This is a story that links two unlikely people: Arnold Schwartzenegger and Jessica Kirshenblatt-Gooderham. You have probably heard of the former, based on his roles as The Terminator, Conan the Barbarian, and even Governor of Caifornia. But If you want to learn about Ms. Kirshenblat-Goodenham, you’ll have to read on.
As President Trump moves to reverse the Obama administration’s policies on climate change, California is emerging as the nation’s de facto negotiator with the world on the environment. The state is pushing back on everything from White House efforts to roll back pollution rules on tailpipes and smokestacks, to plans to withdraw or weaken the United States’ commitments under the Paris climate change accord.
The aggressive posture on the environment has set the stage for a confrontation between the Trump administration and the largest state in the nation. California has 39 million people, making it more populous than Canada and many other countries. And with an annual economic output of $2.4 trillion, the state is an economic powerhouse and has the sixth-largest economy in the world.
California’s efforts cross party lines. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who served as governor from 2003 to 2011, and led the state in developing the most aggressive pollution-control programs in the nation, has emerged as one of Mr. Trump’s biggest Republican critics.
So, with this talk of Governor Schwarzenegger – and reflecting on that famous Saturday Night Live sketch where Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon (and sometimes with ‘their cousin Arnold), we are inspired to 'pump up'. Aren't we?
So, as a project manager, can you “pump up your career” with CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)? A recent story inspires me to say ‘yes’ and to even provide some tips (thanks to the heroine of this story) for you. It’s the story of Jessica Kirshenblat-Gooderham. Kirshenblat-Gooderham.
Jess began her career at General Mills in sales about ten years ago. At that time, there were few, if any, sustainability projects – at least framed in that way. Now, she helps direct the General Mills Canada Sustainability Team. Think about it. This is about a portfolio of green projects, tied to General Mills’ corporate commitments to sustainability, which you can find here:
One thing to note here. Projects which are ‘green by nature’ like efforts to reclaim energy from oat husks (one great example from General Mills’ Cheerios™ products) are easy to connect to sustainability. The challenge for project managers in projects which are more ‘workaday’ is to connect the sustainability elements – usually related to benefits realization, and often involving CSR goals that go beyond pure economics. The way to justify CSR considerations in these projects is to connect them to the company’s statements about CSR. This is what we call “the golden thread”. You can test this out yourself by referring to and oldie-but-goodie post which includes a “the three-click challenge” – the post is called “Golden Threads and Ruby Slippers”.
So let’s get back to Jess Kirshenblat-Goodenham. In the articlefrom “BMeaningful” – an excellent website, by the way - she provides three tips for those interested in pumping up the CSR element of their career.
Define where you fit in: I developed a relationship and line of informal reporting to the right person for my team’s development. For me, this started with our Director of CSR, and we branded our team as an extension of this division. This was critical in a large organization as navigating approvals, budget, and initiatives required Senior Leadership approval. This merged into a mentorship relationship with someone that believed in empowering employees who are engaged and enabling us with the platform we needed to move our initiatives forward!
Build Your Mission: You want people to understand your goals, direction and how the team fits in to the broader organization values. Our Mission is to build a daily culture of sustainability among employees that reflects values & commitments we’ve made with our corporate business practices & partners globally. We are committed to thinking globally and activating locally and strive to provide changes in the workplace that enable employee choice toward sustainable living and contributions.
Be a People’s Champion: If you want to influence employees, champion their causes, make it easy, make it fun, and value their impact, no matter the size. Throughout the year, we work on key initiatives as a smaller team, however, every year, we inspire employees to volunteer and be part something big during a full office “Takeover” during the month of April. Participation could be as a volunteer or participant in any of our workshops, lunch and learns, challenges, contests or volunteer work. This annual Earth Month campaign and its evolving themes have anchored our team’s voice gave me the ability to champion new causes every year for our employees and be a point person for questions, ideas, and opportunities to be a part of the change.
So – be like Hans and Franz – it may be time for you to pump up your career using CSR!
"Nearly every great advance in science arises from a crisis in the old theory, through an endeavor to find a way out of the difficulties created. We must examine old ideas, old theories, although they belong to the past, for this is the only way to understand the importance of the new ones and the extent of their validity."
Community Champion
