POV

Though some companies are cutting back on corporate responsibility efforts, many can still cash in on their earlier CR investments.

When Citigroup Vice Chair and Chief Administrative Officer Lewis Kaden addressed the 250 attendees of last November’s CRO conference, he talked of Citigroup’s significant buildup in compliance staff and the resulting boost in stakeholder confidence. This week, however, we heard Citigroup’s CEO Charles Prince announce a cutback in the company’s bulging ranks of compliance officers. Citigroup’s swing of the compliance pendulum from intense compliance growth to cutting compliance headcount represents a Russell 1000-wide trend.

Talking the benefits of brand-building compliance with Midi President Tom Parry.

Last week, I spoke with Tom Parry, President of Midi, which is now part of publicly traded SAI Global. We discussed how companies have recently switched from using compliance strictly for defense; now, we both noticed, compliance and risk are being used as brand-building tools to sell products, raise capital and recruit talent. It’s something Tom knows a bit about.

The CRO can relate to the pains of transparency.

Buyer due diligence for closely held firms is a little harder than for public companies. No SEC filings to look up. And the most gruelingly self-revealing part of the due dilly process is when the buyer meets your top 10 or 20 customers and asks them what they think about you and your enterprise.

The new responsibility of personal disclosure.

Elizabeth Edwards recently announced that she has incurable cancer while her husband is running for president. In the corporate responsibility era, there’s only one way to go. Take it public. Tell your story. Then keep running to win.

Corporate responsibility officers and the cruel art of probabilities

CROs, CIOs, CTOs, CSOs, CFOs and CEOs all have puzzled over a similar problem:  should we prepare for a low-probability, potentially catastrophic event more or less vigorously than we prepare for a high-probability event that is painful but not deadly?

The weird go pro. 

Over the past six months, I have met with well over 350 executives that fill the role of corporate responsibility officer.  With every day that goes by, Corporate Responsibility is becoming more of a recognized profession.  When we started The CRO back in August 2006, we counted 12 corporate responsibility officers among the Fortune 1000.   Today we count 55.

Does corporate responsibility have a gender?

When I was in French-speaking Belgium last week, I had an argument with a local guy on the topic of corporate responsibility. He claimed that the concept is “feminine,” since in French, it is preceded by “la,” which indicates a feminine noun. As in “Il fait porter la responsabilite de notre corporation.”

Shopping the eco-friendly car options.

Recently I’ve been shopping for cars. I’ve looked at gas-electric hybrids, natural gas-powered models, and even looked into importing one of the popular bio-diesel or ethanol-powered models from Europe. And yes, I’ve even looked at regular gas-powered cars.

The move for corporate responsibility in big-time college sports.

Finally, March Madness is here. I admit that as an alum of perennial basketball powerhouse UCLA, I am a bit loony about the men’s National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, hoop tourney. This year, the tournament will generate an estimated $1.2 billion in bets, another $1 billion in lost worker productivity, $132.6 million in revenues for the schools and tens of millions of potential career earnings for the star players.

Corporate responsibility and profitability can co-exist.

I was caught completely flabbergasted by American Prospect Editor Robert Kuttner’s editorial “Beware Of Corporate Do-Gooding” this past Sunday in The Boston Globe. In a sophomoric search for attention, Kuttner wrote that any and all responsible behaviors by corporations should be waived off as cynical diversionary tactics of profit-hungry devils. “Whenever hugely profitable corporations mount a charm offensive, keep your hand on your wallet,” Kuttner wrote.