Last week The New York Times published an article called “But Will it Make You Happy?” and it quickly made the rounds among my friends and family. 

The article centers on the idea that “Conspicuous Consumption” – or the idea of buying “without regard” – is out.

Instead, Americans today are not only consuming (and spending) less, but also changing how they do it.

Rather than spending on material goods like couches and cars, people these days are focusing on “experience” spending; that is, on weekend getaways, nice dinners, or basically anything that can create memories.

Interestingly enough, this shift in where and how people consume doesn’t just mean they’re saving money in a tough economy. In fact, it’s more than that: “Current research suggests that, unlike consumption of material goods, spending on leisure and services typically strengthens social bonds, which in turn helps amplify happiness.”

That’s right – as people are choosing to shift their spending habits away from material goods and towards memory-making experiences, they’re actually happier!

The article goes on to say: “People are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects, when they relish what they plan to buy long before they buy it, and when they stop trying to outdo the Joneses.”

For me, the idea of trying to outdo the Joneses especially resonated. It’s easy to get caught up in the latest “must-have” gadget, the newest electronics, or the most stylish outfit. I’ll admit it: this is definitely something I struggle with sometimes.

But, like the people profiled in the article, these days I’m really trying to be more thoughtful and present when I make purchases. Whether it’s deciding not to go shopping for new clothes (when I already have a full closet) or choosing to go out to a nice dinner rather than buy a new ipod, I’ve definitely seen my own personal shift in spending.

And like the article says, I feel better about my life, my health and my relationships because of it.

That said, one thing The New York Times article fails to mention – and that for me personally has been crucially important in my spending shift – is the rising awareness among consumers relating to the environmental impact of their consumption.

Instead of conspicuous consumption, you might say we’ve entered a time of Conscious Consumption. These days, many American consumers are thinking carefully about the products they buy, the food they eat, the cars they drive and the homes they live in – not just because of their desire to spend less, but because of the waste and excess that come with these purchases.

I mean, seriously – if Oprah’s talking about conscious consumption, you know the American public is too!

In this way, I believe The New York Times article missed one important piece in the puzzle. Yes, we’re changing the way we spend and what we spend on – and it’s partly because of the economy, that’s true. But I believe we’re also consuming differently because we know that our choice to buy bigger and live bigger just isn’t sustainable.

The good news is, whether you shift your consumption habits for Mother Earth, or for your wallet, I do agree with The New York Times on one point: it will definitely make you happier. Give it a try!

Hello everyone!

I am back from my cross country road trip and happy to report I am officially based in the San Francisco Bay Area again.

I have many stories to share from the road, but before I recap my trip, I wanted to give a quick plug for my friend and fellow Twitterer Aman Singh Das, Corporate Responsibility Editor of Vault.com.

For anyone who participates in the CSR community on Twitter, Aman’s name and her work on Vault.com and the In Good Company blog will definitely ring a bell. I first met Aman a few months ago when she was interested in publishing one of my CSR job search posts.

Our paths crossed again a few weeks later when she reached out to me for an interview. Curious about how MBA graduates are faring in their CSR job search, Aman decided to write what she called an “intergenerational study” of MBAs who want to create change in business.

Included in my interview cohort were MBAs from Case Western, Marlboro College and UC Irvine (including my friend Geetanjali Singh). The unifying theme for all of the interview subjects was our interest in finding a job in corporate social responsibility.

Here’s what Aman had to say about her report:

Over the next two weeks, I will be publishing interviews with each of the graduates, providing you with in depth insights into their worlds and their progress—or lack of it—in finding employment in their chosen field. Each of the graduates left behind stable, well-paid careers—ranging from IT, programming, and nonprofit fund raising—to strike out in a field they feel truly passionate about. Will they sacrifice that passion for CSR in favor of employment? And if not, how long are they willing to search for that perfect job, and what alternatives exist in the marketplace?

