Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

Where does your business or profession stand in terms of ethics and corporate social responsibility? I teach a business course where we explore the imperative of ethical and socially responsible behavior for businesses and business professionals. Earlier this week I watched a very provocative movie, The Corporation (www.thecorporation.com), which explores these topics in a very candid, upfront manner.

Social responsibility is often seen as the integration of economic, social and environmental initiatives into a businesses operation and culture. Strategis Canada has established a website dedicated to the exploration of this critical topic for business today. As they state, "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) resembles the business pursuit of sustainable development and the triple bottom line". Historically business' bottom line has equaled profit, with no or little regard to the business impact on communities, small scale economies, or the environment.

A couple of years ago I was privledged to hear Nobel Peace Prize Winner, and former President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias speak on this topic to the 2002 ASTD International Conference in New Orleans. As someone who dedicated the early part of my career to sustainable development initiatives around the world, and a Masters in Environmental Studies, I was very intrigued by what he had to say. Sadly, more than one-third of attendees left before the end of his keynote in which he challenged American business to play a leadership role in the world on corporate social responsibility. Interestingly enough this was before the ImClone and Enron scandals hit the radar screen.

What is your role in supporting corporate social responsibility? What is your stance on ethics - do you have an ethical code in place?

For more information on corporate social responsibility you may want to check out the Government of Canada's Strategis website dedicated to this topic - it includes discussion on the definition of CSR, best practices, as well as tools which can be used by business and other organizations to review and enhance their performance with respect to CSR.

If you haven't seen the movie, The Corporation, check it out. It will certainly generate some interesting dialogue.

Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, CHRP, CPCC
Potentials Realized

Another Resource for Creating an Engaged Workforce

As I've said in earlier posts, creating an engaged workforce is a major theme in corporations at this time. A new book came across my desk last week which addresses this issue. Destination Profit: Creating People Profit Opportunities in Your Organization, by Scott Cawood and Rita V. Bailey is an excellent read on employee engagement. Based on the premise that people=profit Cawood and Bailey look at a handful of very successful organizations which put their people front and centre in terms of bottom line success.

This book is a great read, and provides a trusty toolkit of questions and exercises for organizations to reflect on. This book is also a great resource for organizational consultants who partner with organizations to address employee engagemet issues. Thoughout the book, Cawood and Bailey share their 4 A Process to maximize business growth while handressing engagement and passion of employees. Co-published by ASTD, this book can be ordered at the ASTD Online store at http://store.astd.org.

What resources have you come across related to employee engagement that are useful for your organization or work?

Until next time,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CHRP, CPCC, CPT
Potentials Realized
http://www.potentialsrealized.com
Email me here

The 90 Day Business Success Group Coaching Program starts July 18th

Are you looking to dedicate time and energy in order to move your business forward? The 90 Day Business Success Group Coaching Program begins in a few weeks.

The program will start on July 18th and we will be meeting twice a month for group calls, and twice a month for a thirty minute individual coaching call. The program will be held from mid-July to mid-October on Tuesdays from 12 - 1 pm (EST). We will be looking at issues related to business vision, business planning, marketing, partnerships and more.

This is a hands-on, interactive program designed to support business owners in growing their business. As a result of the program, business owners will have:

• Developed or refined their business plan, grounded in their passion and purpose;
• Clarified their buinsess vision and values;
• Created their annual marketing plan, along with the associated budget;
• Identified their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Participants will also be asked to identify and work towards two other goals for their own business during the 90 day period. Business owners will benefit from the on-going support and resources during the 90 days of this program.

The program cost is $175 CDN per month (for 3 months), or $450 paid in one installment. The course is limited to 8 business owners.

For more information, or to receive a course information package, please email me at jennifer@potentialsrealized.com or call toll free 1-866-217-1960. Registration forms can be downloaded by clicking the blog title above. I hope that you will join me!

With best wishes,

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, CHRP, CPCC ~ Potentials Realized

Web: http://www.potentialsrealized.com

Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960

Off of the Bookshelf: The Power of Full Engagement

I'm midway through reading an excellent book - The Power of Full Engagement from Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. If high performance issues relate to you in the workplace or business, this is a must-read.

The terms Engaged, Engaging and Engagement seem to pop up everywhere these days in business. The Power of Full Engagement is based on solid research and highlights many real life case studies, while providing a powerful model and tools for the reader to follow.

The book also mentions the 2001 Gallup results on an engaged workforce - how 55% of the workforce is "not engaged", and 19% are "actively disengaged", those that are unhappy at the workplace and also regularly share their feelings with co-workers. The Gallup Results found only 26% of the workforce "engaged". How engaged are you at work? Your staff?

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized

Are you vacation deprived?

Every year Expedia undertakes an International Vacation Deprivation (TM) Survey, looking at vacation habits of employed workers in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France and Australia.

This year's results included:

• 33% of employed adults in the US usually don't take all their vacation, with the average worker surveyed giving back an average of 4 days to their employer. This translates to 574 Million Vacation days/year worth, $75.72 Billion.
• 24% of employed adults in Canada usually don't take all their vacation, with the average employed person giving back an average of 2 vacation days to their employer. This translates to $5.1 Billion dollars per year.

The results of the whole 2006 Expedia survey can be found at www.vacationdeprivation.com.

