Fore ig n Pol i cy By J en n i fe r C l i n ton , P hD

ow the United States engages with other nations is changing, increasingly encouraging the engagement of citizens, and networks of individuals to participate more fully in formal and informal diplomatic activities. Why? Largely due to digital technology, citizens around the world are playing an increasingly important role in foreign relations. Today, one blogger has the ability to reach more people globally in a day than the BBC or Voice of America could

30 years ago. Given the explosion of new platforms for engagement, citizens are having a profound impact on domestic and international affairs around the world. In the past two decades, there have been 40 transitions to democracy around the world as a result of a massive emergence of civilian-led efforts. The relationship between citizens and government is fundamentally changing. Governmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;particularly historically repressive governmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;can no longer ignore the publics they serve. When Secretary of State John Kerry vis-

its other countries, he makes a concerted effort to engage with citizens to seek their input and advice on how to improve bilateral and multi-lateral relationships. Yet, many factors limit the ability of traditional diplomacy to meet the growing and evolving need to engage foreign publics. In a world of seven billion people, the State Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 13,000 foreign service employees, who staff 265 embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions all over the world, have neither the people power nor the budget power to engage international

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

audiences with the frequency today’s digital world demands. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), on average, the United States spends less than the annual advertising budget of some multinational companies to communicate America’s vision to the rest of the world. In addition to the practical realities of people and financial resource constraints, engaging citizens in diplomatic activities makes good sense because citizens are arguably better at creating authentic connections. According to the Pew Research Global Attitudes Project many countries rate their opinion of Americans higher than their overall opinion of the United States and/or the Unites States’ consideration of their nation’s interests. If we want to strengthen relationships between the United States and other nations, we need to lead with one of our strongest assets, our people, putting our citizens front and center in our nation’s diplomatic activities. In his best-selling book, Blink: the Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Mal-

colm Gladwell writes: “Anyone who has ever scanned the bookshelves of a new girlfriend or boyfriend—or peeked inside his or her medicine cabinet—understands this implicitly; you can learn as much—or more—from one glance at a private space as you can from hours of exposure to a public face.” People around the world need to see America’s bookshelves and medicine cabinets, our kitchens, classrooms, and boardrooms, no matter how messy they may be. These places highlight the real face of America, and they provide insight that can overcome huge barriers to cooperation at the lowest and highest levels of society. The opportunities to develop these authentic connections are easier than you might think. During the 2013 school year, nearly 820,000 international students attended American colleges and roughly 250,000 Americans studied abroad. There are close to 300,000 high-school and professional exchange participants in the United States every year and one out of every eight people living

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If we want to strengthen relationships between the United States and other nations, we need to lead with one of our strongest assets, our people, putting our citizens front and center in our nation’s diplomatic activities.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

in the U.S. is a foreign-born immigrant. Each encounter with an individual from a different country presents an opportunity to build relationships between nations. Individuals often fail to seize these opportunities, not to speak of failing to consider the benefit such connections can yield. International exchange programs, many of which are either supported by or sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and other foreign governments have, for decades, encouraged individual citizens to connect, collaborate, and experience first-hand the authenticity of a people and a nation. Programs that bring and send leaders, scholars, students, and professionals to the United States and abroad were once considered laudable, but on the periphery. Now, according to leadership at the State Department and the National Security Council, they are central to U.S. foreign policy, national security and economic development priorities. Global Ties U.S., previously known as the National Council for International Visitors or NCIV, has been a non-profit partner to the U.S. Department of State for over 50 years. Global Ties U.S. sustains

a network of over 100 organizations in 44 states and 13 countries that connect local government, non-profit, business, and academic professionals with their international counterparts. Global Ties U.S. provides its members, who engage over 40,000 local leaders and volunteers, with training, support, and connections to help them be as effective as possible. The organization’s new name communicates the value and importance of international exchange programs, speaking to the outcomes we seek to achieve —building enduring relationships between individuals and nations. Our language speaks to the direct link between relationship building that is accomplished through exchange programs and peace, prosperity, and national security. Early this year, Global Ties U.S. will convene its National Meeting of the diverse range of organizations and individuals engaged in this important work. Later this spring, Global Ties U.S. will host Discover Diplomacy, offering citizen diplomats across the country a unique opportunity to gain an insider’s view of the world of diplomacy in Washington D.C., better un-

derstanding the important role citizens play in the process. Every day, people have opportunities to look outside their status quo. There are simple ways to change your view of the world. Global Ties U.S. seeks to encourage individuals and organization around the world to engage their stakeholders— whether they are host families, volunteers, or business partners—to encourage them to recognize and embrace their role as citizen diplomats. Each one of us can help shape foreign relations through the everyday connections we make with citizens from around the globe. The work of the citizen diplomacy community is not just a nice thing to do; its repercussions have far-reaching implications. Future global prosperity, peace and stability are dependent upon increased international cooperation, collaboration, and mutual understanding. You, and every citizen, can be a part of that future.

The work of the citizen diplomacy community is not just a nice thing to do; its repercussions have far-reaching implications. Future global prosperity, peace and stability are dependent upon increased international cooperation, collaboration, and mutual understanding.