I am so thrilled to have taken part in such an interesting inside look into how MBAs are finding their way in the field of corporate social responsibility. Thanks Aman for including me in your study!

Since I thought this content would be of interest to readers of The Changebase, I’ve provided links to all of Aman’s great reports, including the full transcript from her interview with me.

I hope you enjoy!

-Ashley

• Job Hunting in CSR: What’s Next for These MBA Graduates?
• Part 1: Will the Recession Serve as a Tipping Point for Corporate Responsibility?
• Part 2: Connecting Corporate Responsibility with Career Objectives.
• Part 3: After All is Said and Done, Where Are the Jobs?
• Career Change: Leveraging Business School to Move From Nonprofit Fundraising to Corporate Sustainability (My Full Interview with Aman)
• Readers Respond: The Evolution of CSR and What Might Be Next.

Raise your hand if you're graduating from business school!

I’m thrilled to announce that in two weeks I’ll be graduating from business school!

As unbelievable as it sounds (even when I say it), the end of my MBA program is amazingly just around the corner. While it hasn’t always been fun – derivative equations in economics class come to mind – it has been an incredible two years of learning and 100% worth it.

Now with my diploma (almost) in hand, I’m ready to take all of my new knowledge and skills out into the big wide world and get to work.

The only problem? I need a job! Which is where my request for help comes in…

In past posts I’ve tried to stay away from obvious self-promotion – if only because I wanted the CSR stories and innovations to take center stage.

While this will almost always be true here on The Changebase, I also have to own up to the fact that I’m an MBA who’s done enough IT strategy coursework to understand the value of crowdsourcing.

Knowing that I’m lucky enough to have readers from all professions and areas of expertise, I was hoping to enlist your help in my job search. As you’ll see below, I’ve taken a few paragraphs to outline who I am, what I do well, and how I might be able to help your organization with its CSR work.

And, if you like what you read and have some ideas or suggestions to share, of course I’d love to hear from you.

Who I Am: I’m a CSR strategy and communications specialist with a combined 7 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, corporate philanthropy, marketing, and social media. As an MBA I have consulted with a number of corporate, agency and social enterprise clients on topics including sustainability strategy and reporting, stakeholder engagement, brand management, and consumer marketing. Curious to learn more? Check out my LinkedIn profile.

What I Do Well: While I like to think I’m pretty good at a number of different things, there are a few areas that I think are my core competencies:

CSR Strategy and Communications – I have deep subject-matter expertise and experience in CSR strategy and marketing, and I get especially excited about opportunities to help companies tell their CSR stories in ways that resonate with stakeholders and drive business value. Want an example? Check out this press release to learn more about a sustainability communications project I recently completed.

Social Media Strategy and Execution – Since starting my blog I have basically embedded myself in the social media world and, through thoughtful strategy (and lots of practice), I believe I’ve developed an approach to social media for CSR that is effective and successful. Want to see my social media work in action? Check out my Twitter feed – in just over a year I’ve built an engaged group of almost 1,200 followers through tactics that include developing a point of view, staying on message, and creating genuine conversations.

Research and Writing – Given my blog, it’s probably no surprise that I love to write. It turns out, though, that I also really enjoy doing research. Whether it’s gathering secondary data, creating surveys and analyzing results, or performing in-depth interviews, I have extensive hands-on experience with market research methods and tools. The best of all? I can turn that research into persuasive, actionable white papers for clients looking to create or maintain a thought leadership position in the CSR space.

People, People, People – It’s safe to say that, in many ways, a successful CSR strategy hinges on whether you can build relationships and create allies both inside and outside your organization. Whether it’s facilitating conversations, building partnerships, leading teams, or even engaging critics – you name it, I enjoy it. And I think I’m pretty good at it too.

How I Can Help You: I believe my experience and background in CSR, philanthropy and marketing can add value to the following kinds of organizations:

1. Corporate brands that have CSR programs and/or a sustainability focus
2. PR, communications, or consulting agencies that specialize in CSR marketing and strategy
3. Start-ups with innovative business ideas for “doing good and doing well.”