I was interviewed last week by Kavita Gosyne of the Metro News here in Toronto (www.metronews.ca). She was looking at the importance of vacation for all Canadian workers, and particularly for young professionals. As I mention in her article, vacations are important for workers of all ages. As I stated, "Not only is vacation time good for the employee, but it is good for the company. "A lot of it comes down to the difference between working and working productively. Are they(the employees) working at optimal productivity? Work-life balance impacts company productivity and profitability. It makes (good) business sense.". The link to Kavita's article can be found by clicking the blog title above.

What is the state of work-life balance for you? For your company? Are you fully recharged and working at optimal productivity levels? If you would like more information and resources I would invite you to visit my sister blog, Your Balanced Life! (http://yourbalancedlife.blogspot.com). Much of the HR Consulting work I undertake with companies often has it's roots in work-life balance. I also run on a quarterly basis a Your Balanced Life! teleseminar program, supporting busy professionals in enhancing their work-life balance.

I'd be interested in hearing from you - Areyou vacation deprived? How do you recharge? What's the state of work-life balance in your life? Drop me an email at jennifer@potentialsrealized.com or click the comment link below.

Cheers to a productive and balanced week,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton

Potentials Realized: www.potentialsrealized.com

Women in Business Stats - Canada

Earlier this year I contributed to a resource publication put out by the York, South Simcoe Training and Adjustment Board, called Statrting Your Own Business: A Guide for Women in York Region. It is a very practical guide and resource collection for women thinking of, or beginning to, start their own business.

Did you know....

• There are currently more than 800, 000 women entrepreneurs in Canada and this figure has been growing at an average annual rate of 3.3% since 1989
• Ontario is home to 40% of all women-run small businesses in Canada
• Over the past 15 years, the number of women-run businesses has risen 60% faster than those run by men
• More than 82% of women small business owners say that if given the choice, they would definitely open their own business again

(Source: Starting Your Own Business: A Guide for Women in York Region, 2006)

As a business coach, business teacher and a female business owner I find these stats very interesting, and very reflective of our Canadian business climate. How many of you are female business owners?

To obtain your own copy of the publication, visit the York South Simcoe Training and Adjustment Board at www.ysstab.on.ca.

I will be announcing in the next few weeks our fall line-up of programs (teleseminars, retreats) geared for business owners, and also a couple of programs specifically geared to women in business. Please keep posted!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Web: www.potentialsrealized.com
Email: jennifer@potentialsrealized.com
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960

Why Small Businesses Fail

I came across a great article several months ago while I was teaching a Business Plan Development class and wanted to share it here on the blog. What do you think are the reasons why small businesses fail?

According to Deborah Barrie, MBA, of Action International, some of the top reasons why small business fail include:

• Poor cash flow management
  Poor debt management
• Overborrowing
• Excessive reliance on a few key customers
• Poor market research
• Failure to innovate
• Absence of a reliable hiring system and a lack of understanding of how to hire, retain and motivate the right people for the right job
• Absence of a performance monitoring system
• Failure to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses
• Trying to do everything by themselves without external assistance

For Deborah's full article, please visit the link above. It's also interesting to note, that many of these factors which affect small business, also have significant impact on larger businesses. How many companies do you know that experience challenges because they don't have the right people in the right job, or lack a performance monitoring system? I work with several larger clients on a proactive basis to avoid these two pitfalls specifically, and have seen from experience how even a larger organization can be brought to their knees with problems in these two areas.

Looking at these danger zones Deborah has outlined, which ones capture your attention? Which factors have you steered clear of? Which ones do you need to flag as potential weak areas and perhaps get support on from others?

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts, so please use the comment link below, or email me at jennifer@potentialsrealized.com.

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, CPCC
Potentials Realized

http://www.potentialsrealized.com

The Importance of Vision

What's The Vision for Your Business ten years from now? As business owners and professionals, we often get so caught up in the day to day successes and challenges that we forget to look down the road at where we are going.

A clear business vision can be an important part of our business planning process, as well as a great support for us as we navigate the ups and downs.

Sit back for a moment and think about the following - In 2016, where will you be?

• How much money will you be making?
• What will you be doing?
• Who are you serving?
• What will you be known for?
• What will be your most significant accomplishments?
• What major life and business goals will have been achieved?

Some pretty big questions - Stretch yourself and write these down. Make sure you are writing them down - make it as clear as possible, and something that you can return to. There are lots more questions to consider in creating your busines vision. Start a file or a book for your business vision notes . The clearer you are, the easier it will be for you to achieve this vision - even when the path ahead looks murky.

In a couple of weeks, I will be starting my next two month teleseminar series for business owners - Developing Your Business Vision. If you are interested in finding out more or registering, please visit my website www.potentialsrealized.com, or contact me toll free at 1-866-217-1960. We'll be meeting on Thursdays from 7-8 pm (EST) starting on March 29th for two months (meeting as a group during the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month). You'll also receive each month an individual business coaching session of 30 minutes (by phone).

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPCC, CPT

Potentials Realized

Welcome to the Business Toolkit Blog

Welcome to the Business Toolkit blog from Potentials Realized. This blog is for business owners and professionals looking for information and resources to move their business forward.

My name is Jennifer Britton and I am a businesss owner, and former manager. I teach business studies at the College Level, and am a business coach. I support entrepreneurs and managers in creating the organizations and businesses that they want.

In the coming weeks and months, I'll be providing you with many tools and resources to add to your own business toolkit - ranging from developing a business plan, to Human Resources issues, marketing interviewing skills - to move your business to the level you wish.

Stay tuned! There is much more to come.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
www.potentialsrealized.com
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960