From left to right: Kateem Alotaibi, GSK Saudi Arabia; Maxime Plasmanne, GSK Belgium; Hyacinth Okpechi, GSK Nigeria; Chee Yong Gan, GSK Singapore; Ann Grossman, GSK US; and Feriba Akhter, GSK UK - PULSE Fellows at Direct Relief, based in the United States

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

# CONVEN E 4 C H A N GE Lessons From the S ocial G ood S ummit By Alic ia Bon n e r Ne s s

left the Social Good Summit (SGS) with a swirling mix of emotions. First and foremost, I was exhausted, as I’m sure all the organizers and attendees were. Each day, the agenda was packed from noon to 7PM with back-to-back main-stage sessions, some as short as nine minutes and others as long as 20. Never had I witnessed such a broad range of challenges and solutions, presented as seemlessly as the Broadway shows just down the street. I also left contemplating the purpose and power of convenings themselves and how and why they successfully catalyze change, if and when they do. Earlier this year, the Rockefeller Foundation published a superbly thoughtful ebook on mindful and effective convenings. Gather: The Art & Science of Effective Convening, using easy-to-read, creative, visual, layouts, takes its reader through a step-bystep consideration process that ultimately delivers a successful event. Originally developed for the foundation’s internal use in partnership with the Monitor Institute, the compendium was so useful, the Foundation made the resource available to the public. The publication’s mission is clear: “This guidebook is for people who want to change the world. It’s for social change leaders who understand the power of convening the right group of people, and who believe that collective intelligence trumps individual smarts when it comes to solving shared problems.” Gather is an excellent tool with which to clarify a convener’s approach to mindful event planning, but it stops short of

helping the convener decide what best motivates their specific audience. How do we ensure that, as event organizers and attendees alike, our intended objectives are achieved by the substance of the event itself? I reflected on the agenda of the Social Good Summit in the context of the handful of other CSR and social innovation convenings I had attended or organized over the past year. I determined that social good gatherings in general attempt to accomplish at least one of five specific goals:

Educate, Amplify, Connect, Recruit, Solve First, educate your audience about the problem and the solution. Conferences aimed at educating the audience first gained prominence among university researchers, who to this day gather around the country to share their research and findings, and vet one another’s work. The end goal is simple: send your audience home with a better understanding—of new research, new insight, new tool kit, or new approach—than they had when they first arrived. At an event like SGS, educating the audience is primary, and typically takes place from the stage. In other forums, educating the audience is done in smaller workshop formats or working groups. While informational sessions are extremely valuable, in general, the most effective adult education models force some kind of interaction or experience, in order to cement the learning.

Second, ask your audience to help you amplify your message beyond those convened. The amplification imperative is one largely driven by social media—it was this priority that made #2030NOW the event name and stage backdrop at SGS. Truly effective amplification is the most difficult to measure—it is the easiest domain in which to gain a “false positive” on event success metrics. It is easy to measure how many tweets, re-tweets, and mentions each handle or hashtag receives per minute, and even to see a hashtag’s geographic reach. Yet, while social amplification is noteworthy, conveners still struggle to draw a direct line between social reach and true grassroots impact. One social action yields an individual impression in the moment. Perhaps the best way to assess the impact is to gauge the ongoing conversation in the weeks and months that follow such a convening. What further insights are gained? Who else has become engaged? What tangible actions are taking place that might have been inspired or informed—at least in part—due to this conversation? Next, connect your audience. Fostering connections is challenging work, but no less important. Change is lonely work without effective allies. In our efforts to foster social change, it is helpful to travel in good company, which is generally found in successful convenings that educate and amplify, but also connect fellow travelers who may otherwise think they journey alone. Encouragement, experience, and empathy—all are welcome in the face of the challenge and discouragement

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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HAPPENINGS we all may feel at moments, in doing the work that really matters. After the events of those three days, I began to think deeply about the importance of connection, and the challenge of fostering it. Then, recruit your audience to become your advocates. In many regards, recruitment is the hardest step. It requires the event convener to have so deeply moved its audience through education, amplification, and connection that that person sitting in the 48th row—or the young person watching live on the other wide of the world— feels compelled to pick up their phone, tablet, or other device and take action. For convenings like SGS, this could mean taking a pledge to end poverty #by2030, making a gift of $10 to buy a mosquito net for a family in Africa, or simply pledging to always wear a seat belt; they are easy actions for which the barrier to entry is relatively low. Other convenings, like the Clinton Global Initiative, the BCLC CSR conference, Commit!Forum or CECP, which primarily target corporations or foundations more than individuals, often expect more significant commitments, and attempts to recruit these big institutions to take actions that may have six or seven-figure financial implications often requires even more vigorous and effective persuasion. No matter the mandate, a thoughtful, aligned, accessible call to action ultimately answers the “So what?” question. Determining the appropriate call to action—or making it an active part of the convening—is an important consideration for conveners. Ask advocates to work together to solve a problem.

Educate, amplify, connect, recruit— these are the central intentions of most mainstream public convenings. The last, “Solve,” is the rarest, though often the most desperately needed to drive true change. I believe it is this type of convening Gather specifically seeks to inspire.

Arguably, if you have enough advocates standing by, designing the solution can precede educate, amplify, connect, and recruit. But getting groups of people aligned to work together to solve the same problem is much more easily demanded than delivered. As I reflect on the convenings that effectively solve problems, I often think of Startup Weekend, Lean Startup Machine, and a handful of other bootstrap startup enablers that have spun out from Eric Ries’

Lean Startup movement. In August 2012, I attended Lean Startup Machine in Washington, D.C. On Friday evening, about 50 people met up at a Washington, D.C.-based incubator. Teams formed around the 12 best startup ideas and for 48 hours straight, the teams worked to strengthen the concept, gain currency, and invalidate their assumptions. I still look back on that experience as transformative. In less than two days, at least 10 new ideas gained influence and potential because a group of four people aggressively dedicated themselves to their iteration and growth. Startup Weekend and Lean Startup Machine represent just one example of an effective solutions-driven convening. They demonstrate how much can be achieved in a very short period of time when a few good men and women have a chance to roll up their sleeves and get to work. I hope that a growing number of convenings will put solutions development at the heart of their agenda.