Whether it’s crafting a CSR communications strategy for your client; integrating social media into your corporate marketing portfolio; or developing a sustainability strategy for your new start-up, I know I have the skills and experience to help you get to where you want to go.

A few other details: as I mentioned, I graduate in two weeks and I’m able to start working shortly thereafter. Oh, and I’m focusing my search in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, WA or Portland, OR).

So, what do you think? Are you looking for help strategizing, implementing, or growing your CSR program? Know someone who is?

Please feel free to contact me - I’d love to hear more and talk through specific ways that I can help you and your company achieve your CSR goals.

Thanks again for all of the support you have given me throughout my MBA journey. It’s an exciting time and I’m really looking forward to starting my next adventure!

-Ashley

Dan Bross is senior director, Corporate Citizenship at Microsoft and one of the most visible faces of corporate social responsibility at the company.

I first met Dan at the 2009 Net Impact Conference and recently we had the chance to reconnect at the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship Conference.

In between networking and learning at BCCCC, Dan was kind enough to sit down with me to talk more about Microsoft’s corporate citizenship program and where it’s headed.

But first, what does corporate citizenship at Microsoft look like? For starters, the company has four main areas of focus:

1. Strengthening Economies through the use of technology;
2. Addressing Societal Challenges like health care, energy and the environment, workforce development, and education;
3. Promoting a Healthy Online Ecosystem by fostering innovation online and protecting privacy; and,
4. Operating Responsibly through effective corporate governance, employee engagement, and sustainability programs.

While the company’s focus can clearly get bucketed into four categories, the overall reach of Microsoft’s corporate citizenship program – and its impacts – is much, much broader than that. 

To get a sense of just how far-reaching Microsoft’s program is, check out the interactive Local Impact Map. Here visitors to Microsoft’s corporate citizenship site can filter the company’s social, environmental, and economic investments by region and type of initiative, as well as read stories about Microsoft’s work on a local level. 

After reading through its website and playing with the map, it became clear to me that Microsoft is doing great work as a responsible and involved corporate citizen.

Still, I wondered, what is the company doing to tell people about it?

I asked this question for one main reason. Since I’ve met Dan and talked to people on his team before, I know that Microsoft is a leading player in today’s corporate citizenship community. And yet, at times I’ve wondered how many other people out there even know that Microsoft has a CSR program in the first place? As much good work as the company is doing, you don’t always hear Microsoft’s name mentioned in the same sentence as other more well-known (and perhaps more vocal) CSR leaders like eBay, Gap, or Nike.

Fast forward to my conversation with Dan at BCCCC, where I started with what turned out to be a very serendipitous question: “When it comes to corporate citizenship at Microsoft, what would you say is your single biggest challenge and your single biggest opportunity?”

Interestingly Dan said right now these two things are one and the same:

It all comes down to communication.

It turns out Microsoft has done a great job reaching out to a small, select group of influencers – governments, think tanks, etc – and that its corporate citizenship message and story has successfully reached these audiences.

Yet when it comes to other stakeholders – consumers, customers, employees, and generally-interested folks like you and me – Microsoft still has some ground to cover.

Thus, according to Dan, the goal is to “broaden the audience,” do a better job of communicating more clearly, and speak to stakeholders “in a way that matters.”

An important and timely objective if I do say so myself (especially after last week’s BCCCC panel on the lack of consumer trust of CSR programs).

And yet, if we think back to the Local Impact Map, this is where things get tricky. You see, Microsoft isn’t just trying to reach the American public; instead, it has a global audience to contend with. A global audience with different interests and causes to support, not to mention varying cultural preferences for the role of business in society.

The question then becomes: how can Microsoft build a global citizenship communications strategy that creates a cohesive message yet allows for flexibility across regions?

How can Microsoft literally communicate globally, but act locally?

