Читать книгу The Doing Good Model - Shari Arison - Страница 10
ОглавлениеFinding a Starting Point
I can tell you that it was quite incredible to finally have a definition for each of the thirteen values, words that we all agreed on. It had taken a full year to get to that point, and now it was time to start the process of taking those values and getting each of the companies and organizations to commit to implementation.
Our top corporate leaders tried to work it out, but it was not long before we realized that we were at a dead end. We seemed to be having meeting after meeting, and things were not moving forward at all. It was pretty clear that these meetings were a waste of everyone’s valuable time, because the chairmen and CEOs just could not seem to find a way to turn the definitions of these values into a practical implementation plan.
That’s when Efrat and Jason came up with a brilliant solution, one we still use today, which is a series of forums that each focus on certain values in order to move them forward. They decided to start with the four values that everyone could most easily agree with and understand: Giving, Volunteering, Sustainability, and Financial Freedom. These were the four values that were already becoming entrenched within Arison Group businesses and organizations.
For example, some of our companies were already strong corporate supporters of the communities we operated in. Many employees were already volunteering. Sustainability was a value that was already living and breathing within Shikun & Binui, our infrastructure and real estate company, which takes on large-scale building projects around the world. Financial Freedom had become the vision at Bank Hapoalim.
As the chairman of our philanthropic organizations, it felt like a natural fit for Jason to lead the forum that focused on Giving and Volunteering. Likewise, since Efrat was chairman and CEO of Arison Investments, she was the perfect person to lead the forum that dealt with Financial Freedom and Sustainability.
Employees for Change
The forums were announced and employees from within each entity were asked to step forward if they felt they wanted to be involved. Because this concept of the forums was brand new, no one really knew what would happen, but a few passionate employees stepped forward and took on the challenge.
The two initial forums started with about seven employees each. There was one representative from each of the main businesses and organizations within the Arison Group. This was the first time that all the businesses and philanthropic organizations came together. In each of the two forums, the small groups sat together, and many people got to know one another for the first time. They talked about what the values meant to them and how they thought they could implement the values in practical terms across the board within the Arison Group.
I did not take part in the forums; however, I was and continue to be updated regularly. I was very adamant that although I agreed on starting with four of the values, it was important to me that the entire model of thirteen values be implemented and that we must find the way. It was understood that it was imperative to make each value practical, understandable, simple, and tangible.
From my past experience, I knew very well that “theory” doesn’t transform anything. You have to translate vision and values into practical terms. The only way to create real change is to engage people and get them moving so that they can truly integrate new ideas.
Because the representatives in the forums already had the backing of the various chairmen and CEOs, it then became the role of each of those employees to go back to their respective companies or organizations and implement what was agreed upon within the forums. Implementation was accomplished by planning various activities and projects that supported the essence of the value, which would cause the value to come alive within the business or organization. For example, it was agreed that all employees across the board would go through Sustainability training and Financial Freedom workshops. It was also agreed that all companies and organizations would join in on Good Deeds Day. And of course, many more ideas are constantly being implemented.
It was so incredible when all this began to happen. Within the forums, employees were able to express their voice, make a difference, be creative, and become a part of the bigger picture. The forums also brought the separate companies together as a whole with a common purpose. They each moved from being separate entities to becoming a collective “we,” something I had desired for a very long time.
As each member within the forums shared their ideas, challenges, and successes, everyone else was able to learn and share as well. Within a few meetings, the group members were coming up with creative solutions, and before long, they were celebrating and sharing the successes they were experiencing. We even had a couple of Doing Good Conferences so everyone could share what was happening. Even I was amazed!
With so much going on, it wasn’t long before more and more people started hearing about the forums, and the numbers of attendees kept increasing. The forums are still operating, meeting quarterly, but when the number of employees grew to more than sixty or seventy people in each forum, it was decided to split the forums, going from two to four forums, in order to keep them effective. We have also begun introducing new forums that are now advancing other values within the broader Doing Good Model.
Meeting of the Minds—Business and Academia
Since our goal is to have all thirteen values living and breathing within all areas of the companies and organizations, and we didn’t find a practical way to implement them all at once, we needed help. That was when we decided to turn to the academic world. My team at the Arison Group found the right mix of academic partners who could help us translate our model into an integrated workshop that would introduce all of the values.
We found a passionate and professional group of doctors and professors from top American universities including Harvard, Thunderbird, George Mason, and Babson College. They began researching and putting together curriculum through constant collaboration with my team at the Arison Group.
The academic team then visited our operations in Israel in order to see for themselves what was being done, and we were amazed by everyone’s enthusiasm and comments. The academic team had never seen anything like this before. They did know of many other companies around the world that were sustainable, for instance, or worked with some of the values. However, they had not seen such a diverse operation of companies in such different fields, including philanthropic organizations, implementing such a wide range of values.
I must say that the academic team is amazing. Through their process of research and their skills as educators, they developed an incredible pilot workshop that was held first for our forum members. The employees from the forums gave their comments as to what worked and what did not work, and what they felt could be implemented in their respective companies and organizations.