No matter the mandate, a thoughtful, aligned, accessible call to action ultimately answers the “So what?” question. Determining the appropriate call to action—or making it an active part of the convening—is an important consideration for conveners.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

CA N A TOWEL M ATTE R? K AR A Weaves Leverages Contemporar y D esign and Inter national Markets to Preser ve Culture, Art, and Livelihoods in Kerala, India

By J es s ica C u ste r

or a long time, I have focused my studies and work on the topic of sustainable business initiatives as a catalyst for social and economic development. But it wasn’t until I arrived in Kanjiramattom as an MBAs Without Borders Advisor that I ever thought to consider the economic and social implications of an object so seemingly simple as a towel. Kanjiramattom is a tiny village in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Situated between the sweeping Malabar Coast and the intensely lush tropical backwaters, it’s where I had my first opportunity to visit a handloom cooperative. Here I came to appreciate, for the first time, the extensive skill, effort, and time required to hand weave a piece of

thorthu: the traditional Kerala fabric woven of pure cotton and known for the superb qualities—soft, light-weight, quick-drying, and highly-absorbent—that have made it historically indispensable in Kerala households. Kanjiramattom is also where I met Mani-chettan—a master thorthu handloom weaver, and one of the last of his kind. Mani-chettan has been spinning cotton and weaving thorthu for much longer than I have been alive. His more than 40 years of experience are expressed, with remarkable elegance, by each thread woven into his stunning fabrics and, less subtly so, by the numerous awards he has received for his fine craftsmanship. But over the years, Mani-chettan has watched his local

weaving cooperative shrink as dwindling demand and an influx of cheap power loom products have deteriorated the financial sustainability and aspirational value of hand weaving as a profession. Even as India’s handwoven fabrics are being celebrated on runways and in exclusive shops around the world, compensation among weavers typically remains unreasonably low when compared to other skilled laborers and is generally inconsistent with the time and effort dedicated to each piece. For example, an experienced and diligent weaver spends an entire day to finish roughly seven traditional thorthu pieces (54” by 27”) which are then sold for about 40 rupees (US$0.70) per piece

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014 in the local market, where the commonplace nature of thorthu and a history of government subsidization have left the fabric unappreciated and poorly valued. The time quoted here does not include the labor-intensive pre-looming process, nor does the price quoted fully illustrate the pittance ultimately received by the weaver after material costs are deducted. Worse still, the only remaining source of this revenue for the Kanjiramattom cooperative is a government-supported orderâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one which is characterized by largely mismanaged contracts. Weavers are hardly ever paid on time and often payment is made in the form of raw materials, rather than cash. The impact of this reality only fully struck me after I was able to spend a few days with local Thorthu weavers in Kanjiramattom and Kannur, learning the extensive entirety of the handloom production process. This experience left me marveling at the skill and effort required of hand weavers that is then unfortunately rewarded with miniscule and inconsistent

compensation. In communities dependent on weaving as a livelihood, this trend has perpetuated devastating poverty. But even in less desperate situations such as those found in Kerala, it has perpetuated an unfortunate disinterest in the profession, ultimately bringing about the slow but steady disappearance of this historically and culturally significant art form. Over the past years, the local hand weaving community in Kanjiramattom has grown in age and diminished in size. And its master weaver, Mani-chettan, is on the brink of retirement without an apprentice to whom he can teach his giftâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;putting his skill and expertise in danger of fading into retirement right along with him. So, what can save an undervalued and ailing art? As it turns out, towels can. Towels and business. As a sustainable business specialist, it is my instinct to turn towards the market for solutions. And that was exactly the strategy of the local and dynamic mother-daughter duo, Indu Menon (social an-

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K AR A Weaves seek s to connect the wa res of handloom a rt i s a ns in Kanjiramat to m to g lobal market s in ord er to p res er ve thorthu weaving as an art-for m a nd a p iece of cult u ra l heritag e. K AR Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s s t rateg y to rea ct iva te the art is ans and revive the ailin g a rt is to bring d esi g n a nd market inter vent i o n to the local weav i ng coop erat ive.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

S p ool s o f t h re a d, s l o w - s pun and re ady for weav ing ; Weav er s set up war p thread s d u r i n g p re-lo o m i n g ; A fi ni s he d K ARA We ave s towel hand-wov en by ar tisan weav er s. thropologist) and Chitra Gopalakrishnan (graphic designer), when they founded KARA Weaves (“KARA”)—a fair-trade certified, socially-minded venture that seeks to connect the works of handloom artisans in Kanjiramattom to global markets in order

to preserve thorthu weaving as an art-form and a piece of cultural heritage. KARA’s strategy to reactivate the artisans and revive the ailing art is to bring design and market intervention to the local weaving cooperative.

DESIGN INTERVENTION

In the true spirit of social entrepreneurship, KARA is a venture that was born out of a community challenge recognized and confronted by innovative people who cared enough to create a solution.

KARA recognizes that the weavers are highly skilled and they already produce a high-quality, useful product. What they lack is a critical knowledge of current, global design trends that are key to catching the interest of global consumers. KARA bridges this link between ancient and modern by working directly with the weavers to design a range of beautiful thorthu products, from cocktail napkins to beach towels, whose function is compatible with contemporary lifestyles.

MARKET INTERVENTION Beyond design, KARA recognizes the importance of leveraging branding and marketing techniques to effectively communicate the value of thorthu to international markets. By creating an online presence, leveraging social media, and attending trade fairs, KARA has generated greater awareness of thorthu fabrics and weavers among global markets and has begun to establish direct international sales channels to sustain demand.

When I talk to Chitra about KARA products, as a designer she emphasizes “form and function,” reinforcing the ultimate value of a thorthu fabric as both beautiful and utilitarian. When I think of KARA products, as a sustainable business specialist, I appreciate their ability to be the foundation of a win-win-win situation. That is, KARA, as a business model, is positioned at the intersection of social, environmental, and economic sustainability.

SOCIAL KARA has evolved as a personal and purposeful business because its founders are passionate and committed to the social objectives important to their community. Indu, as a social anthropologist who had previously studied the personal, social, and economic contexts of hand weavers in southern India, recognized that the only way to enable these artisans to continue to practice and teach their art to future generations was to restore hand weaving as a financially sustainable and aspirational profession. KARA collaborates with weavers on design—focusing on connecting them with the end user and the value of their creations. Additionally, KARA works with the currently fragile cooperative in Kanjiramattom to make sure that it has the support and resources necessary to rebuild the unit amidst this new phase of oppor-

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014 tunity. Along the journey to revitalization, KARA has provided its local cooperative with interest-free working capital loans, committed to paying premium wages for their thorthu products, and worked to feed incoming orders to the local unit in order to stabilize growth and propel development.