This is the issue-at-hand for Dan and his team in the coming weeks and months, and there’s clearly a lot riding on it. After all, for a company like Microsoft it’s not a stretch to say that improved CSR communications can lead to additional gains on the business side. In this way, Dan says, stakeholder communications truly can be “a continued driver for business success.”

As someone who believes that CSR communications can effectively bridge the gap between companies and consumers, I’ll be anxiously awaiting what happens next at Microsoft. Certainly sounds like an exciting challenge!

One of the benefits of a conference like this one put on by Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship is the opportunity for CSR professionals to network, share ideas, and learn from one another. In no other session has this experience been more true than in today’s panel: “Corporate Citizenship Journey – What have we learned? What is next?” 

The room was packed to hear Chris Coulter, senior vice president, Strategy & Collaboration, GlobeScan; Kevin Moss, head of CSR, BT Americas Inc., and Rick Martella, vice president Corporate Affairs, ARAMARK talk about CSR trends over the last ten years, as well as where the field is headed going forward.

Rick opened the session by asking a couple of big questions:

• How have we performed as an industry?
• How do consumers perceive our work and impact?
• What has our social and environmental impact actually been?
• How are our senior leaders involved in our moving our CSR agenda forward?

Over the course of the session, Kevin and Chris answered these questions and more, in what turned out to be a very spirited exchange between panelists and attendees.

One key takeaway that came up throughout each speaker’s presentation was the issue of the current gap that exists between the work corporate America is doing in CSR and how the public perceives this work.

According to Kevin, this gap exists because in many cases CSR is not integrated into the core business functions and units of a company. When the corporate values are aligned with the company’s business model, Kevin said, the result is increased authenticity and by extension, trust on the part of consumers and other stakeholders. But, when companies say one thing and do another, consumers not surprisingly become skeptical.

Chris then stepped in to provide some data behind this claim. His firm Globescan conducts regular research with over 35,000 global CSR professionals, and recently the company completed a 10-year retrospective survey of the industry. The findings from this research confirmed the presence of this “growing expectation/perception gap” that exists in consumers’ minds.

“Over time,” Chris said, “the perceived performance [of corporate America] has declined” – regardless of the fact that Fortune 500 companies have clearly stepped up their game when it comes to actual gains made in sustainability and community involvement.

The answer, the panelists agreed, lies in effective communications.

In effect, the narrative that companies are telling in regards to their CSR programs just isn’t cutting it. In order to win consumers’ trust and loyalty, companies need to make sure their corporate and sustainability communications are aligned and authentic, which will inevitably resonate better with consumers.

Going forward, the panelists seemed to feel confident about the future of CSR, but they were also very cognizant of the fact that we have a lot of work still remaining. Hopefully after 2+ days of learning and sharing, each conference attendee feels better equipped to continue his or her good work back home.

Ashley’s Note: This is the third of three posts I wrote as a featured blogger for The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s 2010 Annual Conference. Click these links to learn more about the conference, check out the session description, and to read all the blog posts from the event.

“How many of you would call yourself a social intrapreneur?”

This was the question that Mark Feldman, managing director of Cause Consulting posed to the fifty attendees at this morning’s Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship Conference breakout session, “The Business of Corporate Citizenship: Creating New Social Ventures within Your Company.”

A quick glance around the room showed only a handful would give themselves this title.

Yet, as Mark and his panelists, Amy Skeeters-Behrens (head of Global Citizenship Marketing, eBay) and Nancy Mahon (executive director, MAC AIDS Fund), made it clear to all attendees, anyone considering creating a “social corporate enterprise” within their company is exactly that. Perhaps, Mark suggested, after this session, “you’ll consider yourselves a little bit differently.”

But first: what is a social intrapreneur? According to Amy, a social intrapreneur focuses on “building and developing new ventures within a company, designed to generate large-scale social impact”.