The academic team took the feedback from those participants and reworked the workshop, redefined it, and presented it again, this time to the chairmen and CEOs. I took part in that workshop and was deeply touched to see that for the first time, even the skeptics were convinced. The next step was to take the new workshop and engage the next level, including the different boards of directors and management teams.
The Doing Good Model workshop, as we call it, gives participants a unique experience of how values impact them individually and within their business and philanthropic lives. I’ve seen people come out changed. The professors use academic-style business case studies, interactive activities, short videos, and team break-out sessions to keep everyone’s attention and really help participants integrate and understand the transformative value that the values have. As a logical next step, we have launched together with our academic partners a train-the-trainers course in order to bring the workshop experience to more and more levels of our organizations.
The Doing Good Endowed Professorship
I invested in an Endowed Professorship at George Mason University in Virginia, USA. in order to advance research into values-based leadership. The research being done has taken on a wide focus. It began by looking into the history of corporate values and how these manifest within the individual businessperson, the organization, and society in general. The research mandate also includes determining the best ways for values to be taught so that the right questions or case studies can be posed to get business students thinking.
The Endowed Professor is also developing practical inclass exercises so that students can understand how various values apply to real-world work situations. This approach to teaching values is a sharp contrast to what was taught years ago, when values and ethics were almost exclusively taught from a theoretical viewpoint within business schools.
It has been amazing to see how well this line of research and exploration fits within the Global Citizenship Course and other advanced leadership training courses that have been developed and are being delivered at George Mason. In these courses, students are being encouraged to rank their own values and clarify the meaning within themselves. In this way, values training in universities becomes a means to an end, and graduates can use their own moral compass as a practical decision-making tool on an everyday basis.
The research and material that is being developed is so important for businesses in today’s society, businesses who care about people and the planet, alongside profit. I believe that the way to accomplish this is by values-based leadership and businesses that implement values.
A Broad and Universal Set of Values
I have been told that the Doing Good Model takes a much more comprehensive approach to corporate values because it was developed within several different fields of businesses and also a range of non-profit organizations. With the help of the academic team, we can now envision ways that the Doing Good Model could be implemented just about anywhere.
Implementing it so broadly gives us inspiration that someday we could contribute to solving even bigger complex social and environmental challenges in our world today.
To truly tackle those issues, it is imperative that all levels of business and society cooperate for the good of all. Each part of society brings different things to the table. The business sector, for example, brings innovation, capacity, and ideas, and business has the resources for implementation. Non-profits bring specialized knowledge, credibility, and networks of people who will work passionately for change. I believe that if we find a way for individuals, governments, businesses, and non-profits to work together, we could create a good future for us all.
Expanding the Circles
As a result of the Doing Good Model workshops, our managers and employees are really beginning to connect to the bigger picture. They worked with the first four values through activities that came out of the forums, but now the excitement is spreading quickly, and more and more employees are wanting to engage with the remaining nine values within the model, particularly the ones that speak to their own individual hearts.
It’s to the point now that every day, I am hearing stories about employees at all levels of the organizations who are taking on additional values and bringing them alive. The forum for Vitality sprang up at the Arison Group headquarters because health and wellness is such an important issue for just about everyone today. The value of Language & Communication was initiated by our Salt of the Earth company because the management team there wanted to focus efforts to improve internal communications among its culturally diverse workforce.
There has been tremendous interest from people outside of our companies, including some people who have worked for us in the past and who have moved on while continuing to implement the values in their new workplaces. This high level of outside interest has brought us to the conclusion that our All One forum, soon to start, will be made up of both internal employees and members of the public.
The Doing Good values have settled into most minds and hearts within our workforce. It’s amazing how many conversations about the values are popping up together with creative ideas on how to implement them. For example, I recently attended a meeting of our infrastructure company where they were presenting their yearly review and their strategic plans for the coming years.
The entire management team spoke through a value. Manager after manager stood up and focused his strategy in relation to Abundance, Sustainability, Inner Peace, and so forth. I was surprised and deeply moved! It was fascinating to see how they were taking the initiative to integrate the values into all of their business activities and goals.
Furthermore, the chairman told me that they successfully drilled down their strategic plans to all levels of the company while still using the framework of the values. This approach further connected the management team to the model and was well received by all.
Even outside the company, when we speak to external groups, sharing our approach, they too seem interested in learning more about our values-based model. In fact, I recently spoke to a group of high school teachers at one of their professional development sessions. These were teachers of psychology and economics, and they were inspired and wanted more information on how they could implement the Doing Good Model in the educational system.
Although this vision started within my soul, it has taken many people who have been engaged, worked hard, become living examples, and grown the circles of positive change. I am deeply grateful to all the directors, managers, employees and universities, and people who have come on board in order to create real transformation within our businesses, organizations, and society at large.
Although we have done quite a bit already, growth and expansion never stops. Within our many plans for the future, we are developing an online training program in order to share the Doing Good Model, making it universally accessible.
So now that you have some ideas of how to implement the model, let me share in more detail each of the individual values, starting with Financial Freedom.