ENVIRONMENTAL In the textiles industry, where most players are in a ‘race to the bottom,’ manufacturers seek to cut costs as far as possible through increased usage of energy intensive automated processes and cheap labor. KARA, however, supports the use of handlooms which consume only fairly remunerated manpower. Additionally, KARA products are light-weight and require very little water to wash, dyes utilized are eco-friendly, and waste generated during production is up-cycled or recycled.

ECONOMIC One of the things that I admire most about KARA is the company’s ability to de-

liver social value in an environmentally sustainable manner, and at a profit. In the true spirit of social entrepreneurship, KARA is a venture that was born out of a community challenge recognized and confronted by innovative people who cared enough to create a solution. It was initiated with personal funds and since the date of inception it has been sustained by product revenues. According to Indu and Chitra, “Never relying on donations, grants, or subsidies, and still surviving means that we are at least on the right path to establishing a real solution that can be sustained by its own momentum.” KARA’s immediate goal is to fully revive the local hand weaving unit in Kanjiramattom and, ultimately, to develop a sustainable, scalable model that can be replicated among other weaving units within Kerala, and across India. Over the next several months, this will be my goal as well. In my first few weeks with the KARA team, I have experienced

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first-hand the ways in which the why and how of a social enterprise become much more important than the what. And so far, I’ve learned that of course a towel can matter. It matters when its producers care as much about the process and the people involved as they do about the end product. It matters when it gives customers a choice to consume a high-quality, utilitarian product that is sourced and produced in a sustainable way. It matters because it is the result of a company that has joined the ranks of a small, but ever-growing group of companies that maintain social and environmental goals on par with economic goals. On its own, a towel cannot be expected to change the world, but it does matter because it marks an important contribution to the collective movement towards a better world.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

AROUND THE WORLD

V IRT UA L CO N S U LT IN G MA K ES R E AL IM PACT D ow Finds Shared Value, Market O pportunity and Leadership D evelopment in Ghana

By Aman d a M a cA r th ur

ou might think one of the world’s largest chemical and specialty manufacturing companies may not have the appropriate expertise to support a university working to encourage soilless agriculture, a non-profit improving quality of life in urban slums, or a municipal agency enhancing neighborhood trash collection in Ghana. If you modify your perspective just a bit, companies like Dow actually have a great deal to contribute to these types of initiatives—providing insights into product or service adoption, creating appropriate financial systems to ensure transparent and accurate reporting and creating monitoring and evaluation systems— all of these services are right in their wheelhouse. The next question then becomes, why Ghana? Ghana is one of the world’s most rapidly growing economies and due to its political and social stability it is a prime location for launching a

new business strategy in West Africa that could, in turn, provide a jumping off point for the entire continent. The challenge is learning how best to operate in such a complex and sometimes challenging environment. Enter 36 Dow employees, who took on these assignments and four more through the Dow Sustainability Corps, the company’s skills-based employee engagement program. The projects, selected and facilitated by PYXERA Global, aligned with Dow’s interests in serving market needs while supporting the country’s future growth. The team’s seven months of work was significant, and made even more so by one week spent on-the-ground in Accra. Typical international pro bono engagements can last up to 6 months. But not everyone can leave their daily responsibilities for quite that long. The Dow employees were able to dedicate this length of time

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014 by combining their on-the-ground assignment with longer-term virtual consulting. The projects concluded when the local organizations implemented the teams’ recommendations, receiving remote support from the Dow employee teams.

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were on the call was at times a challenge. English was the common language, but was spoken in accents that often confounded people on both ends of the line. The local clients’ limited internet connectivity often complicated their ability to transfer large amounts of data for the Dow teams to review. Simply getting emails to go through often irtual consulting is not as easy as it might seem. It requires required a significant time and resource commitment. It required extreme patience, careful listendedication on the part of all parties ing, clear speaking, and an unrelentto listen through the noise to find a Members of the Dow teams ing perseverance to understand, find common ground and to work collaborarepresented every area of the globe, so common ground, and work together tively for a shared goal—the best kind it was a real opportunity for them to for a solution. There is no room for of leadership development. learn and develop skills that will propel impatience, irritation, or a lack of As it turns out, the virtual element them further in their careers. Virtual respect. In this case, the presence of was one of the most important learnteams are a reality in our business. The ing experiences. “For many members a PYXERA Global facilitator in Accra opportunity to facilitate, manage, and helped ensure that the cultural of the teams, this was the first time participate on these virtual teams was and technological challenges were they worked on a longer-term project bridged, especially at the beginning as a virtual team. Members of the Dow a key learning experience, especially of the project, when it was most teams represented every area of the in the face of technological challenges foreign to all participants. globe, so it was a real opportunity for and cultural differences. Though many of today’s global them to learn and develop skills that employees commonly work virtually, it is far from the norm in will propel them further in their careers. Virtual teams are a realGhana, where personal interactions are critical and trust is built ity in our business. The opportunity to facilitate, manage, and over a period of time through face-to-face meetings. The Ghanaian participate on these virtual teams was a key learning experience, clients often connected via mobile phones and a network that especially in the face of technological challenges and cultural experienced interference, feedback, and other interruptions. I differences,” said John Kolmer, manager of Global Leadership remember one particular call where the team in Ghana all sat in Development at Dow. the same room—but each on his or her own cell phone, causing The coupling of the virtual experience with an opportunity to even more interference. Eventually, we had to tell everyone to meet and work face-to-face with their host clients was equally go to different rooms in order to move the call forward. Aside important for the teams. It made the goals more tangible and from the infrastructure challenges, just ensuring the right people the anticipation of meeting their virtual colleagues inspired

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

Dow Sustainability Corps Projects Accra Metropolitan Assembly Project with Waste Management Department to enhance its monitoring capacity, to support more efficient/effective trash collection

Accra Polytechnic Project to improve the competency of Accra Polytechnic’s graduates to make them more competitive in the job market, which included creating new curricula and recommendations for student placement services and career counseling