For eBay, this means creating a wide array of ventures – from the eBay Green Team to World of Good by eBay – that enable their buyers, sellers, employees and larger community connect to causes they care about. At MAC AIDS Fund, social intrapreneurship takes the form of the MAC Viva Glam line of lipsticks and lip glosses whose sales support HIV/AIDS initiatives globally.

Throughout the panel I was struck by a handful of ideas and themes that kept cropping up – what I’d call best practices for any social intrapreneur:

Alignment of core competencies and the social venture you’re creating: As Amy stressed, and Nancy reiterated, building these social venture opportunities means taking a long, hard look at what your company does well – and what it might not be as good at. Not only does this ensure your venture will be aligned with what you do best, but it forces you to partner with authentic, credible leaders in the space you want to play in. In eBay’s case, they are great at building shopper marketplaces and providing a trusted space to transact, but they’re not as knowledgeable or skilled in other crucial areas that were necessary to build World of Good. This led them to partner with social entrepreneurs and industry leaders to help build their model – and their credibility.

Creation of a point of view for your venture: Nancy repeatedly brought up the idea that the Viva Glam line of products has been successful because it represents a connection to a singular point of view (HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and support). The great thing about having a CSR point of view, rather than simply a portfolio of smaller causes grouped together, is that this can clearly support the business’s point of view and brand meanings.

CSR needs to be about making money: Both panelists agreed that “profit isn’t a dirty word” and that “you can make money and do good in the world.” This idea is especially crucial for developing the business case for CSR – until you come to terms with the fact that CSR must directly tie to financial outcomes, you won’t be able to create and identify the data you need in order to make a compelling business case for your work.

In all it was a terrific first breakout session, with great ideas and inspiration flowing throughout the room. I can’t wait to see how the next session goes!

Ashley’s Note: This is the first of three posts I wrote as a featured blogger for The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship’s 2010 Annual Conference. Click these links to learn more about the conference, check out the session description, and to read all the blog posts from the event.

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ll be live blogging (and tweeting!) from this year’s Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship Conference April 11 – 13.

In case you’re not familiar with it, the BCCCC hosts an incredible conference each year that includes a “Who’s Who” list of CSR, sustainability, and philanthropy professionals from around the world.

The purpose, like most conferences, is to bring together respected corporate citizenship professionals and thought-leaders for idea-sharing, discussion and networking. Students like me (and basically anyone who’s not a corporate member of the BCCCC) don’t usually get to attend, but somehow the stars aligned this time around and I’ll be there. It’s a rare opportunity, for sure – and I’m very excited.

I’ve been asked by BCCCC to provide live blog content for three sessions:

• The Business of Corporate Citizenship: Creating New Social Ventures within Your Company
• A Seat at the UnCommon Table: Leveraging your Philanthropic Investments in Education
• Corporate Citizenship Journey – What have we learned? What is next?

With experts from industry, government, and the nonprofit sector, the sessions promise to be thought-provoking, informative, and inspiring.

Once the conference ends and the dust settles, I’ll be reposting my write-ups on The Changebase.

Can’t wait until the Conference has finished? Check out the BCCCC blog for my posts as they’re uploaded, and be sure to follow me on Twitter. I’ll be tweeting regularly so you can get all the updates.

And another tip: don’t just follow me on Twitter. Search the conference hashtag #bcccc_conf to see what everyone’s tweeting about!

To learn more about the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and this year’s conference, check out their website.

Ashley’s Note: As of April 15th, all of my posts from the BC Conference are live on The Changebase. Check out:

• Social Intrapreneurship at Work
• Taking a Seat at an Uncommon Table
• The Corporate Citizenship Journey

In the grand scheme of things, Corporate Social Responsibility is still an emerging field, which means that everything – from general strategy to best practices – is still being solidified.

One of the questions that is still debated quite often in the CSR community concerns the “business case” for this kind of work.

In a world where business decisions need to be justified through sound reasoning and quantitative measurements, it can be tough to explain why “doing good” is important.

