Mallen Baker's Blog

From disability pioneer to slave runner in forty years

29 May 2009

At its inception, Henry's Turkey Service was a model of social responsibility. It set up in Texas in 1967, and did what no-one else at the time was prepared to do, it hired people with learning disabilities to make up the bulk of its workforce. (1 comment)

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A celebration of perfection

28 May 2009

Take a moment to count the number of people in your life who are completely and absolutely perfect in every way.

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Believe in the impossible

27 May 2009

It used to be that people believed that it was impossible for a human being to run a mile in four minutes. It was something that people had been trying to achieve for centuries, without success. Everyone concluded it just couldn't be done. (1 comment)

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What makes a great socially responsible company?

26 May 2009

Which of these would you prefer for your life - and for the purposes of this question it has to be one or the other.

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Condemned to repeat the past

25 May 2009

The track record of the human race learning the lessons of the past is pretty poor. And particularly in business, where we all too easily believe that our cleverness, our innovation, our iron will to triumph means that we can break all the rules and win, despite any evidence to the contrary.

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Would you want this job?

24 May 2009

Edward Liddy has announced that he will step down as CEO of AIG after a mere eight months in the role. There is therefore a vacancy for a CEO at the top of a, shall we say, high profile US corporation guaranteed to get your name and picture into the public eye.

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How to persuade the CEO Part Three

23 May 2009

There's a pattern with new CEOs. They come in, wielding their new broom. And they have their first 100 days. In that first 100 days, they have all sorts of priorities and things they have to do. Typically, driving forward the agenda on sustainability and social responsibility is put to one side.

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How to persuade the CEO Part Two

22 May 2009

So a powerful tool to persuade the CEO to take sustainability seriously is evidence that other CEOs are already doing it. But suppose there isn't such a big community of CEOs in your country? Supposing there's an odd one or two?

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What's in a name?

21 May 2009

Never underestimate the power of language to confuse and throw you off the point. (1 comment)

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How to persuade the CEO Part One

20 May 2009

You are a senior executive in a company. You know that you could be making real progress on refocusing your business model on a new, sustainable approach. But the CEO is not convinced. How do you begin to win the day? (2 comments)

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Set yourself the higher target

19 May 2009

So President Obama is to impose stricter fuel economy standards on motor vehicles. It will be done because it has to be done. It has the ring of inevitability about it.

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CEOs dodging the rotten eggs of fate

18 May 2009

The angry mob is definitely stalking the corporate AGM. We have seen shareholders voting down proposed director pay packages - most recently at Provident Financial with a near-miss at Amec. We have seen eggs hurled at the CEO of Allied Irish Bank, and ArcelorMittal workers letting off smoke bombs at its AGM.

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Gallery of dumb ideas #3

17 May 2009

Japanese comics can be fairly 'out-there' when it comes to certain kinds of content. But one company's quest to push the line even farther has finally been reigned in.

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Start with the audience you can't fool - part two

13 May 2009

Here's a thought. Maybe your company has a stakeholder panel, stuffed with CSR geeks, campaign groups, maybe even a supplier or two. But how about an employee review panel? The one that would really kick back in the face of claims that don't quite hold true?

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You can always learn something

12 May 2009

I was reminded today of the boss of a small company I used to know over a decade ago. In those days I ran events on environmental management on a reasonably regular basis.

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We are the best - especially in self-delusion

11 May 2009

I once worked for an organisation where many of the people, and particularly the leadership, believed themselves to be the best in the industry. The most knowledgeable. The most skillful. The most important.

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Check the scale of your ambition

10 May 2009

I spent some time with a company recently that is looking at taking baby steps on their way towards meeting the agenda for sustainability. (1 comment)

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Revolting shareholders

9 May 2009

Big institutional shareholders are hitting out at high pay for company bosses. Under pressure from government to take more of a role in holding companies to account, they are now far more prepared to rock the boat by voting 'no' at AGMs. As a prescription for lasting change, shareholder grumpiness about pay rates fuelled by government exhortation seems unlikely to deliver.

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Who's picketing the Mafia's AGM?

8 May 2009

Further to yesterday's post where I talked about socially responsible arms companies, I loved this one on Toby Webb's blog about the mafia moving into alternative energy sources in a big way.

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Critics can help you - but not the ones who want you to die

7 May 2009

Can you have a socially responsible arms company? The question has been asked a number of times, and was asked again most recently at the AGM of BAE Systems where protestors barracked the chairman's aspirations in this area.

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