Association for Ghana Industry Project to develop a strategy for engaging government in the implementation of a local content policy for Ghana in the housing industry

University of Ghana: College of Agriculture and Consumer Science (CACS) Hydroponics Project to create a plan and materials to commercialize hydroponics research in order to generate income and produce quality vegetables

University of Ghana: CACS Medicinal Plants Project to map the value chain and subsequent plan and accompanying materials for the propagation of a medicinal plant that treats malaria with high efficiency

People’s Dialogue Ghana Project to improve the technical and financial capacity of PDG to help it better meet its goals of improving slum housing, water, and sanitation conditions

WaterHealth Project to explore options for a creative “water-on-the-go” solution for the Ghanaian market that is an alternative to the widely used (and littered) sachet water packets

people to keep going when frustrations inevitably mounted. The opportunities for learning didn’t stop when the team arrived in Accra. With only a few days available for in-person meetings, the team had to be strategic and efficient with their use of time, while coping with the constraints of limited internet bandwidth. Furthermore, the ability to experience and observe first-hand the opportunities and challenges inherent to operating in a dynamic location such as Accra proved to be invaluable to adapting the proposed solutions to reality. All teams made progress with their scopes of work, uncovering more challenges as they progressed. Most positively, Accra Polytechnic estimated that they saved a year in curriculum design, because of the first-hand, real-world view of what students would need. That information and validation helped to propel the entire project forward. Working on common ground for a mutually beneficial objective results in a first-hand understanding of realities, priorities, and pressures in the region. Beyond awareness, such experiences also build empathy. And of course, all of the challenges experienced firsthand also open participants’ eyes to new business opportunities.

“One of the learnings that came out of this is what can constitute new business opportunities in emerging markets,” said Ross McLean, President of Dow Sub-Saharan Africa. “Working with the local staff, our participants identified business opportunities as a result of the engagement. More importantly, these projects enabled our employees to appreciate and better manage some of the unexpected challenges of doing business in Africa—such as the lack of infrastructure, the interruption of communications, the criticality of relationships (instead of time)—and realize that it’s worth it. The projects, and the connections made because of them, became great ‘door openers’ for us to further build relationships, which will be important to the success of our long-term business.” Michelle Langley, Program Leader, Dow Sustainability Corps, is quick to add, “We didn’t engage only for the immediate business opportunities. If we’re going to be operating in-country, it’s our role to contribute to the success of the community. We just opened an office in Accra and we are committed to that region. Our work with Dow Sustainability Corps helps demonstrate how serious we are about that commitment.”

T h e D o w Te a m e x a m i n e s a C r y p t o l e p s i s s a n g u i n o l e n t a p l a n t re a d y fo r t h e h a rv e s t o f i t s m a l a ri a - trea t in g root s w i t h D r. N a a l a m l e Am i s s a h o f t h e U n i v e rs i t y of G h a n a .

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

PERFO RMIN G W I TH PURP OSE

PepsiCo r ps Lives Perfor mance with Pur pose in Brazil By S ue Ts ok r i s

s my red-eye flight descends into Recife, Brazil, I look out the plane window in great anticipation, reminiscing about the past weekend’s conversations:

“You’re going where?” “Afogados da Ingazeira.” “Never heard of it—is that near Sao Paolo?” “Not exactly.” Afogados is a six-hour drive from Recife, the fifth-largest city

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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AROUND THE WORLD

in Brazil. On the long drive there, I learn that Afogados means “drowned” in Portuguese. Many years ago, a couple tried to cross the Pajeú river during high tide and were washed away—a few days later their bodies were found. I immediately think “How sad!” Those who know Afogados see it as a symbol of pride and perseverance, yet also understand the sting of the name’s irony—the region has been struggling through a drought for the past three years. Each time I peek through the van’s curtains hung to keep out the heat, I am struck by the dryness of everything I see—leafless trees, dusty roads, a sea of brown.

I’m traveling to Afogados to see PepsiCo’s Performance with Purpose business strategy in action through the work of the PepsiCorps team. On paper, Performance with Purpose (PwP, for short) is about delivering strong financial performance while focusing on Human, Environmental, and Talent Sustainability, because doing good is good for business. In practice, it’s much more three-dimensional. The idea for the PepsiCorps program emerged three years ago from a group of employees searching for a way to make PwP more personal for employees. They had a vision that put PwP into tangible action, allowing PepsiCo employees to not just think purposefully, but to act purposefully. Three years later, the endeavor has grown into a signature program across our global company, enabling PepsiCo employees to apply their job skills and life experiences to real-world challenges. Working alongside their colleagues in communities around the world, PepsiCorps participants develop transformational solutions to complex challenges, serving as a purposeful force for good. I’m most interested in seeing what affect this experience has had on them—after all, that is really what PepsiCorps is all about. After seven hours of driving, we finally arrive in Afogados where the PepsiCorps team has been on the ground for nearly a month working with the community to overcome sustainable agriculture challenges brought on by the on-going drought. This week marks the culmination of their work. We climb out of the van and I am immediately hit by a wall of dry heat. We are welcomed with a huge smile and hug by Vanessa from PYXERA Global, the corporate volunteering and service organization we partner with on our PepsiCorps program. PYXERA Global has people on the ground in even the most remote areas, working with our teams to engage local NGOs, scope our project parameters, arrange for lodging and transportation for our teams, along with other aspects of the program’s implementation. Vanessa is a wonderful bundle of positive energy and affection who genuinely seeks to make the world a better place. We walk inside a small building to find a single room with tables and chairs. Colorful drawings and objects scattered around the room remind me of the cheerful classrooms of my childhood. From where we’ve entered, we can see the attention is focused at the front of the room, where four PepsiCo employees in green ‘PepsiCorps Brazil 2013’ T-shirts are reviewing the lesson for the day. The PepsiCorps team is working with Projeto Dom Helder Camara, a local government project, to develop a commercialization strategy for a recently launched fruit-pulp business. They pause to introduce us—with the help of Michelle, a lo-