I’ve tried to tackle this question in past posts, and the fact that I’m bringing it up again I think is proof that the jury’s still out on this one. Nonetheless, I did just hear one perspective on the topic that I thought was worth sharing with you.

Bob Willard is a sustainability author whose “claim to fame” (as he put it) is the quantification of the bottom-line benefits that companies can enjoy through CSR. He recently presented his ideas on the value of CSR as part of a Net Impact Issues-in-Depth call that I was lucky enough to listen to.

Bob started by laying out his general framework for the case for CSR, otherwise known as The 3 R’s:

1. Risks
2. Responsibilities
3. Rewards

The first category, Risks, is pretty obvious and serves as the most direct justification for engaging in CSR. From managing regulatory changes to preparing for the potential depletion of certain natural resources, corporations must consider what risks they face and how CSR might help mitigate exposure to those risks.

The next category, Responsibilities, really speaks to the new wave of expectations surrounding corporate involvement in the community and the environment. Whether from consumers, the media, NGO’s or even employees, there is clearly pressure being put on companies to be active and engaged in society – with reputation, loyalty and credibility at stake.

Yet it was the third ‘R’ – Rewards – on which Bob focused. As Bob put it, “There are surprisingly big rewards for taking up responsibility expectations and mitigating risk”.

In fact, according to Bob’s calculations (which he called conservative), these rewards can be sizeable for both large corporations and small-to-medium businesses, who can expect to earn at least 38% and 66% more profit, respectively, through CSR programs.

Not surprisingly, the biggest area of CSR reward comes from the eco-efficiencies created in sustainability programs (ie: saving water, reducing waste, etc).

What comes next? Interestingly enough, the second biggest reward opportunity comes through employee engagement in CSR programs. Whether through reduced recruiting and attrition costs or increased employee productivity, the HR benefit of CSR is not to be overlooked.

Now, we all know anecdotally that CSR improves morale, reduces turnover, and generally leads to more satisfied employees. What’s cool about what Bob has done is that he’s actually put numbers behind these assertions and provided the calculations that prove these rewards.

Admittedly, I’ve never been great at statistics – but when Bob presented a regression analysis showing a correlation (R² = .57) between employee engagement and CSR activities, I just about swooned!

While I’m not going to repeat everything Bob presented, you can check out his website to see presentations and spreadsheets that show the numbers behind his ideas. In general, Bob’s overall point was that employee engagement drives business results (after all, happy employees beget productive employees) – and that CSR is one big way to dramatically improve the recruitment, retention and satisfaction of employees.

Thus, in essence, CSR leads to engaged employees which leads to increased returns for business. And voila - the business case for CSR in a nutshell!

As a job-seeker and future engaged employee, this assertion rings true for me. Nonetheless, if you’re still doubtful, I’ll leave you with some of Bob’s statistics as food for thought:

Recruiting

• 40% of MBA grads rated CSR as a an “extremely” or “very” important company reputation measure (Hill & Knowlton Jan 08)
• MBA grads will sacrifice an average of $13,700 in annual salary to work for a socially responsible company (2003 Stanford University study)

Retention

• 83% of employees in G7 countries say their company’s positive CSR reputation increases their loyalty (GlobeScan 2006)
• 57% of employees say their company’s CSR reputation is a factor in retaining them (Towers Perrin-ISR global survey 2007)

Productivity

• Fully engaged employees are 2.5 times more likely to exceed performance expectations than their “disengaged” colleagues (Hay Group website, May 2009).
• At Best Buy, a 2% increase in employee engagement at one of its electronics stores corresponds, on average, to a $100,000 annual rise in its sales (Business Week, “The Case for Optimism,” August 13, 2009).

So what do you think? Is employee engagement a compelling motivation for CSR at your company? Is this an argument that wins over senior company leaders? I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

With just over two months left until I graduate from business school, I’ve started to reflect on what I’ve accomplished over the last two years.

