ESTABLISH A CULTURE OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Being a good corporate citizen impacts your bottom line in a positive way. BY KELLY BORTH
A
s CEOs, you have ultimate authority for earnings, expenses and profits. But you also have responsibility for your employees and the communities in which you do business. Building and maintaining your company’s reputation as a good corporate citizen and as a good place to work contribute significantly to your ability to keep your financial picture looking positive.
Being willing to roll up your sleeves and volunteer or donate right alongside your employees shows you take seriously the obligation successful business owners have. INSPIRE OTHERS
IT BEGINS WITH YOU
Think about other ways you can set an example for your employees — things they can do, too. Maybe it’s leading a group of employees on a fundraising 5K walk or run. Or organizing food or toy drives to donate to local charities. Small things that aren’t burdensome financially or time-wise on rank-and-file workers with families are good places to start.
Many of you have served on boards of non-profits and trade groups and have lent your expertise to all kinds of organizations with needs. Setting an example of serving your community in this way is a normal and accepted practice for business leaders. But it’s only the first step.
Being willing to roll up your sleeves and volunteer or donate right alongside your employees shows you take seriously the obligation successful business owners have to their cities and towns and those less fortunate.
Look around at other companies in your field or in your community for inspiration.
It’s a long-term initiative to be a company that does well by doing good, and the investments of time and effort (and sometimes cash, too) aren’t drops in the bucket. So why pursue it? And how?
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HVACR BUSINESS NOVEMBER 2020
The renowned business author and speaker Tom Peters has a saying: “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” As you take a more active lead role in demonstrating your company’s commitment to giving back, think about how you can inspire others on your team to not just follow along with you, but to initiate their own social responsibility actions.
Some leaders here in Columbus, Ohio, where our firm is located, that I am personally inspired by are the owners
of the largest locally owned salon and spa company, Charles Penzone Inc. The owners, Charles and Debra Penzone, have donated salon and spa services to individuals who are going through cancer treatment, and they have also donated a percentage of sales at various times to a variety of community causes. Their stylists are the ones on the front lines of these donations, and the way the entire company comes together to contribute to these community causes is admirable. Another inspiring organization for me is DesignGroup. Second generation leader Bob Vennemeyer and his founding partners decided to do something big for the company’s tenth anniversary. That year, the partners established a donor-advised fund with The Columbus Foundation. The fund lets DesignGroup give cash grants to a variety of community 501(c)(3) charitable organizations as needs arise. As CEO of my own company, I wanted
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