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

cally-based interpreter—and then continue presenting to the students. As the team discusses marketing and branding techniques meant to boost the sales of local produce, the group is completely engaged. On this, their last day of service, the team decides to present their attentive students with ‘graduation certificates’ prepared for the occasion. After a brief pause for Michelle to translate, eyes widen across the faces of the humble group of villagers. One by one, the villagers walk to the front of the room to accept their certificate. I watch the faces of the four PepsiCo employees, struck by how deeply moved they are. They look down at the floor periodically, clearly trying to control their emotions. This group met each other for the first time just a month ago. Now, they are like a family, their familiarity and warmth for each other visible in how they interact with one another.

he product referred to in the session is a pulped fruit, which the villagers pick,

wash, boil, process, package, seal, label, and freeze for future sale. We tour the production facility where one of the women walks us through the production process with Michelle translating as we go. The pride in her voice is unmistakable, even without the translation. The team then shows us the field where they have planted 50 new fruit-bearing trees. They describe the hard, dry dirt that was impossible to dig through, and how they cheered when they finally broke through and planted the new trees. A local NGO was so inspired by their efforts for the community that they donated the materials and labor to run irrigation hoses to the field to ensure a steady source of water for the young trees to thrive. They all grin at each other—no need for an interpreter, just smiles, pride, and a sense of common purpose. Later that night, we gather with the rest of the group who has been working on an organic growers’ market concept. They are equally inspired and inspiring as they talk

excitedly about what the past month has taught them. We descend on a local restaurant for dinner where the team has made friends with the owner and waitstaff over the past month. I have to remind myself that none of them spoke a word of Portuguese four weeks ago as I hear them pointing to menu items and greeting the staff. The next morning, the two teams of four employees present their formal insights and recommendations to the local organizations. They share assessments and analysis of local market conditions, insights and implications of what they have learned, general ideas and specific recommendations for successful agriculture practices. Having engaged additional resources, they go so far as to share branding concepts, packaging and signage logo ideas, and suggested marketing campaigns to generate additional demand for the crops and products this community relies on as a source of income. After the teams wrap up their presentations, many share thoughtful and reflective

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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The PepsiCorps teams presents training diplomas to community leaders from the farming association Nova Vida, located in the city of Afogados da Ingazeira, Pernambuco, Brazil.

comments. They speak to each other with an unspoken understanding about what the program has meant to them, to the NGO representatives they hope will carry on their work, to the translators who have made these human connections possible, and to their new-found friends who they’ll leave in Afogados but stay with in spirit. I hear parts of the conversations, watch the exchange of hugs, and see the emotions in each participant’s face. The words don’t seem to matter as the meaning is more in their personal connections. This time, I’m the one who has to look down for a moment to control my emotions. A group of us board the van for the drive back to Recife, cheerful but subdued. I am grateful for the long drive, which provides a chance to reflect on the past few days and the remarkable, multidimensional effects of this program. Between the social problemsolving, the employee skill-building, the deep connections with people from other cultures, and the cross-company relationship-building, it is hard to identify just one thing that makes the PepsiCorps program so impactful. Ultimately, it’s a combination of all of these things, and more.

uccess on the job isn’t all that different from success in life. It requires clear goals, a line of sight to how to achieve them, relevant tools, materials, capability, and the colleagues with the talent to bring it all together. The game-changer is inspiration and a sense of common purpose. PepsiCorps is not just about helping those in need, though it is not a bad place to start. Helping others is the sandbox the group plays in. The program, built on the core principles of Performance with Purpose, strengthens the internal wiring needed to develop exceptional, strong leaders who are able to generate this sense of common purpose, a shared desire to achieve something significant, beyond their normal capabilities. The essence of the program is about rising to the occasion—reflecting on the circumstances, assessing what needs to be done, establishing a goal and a path to achieve it, cultivating unity, and, finally, inspiring and motivating others around that common purpose. Through global pro bono service, employees learn that success isn’t about having the biggest job or the loudest voice, but about mutually beneficial collaboration, a

culture of servant leadership that deemphasizes who is in charge in favor of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. At the end of four weeks in Afogados, it isn’t entirely clear who gained the most from the experience—our employees, our hosts, or our company. The true victory is realizing it doesn’t really matter.

Success is... about mutually beneficial collaboration, a culture of servant leadership that deemphasizes who is in charge in favor of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts... it isn’t entirely clear who gained the most from the experience—our employees, our hosts, or our company. The true victory is realizing it doesn’t really matter.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

AROUND THE WORLD

A TREE

GROWS IN

LYANTOND E ICOD Action Network Pioneers New Approaches to Food S ecurity and Nutrition in R ural Uganda B y D r. S h a ron R u d y

t the Kyewanula Primary School, in Lyantonde, Uganda, the students, some as young as seven or eight, are dressed in purple uniforms with yellow trim, waiting quietly for the start of a permaculture class. Off to one side of the large, dirt-floored classroom, several dozen jackfruit seedlings are piled, each in its own plastic pot. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be used as visual aids during the lesson and then distributed to the children to take home and plant after the class.

Ahabwe Michael, the Director of ICOD Action Network is conducting the class. Before starting, he writes the main benefits of Jackfruit cultivation on a large blackboard: Food, Income, Shade, and Environment. ICOD conducts one of these permaculture classes a month at different locations in and around Lyantonde. It is late afternoon as the class comes to an end and the children collect their bright green seedlings before heading out the door for home. Photo: Morgan Schmorgan/CC BY-NC 2.0

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014 Ahabwe knows Lyantonde—a poor rural district in Southwestern Uganda--and its challenges very well; he has lived there almost his entire life. “We are dealing with people who have been cut off from some of the basic human rights” he said. “The right to food, right to education, right to decent shelter, right to clothing. Our goal is to make sure that each project and each activity has an impact on human rights.” A social worker by profession, Ahabwe saw the need for an organization like ICOD. His wide-ranging background includes time working with Growing Power In Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a Food Security Fellow in a U.S. Department of State funded program. He worked with the Growing Power staff to explore sustainable farming practices while gaining hands on experience in setting up extensive community food systems. Since 2008, ICOD has been using community organizing and agriculture as a catalyst for social change by bringing people together across social, economic, and cultural barriers. It was on a site visit to Uganda in

July 2013 that Bob Leone, the Global Health Fellows Program II (GHFP-II) Lead for Outreach and Communications, had the opportunity to witness ICOD’s work firsthand and to see what was being accomplished in the field by GHFP-II supported interns.