Without a doubt, the most fulfilling experiences of my MBA program have been the chances I’ve had to engage in real-world consulting projects for corporate and nonprofit clients.

In the last four semesters, I’ve worked on some pretty terrific marketing and corporate social responsibility projects – including brand audits, marketing research plans, stakeholder communications strategies, and social media tactics.

But perhaps my most satisfying consulting project was a sustainability reporting and stakeholder engagement plan for Praxair, a $9B Fortune 300 industrial gas manufacturer in Danbury, CT. I’ve talked about this project in past posts, and I was thrilled to see that Boston University recently issued a press release about this engagement (including a quote from yours truly!).

These consulting projects have been the most rewarding part of my MBA, but they’ve also been the most challenging and time-consuming. In the end, though, I’ve signed up for all of them without hesitation – in large part because I (and many of my fellow MBA classmates) believed they’d serve as proof of our experience to potential employers come recruiting season.

Interestingly, last week The Wall Street Journal published an article about companies partnering with business schools to create these sorts of CSR projects for students. The article starts out positively, saying urgent “social concerns” are leading more and more companies to partner with business schools to provide real-world education and training to students (aka: potential employees).

Unfortunately the story takes on a different tone just a few sentences later:

The effort [to create real-world CSR consulting projects] is being met with both gratitude and skepticism from business schools, which say that despite the emphasis on integrating these hot-button topics into the curriculum, it’s business as usual at recruiting time. Few hiring managers, they say, ask students about corporate-responsibility training or indicate it’s a priority.

That’s right – according to the article, these CSR projects may be happening more frequently on business school campuses, but that doesn’t mean they’re turning into more CSR jobs for MBA graduates after school.

The article drills home the point even further, saying that engaging students in these kinds of projects “doesn’t translate into hiring socially responsible M.B.As, an issue that “points to a disconnect on part of the companies: There’s enthusiasm in the classroom for imparting corporate responsibility and sustainability concepts, but hiring managers attending campus recruiting sessions say it’s rarely something they quiz candidates about.”

In the end it seems that MBA grads looking for CSR jobs can easily find themselves between that proverbial rock and a hard place – on the one hand, they’re receiving extraordinary real-world training for future sustainability positions; yet on the other, there’s often no opportunity to continue this work once they finish business school.

Another related and interesting study that just came out also reinforced this point:

Ellen Weinreb from Sustainability Recruiting analyzed six years of CSR job postings and drew conclusions about the availability of jobs and overall trends in CSR recruiting. Her findings point to an interesting conclusion for recent MBA grads wanting to get into CSR (which, by the way, is the same conclusion drawn by the Wall Street Journal article):

If you want to work in CSR, get functional experience first.

Ellen’s study shows an increase over time in VP and Director-level CSR jobs – which is great news for people already working in CSR but not so great for MBA grads just trying to jump in.

Since those high-level CSR jobs are most likely out of reach for newly-minted MBAs, Ellen suggests job seekers embed themselves in a corporate function (marketing, finance, strategy etc), learn the business, and then transition internally to a CSR role.

When you think about it, this advice makes sense; after all, to be effective in sustainability, you’ve got to first understand the business you’re in.

For my part, it turns out that I’ve actually heard this advice many, many times – and given the frequency with which it’s said, I’ve taken it seriously to heart.

Still, this puts me – and many other soon-to-be MBA grads – in a bit of an awkward position going forward.

My goal is to work in a CSR role within a big consumer brand, so I’ve stacked my resume with CSR-related projects and classes to show future employers that I know what I’m talking about.

But if in the end it turns out that these kinds of activities don’t necessarily translate into a job-seeker’s “competitive advantage,” did I waste my time on these projects when I should have been doing something else? Obviously that’s being overly dramatic, but the issue certainly gives me pause.

In the end, the best advice I can give to CSR job-seekers is sort of a hybrid model:

Learn the business through functional experience, but bring sustainability to work every day.