Building a Foundation of Trust In international development, community-level experience with grassroots initiatives in developing contexts improves impact and is foundational to understanding the world. GHFP-II provides its global health champions, who come from diverse backgrounds, with just such an opportunity. In partnership with GlobeMed, GHFP-II supports a number of undergraduates each year by providing the resources for them to have their first developing country experience through 3-8 week internships working on projects with in-country organizations such as ICOD. GHFP-II, led by the Public Health Institute

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In international development, communitylevel experience with grassroots initiatives in developing contexts improves impact and is foundational to understanding the world.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

(PHI), helps the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) address its immediate and emerging human capital needs by integrating a diverse group of global health professionals at different stages of their careers. The program recruits, places, and supports these diverse global health professionals to work in areas critical to global health—nutrition and food security, water and sanitation, health systems and policy, infectious diseases, maternal and child health, among others—in USAID headquarters in Washington, D.C., and in developing countries around the world. At the same time, the program offers unique opportunities for accelerated professional development. At the conclusion of their fellowships, these global health professionals continue on in their careers, utilizing their enhanced technical skills and the increased ability to navigate successfully in the complex global health environment. A current GHFP-II Fellow and former Peace Corps volunteer, whose focus is water sanitation and health, related his early experience in East Timor:

“Relationships are the key currency… Every day for six months I went and talked with [the] guys [at the local water and sanitation district]… about their lives and their families. And finally after six months they asked me for something. It took that long until they felt they could trust me. I thought I would talk to them for a couple of weeks and then we would work together. The lesson is it takes time and an investment in relationships.” In Lyantonde, the work done by ICOD rests squarely on a foundation of trust and the ability to understand the true needs of the local population and how they can best be met.

Hunger, The Silent Global Epidemic Hunger is one of the world’s leading health challenges. Approximately 870 million people in the world remain hungry today, and 98 percent of them live in developing countries. In addition, the world’s growing population—projected to increase

to 9 billion by 2050—will require at least a 60 percent increase in global food production, in a world that will have less arable land and less access to clean water under changing climate patterns. Food security is a complex, multifaceted global issue complicated by a host of concerns, including volatile food prices, changing climate conditions, affordable nutrition, clean water, sanitation and more. Four elements underlie its complexity: availability, access, utilization and stability. A disturbance in one or more of these pillars can irreparably affect the lives of millions. Responses to food insecurity range from government and donor interventions at the highest levels to grass roots campaigns affecting one household at a time. One factor above all others motivates attempts to provide sustainable food security solutions: the world’s neediest children. By age two, without access to affordable nutrition, a child’s life is changed forever. After that, malnutrition has a lifetime effect including decreased learning potential and stunting growth. Stunting, or low height for age, is caused by long-term

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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Most inspiring of all, ICOD has trained school children to lead other children... sowing seeds for true food security for today and tomorrow.

insufficient nutrient intake and frequent infections. Stunting generally occurs before age two, and effects are largely irreversible. These include delayed motor development, impaired cognitive function and poor school performance. Nearly one third of children under five in the developing world are stunted by food insecurity. Within the last decade, international development has begun to place a growing emphasis on maternal, in-utero, and early childhood health. Now, even a mother’s pre-conception nutrition is scrutinized for its potential effect on the health of her future children. Educating women about the effect of pre-natal nutrition on the future life of their unborn child requires taking a long view of development outcomes, and a deep commitment to relationship development. Ending global hunger also requires that key global leaders understand the farreaching effects of poor nutrition, a development that affects a country’s long-term economic potential. USAID has funded a scaling-up nutrition movement to encourage leaders and other champions to understand this as a problem. Unlike many other health issues, food security, because of the multiple causes involved, can be difficult to understand as a health issue, making

it harder to gain widespread commitment. Enduring community relationships are the necessary foundation on which such persuasion is built.

Seeding the Future It turns out, educating children early and often about local agriculture can ensure that children are well-nourished, both before and after their birth. ICOD Action Network believes that children ‘own the future’ and has set up mechanisms to mobilize and encourage children to directly take charge of planting food trees. School children have been trained to plant mango, papaya, and jackfruit trees in their respective communities. Two GHFP-II-supported interns, Kaylin Stinski and Audrey Day of Arizona State University, worked on this project, among others, for six weeks during the summer of 2013. To celebrate the organizations five-year anniversary, ICOD decided to do something big for their community. They wanted to plant 5,000 trees, 1,000 for each year of the organization’s existence. These additional trees would support the community's food security and environmental conservation efforts.

ICOD reached out to multiple donors to support this project but were unable to raise any funds to support the initiative. In spite of their inability to secure donor funding, ICOD found another way: grow thousands of food trees themselves. ICOD staff have been able to produce 6,325 Jack fruit trees in 2013 all of which were distributed free of charge to school children. Ahabwe and his team at ICOD believe that working with communities to grow and share healthy food helps cultivate healthy communities able to sustain themselves in the future. Most inspiring of all, ICOD has trained school children to lead other children, forming a team of children ambassadors who have shown distinguished leadership in different participating schools, planting food trees in their schools and communities. In this way, children are leading the way, sowing seeds for true food security for today and tomorrow. GHFP-II Fellow and Nutrition Advisor/ USAID, Michael Manske and GHFP-II Fellow and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Advisor/USAID, Jesse Shapiro contributed their technical expertise as background to this article.

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

FOR CHANGE

COOKING

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S ustaintech S eeks to Transfor m India’s Commercial Cookstoves with S ocial Enter prise By Pa u l Be l k na p

ndia’s many roadways feature a diverse collection of roadside eateries, which produce some of the most delicious and fragrant Indian food ever imaginable. People from all walks of life enjoy taking a break from their day and popping in for a quick and delicious meal that can rival their grandmother’s cooking. For centuries, roadside eateries have played an integral role in India’s culinary tradition and have provided livelihoods for millions; however, little has changed with regards to the types of stoves they use. Many use devices that are both inefficient with regards to fuel consumption,

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

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AROUND THE WORLD

and also have a hugely negative impact on the health of their users, due to the smoke they produce. Over the past few years, the clean cookstove movement came out swinging. Yet, its primary focus has been on cookstoves used in everyday households. Commercial businesses, like roadside eateries, have been left largely underserved because advances in clean cookstove technology have largely focused on household designs. Sustaintech, a social enterprise in India, quickly identified this gap and seized the opportunity. Sustaintech founder, Svati Bhogle, had been working to perfect clean cookstove technology for over 20 years. She began her cookstove career working for TIDE (Technology Informatics Design Endeavor), an NGO that seeks to promote sustainable development through design interventions where she quickly recognized that the commercial stove market was deeply

underserved. In 2002, TIDE received a grant to start developing and distributing stoves for commercial customers. TIDE developed a product that fit the customers’ needs, but realized that they would never be able to achieve an impact of any scale without creating a separate company. She founded Sustaintech as a for-profit social enterprise to bring the stoves to market. Sustaintech focuses on designing and selling commercial clean cookstoves that cater to the base of the pyramid—specifically the owners of roadside eateries. Through their efforts, Sustaintech learned firsthand why the market has remained underserved for so long. Selling a new product to a relatively dispersed set of customers who haven’t seen new cooking technology in their lifetime is difficult, but Sustaintech realized that the positive environmental and health impact of reaching these customers made it worth the effort.

S usta inte ch designs a nd se lls c omme rc i al cle a n c ookstove s tha t c a ter to the ba se o f the pyra m i d — sp ec if ic a ll y the ow ne r s of roa dsid e e a te r ie s.

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The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014

A rest a u r a n t c oo k us e s a t radi ti o nal mud stov e.

These Indian eateries do in fact have a few different stove options, but none are particularly beneficial. Most are costly and severely impact the environment and undermine the health of the workers who use them. Over the years, designs like the traditional mud stove pictured above, have changed little, reflected in their performance. Ultimately these eateries could benefit from advances in fuel efficient and smokeless stove designs that have characterized the clean cookstove movement. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves estimates that there are 170 million household cookstoves in India. While India’s estimated 10 million commercial cookstoves may pale in comparison, commercial cookstoves run eight to 10 hours each day and at a much higher fuel consumption rate. The environmental impact of a commercial cookstove is about 10 times that of a household stove; if those 10 million commercial stoves were traded out, it would be equivalent to removing

100 million traditional household stoves from the market. Sustaintech stoves cut fuel consumption by 40-50 percent over a traditional stove, significantly reducing the demand on forest resources, which will likely become stressed as India’s population continues to grow. Traditional stove designs give little consideration to the health of employees, which can, as a result, undermine their ability to earn a living. Through her time working with the eateries, Svati has found that cooks who use traditional stoves are rarely able to work past the age of 35 or 40 due to the constant exposure to heat and smoke. Additionally, many of these eateries are family-run businesses which causes children to be exposed to high levels of smoke and toxins on a daily basis. Restaurant owners report that because Sustaintech stoves produce less heat and smoke, their cooks have to take fewer sick days and the rest of the staff is more comfortable moving around the kitchen.

Providing this market with clean cookstoves will have a demonstrable impact, especially on the health of children, giving them the opportunity to live healthier lives. While these positive impacts make for a nice story, at the end of the day, it is the bottom line that drives purchasing decisions for these businesses. Unlike many subsidized household cookstoves that remain unused and idle, Sustaintech stoves continue to be used day after day. Customers consider their Sustaintech stoves a business investment, and as such, they learn how to maintain and use them properly. Sustaintech developed a product that meets the needs of this underserved market. This product provides 50 percent increased fuel efficiency, which means that most customers pay for their new stoves in just the first few months on fuel savings alone. Additionally, by improving their staff’s health, they are increasing their business’ efficiency and efficacy. Though Sustaintech has grown consistently, the company is eager to scale more quickly and move beyond its current Tamil Nadu footprint so that it can provide clean commercial cookstoves to underserved customers across India and elsewhere. As is the case for most startups, the company’s greatest obstacle is that the processes and structure necessary for the company to scale successfully have not kept up with the growth of the company to date, and are starting to hold the company back. Sustaintech has figured out how to solve most of the challenges associated with accessing a market that is difficult to reach, but struggles to execute them consistently due to a lack of strong, well-defined processes that leaves Babu Subramanium, Sustaintech’s CEO, fighting proverbial fires instead of focusing on growing the company For the past four months, I’ve been working with Sustaintech to make their business processes more robust. The remainder of my project will focus on insti-

The New Global Citizen | Winter 2014 tutionalizing these standard processes and improving information flow with the goal of creating a more scalable organization. More robust processes will allow more decisions to be made at a lower level and thus reduce the need for management attention, while allowing decisions to be made faster so the company can be more responsive to the customer. Better information flow will give Babu the tools he needs to make more informed decisions that will help the company accelerate its growth. Together, these efforts will transform Sustaintech into a company capable of scale that can reach all of the underserved business customers across India, ensuring more Indians and visitors alike are well fed.

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A c o o k p r e p a r e s S a m b a r u s i n g S u s t a i n t e c h â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s P Y R O mul tipur pose stov e desig n.

The environmental impact of a commercial cookstove is about 10 times that of a household stove; if those 10 million commercial stoves were traded out, it would be equivalent to removing 100 million traditional household stoves from the market.

A fa m i l y st a n ds by t he i r Sus t ai nt e c h PYRO Tav a Stov e outside their roadside tea s h o p .

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