Yes, getting that marketing, or finance, or supply chain experience under your belt will be crucially important – not only to build credibility and a reputation for yourself, but also as a way to help you think about sustainability and CSR opportunities from within.

But just because you’re working in a non-CSR function doesn’t mean that you should chuck your CSR know-how and skills out the window. On the contrary, your understanding and flexibility in CSR can only help you do your functional job better.

We can still hope that one day CSR will be such a corporate priority that all companies will recruit for these positions. In the meantime, my advice is to earn your stripes at a company you respect and admire, make your interest and intentions in sustainability clear, and with time transition into the CSR job you want.

As the old saying goes, “Your patience will be rewarded”.

These days I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about consumers and the brands they love.

I’m taking a Branding class this semester, and each week we do a case study of a different company and the branding challenges it faces.

Perhaps the biggest insight I’ve gleaned from the first couple of months is this:

Consumers own brands, not marketers.

That’s right – as much as companies may want to believe they have control over their brand and its meanings, in the end consumers are the ones who instill a brand with its true essence.

That’s because, at its core, the value of a brand comes from fulfilling some inherent consumer need, want or desire. While companies can (and obviously should) manage their brand, in the end consumers are the meaning makers of what the brand stands for.

As part of this course, I’m working on a consulting project for a regional consumer goods company that wants to go national. For confidentiality’s sake, let’s pretend this company makes cleaning products (it doesn’t).

Over the last few weeks my team and I have spent a lot of time doing a deep dive into the company and what its brand means for consumers. How do consumers use these cleaning products? What do the products allow consumers to accomplish? What emotional or social benefits come from using them?

What we’ve found so far is that the people who love this brand really love this brand.

In fact, they’re pretty fanatical. The products they use, and more importantly the brand overall, serves to truly define part of their identity.

Amazing what people will do for the brands they love!

In essence, it’s not just a product they use. It’s a lifestyle.

For the most part it’s been fascinating and even fun to see how these loyal consumers use, evangelize, and embody this brand.

Yet, during my research I stumbled upon some concerning evidence to suggest that some consumers had taken this fanaticism too far – namely, multiple YouTube videos of consumers using the product inappropriately. To follow the example of our phony product, let’s say consumers were uploading videos of themselves sniffing the fumes from the cleaning products and getting violently ill.

Of course, with my interest in corporate social responsibility, warning bells immediately went off in my head:

• Assuming the company knows about these videos, how should it respond?
• What is the company doing to prevent this dangerous activity?
• What legal implications exist if someone is seriously hurt engaging in this behavior?

And the list goes on.

But beyond the obvious CSR questions, I also thought of my key branding takeaway thus far:

If consumers make the meaning for a brand, what happens if they turn the meaning into something the company doesn’t want (in this case, a vehicle for irresponsible and unhealthy behavior)?

What is a company’s obligation, if any, for social responsibility in branding?

Some brands – alcohol-producers, cigarette companies, gun manufacturers – know that responsibility comes with the territory (although it’s certainly debatable whether they themselves always promote responsibility among consumers).

But what about brands that take on meanings that companies didn’t intend? If consumers own the brand, what opportunities do brand managers have to reclaim negative meanings and even to combat abuse of the product?

People often talk about corporate social responsibility as a brand builder – do it right and your brand will be strengthened and given more value.

But in this case, can CSR actually be a brand definer? Can social responsibility help brand managers looking to refine the (presumably unwanted) meanings that consumers have instilled in their brand?

This is the question I’ll be trying to answer over the next few months, and I’ll be sure to let you know what I find out. Since I’m still a student of branding, though, and certainly no expert, I’d love to hear your thoughts:

What role do you think CSR can play in helping to manage brands? What companies or case studies do you know of that exemplify this issue of unintended, negative and/or dangerous brand meanings?

One example we’ve looked at in class is Harley Davidson and the Hell’s Angels – talk about a brand meaning (aka: organized crime) that a company might want to refine!

Thanks for weighing in…