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Article from The Straits Times, 29 March 2011
Special Focus
Published March 29, 2011
SME INC
COMMENTARY
What price generosity?
More businesses are devoting resources to charitable acts but to what end?
By Paul Heng
INCREASINGLY, CEOs and SME business owners will find it important, if not critical, to pay more attention to issues that are not directly related to running a global business.
Over in the US, companies are giving greater emphasis to things such as environmental issues/sustainability, and the intensity of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).
In the area of CSR, we read often in the media of successful businesses and business owners who decide to donate part of their financial wealth to the less fortunate, and also to make the world a much better place to live in, for the generations to come.
The philanthropic acts of two of the richest men in the US come easily to mind - Messrs William Gates and Warren Buffet.
The recent disasters in Japan gave rise to examples closer to home. While I was in Shanghai recently, a local paper profiled a PRC entrepreneur who not only donated a large sum of money to help the victims and their families, but also took the time and effort to visit the affected sites.
In the same week, I read of a young lady here in Singapore who donated a large sum of her own money to Japan - for the same cause of wanting to help the Japanese who have lost family members, and their homes.
To what extent should such charitable acts be made public? The answer, of course, depends on who you ask this question to.
I understand perfectly why the media would want to report such news - it is current and immediate, and is related to an event that I dare say almost the entire world knows about - in professional-speak, it is 'news'.
The act of generosity is probably another angle, especially when a donor is as young as 24, and the amount is a cool million bucks. That's an amount that many of us will probably never ever see in our bank accounts in our lifetime.
To answer my own question - there are at least two schools of thought. The first feels that charitable acts should best be kept private, and that only ourselves, and our Creator needs to know. The second says, 'What's wrong with letting others know because . . .?'
This is yet another of those situations in life that does not have a 'right' or 'wrong' answer. The crux of the issue, in my mind, hinges on what was the company/individual's motivation for seeking publicity for their acts of generosity.
I hasten to add that, yes, I know there will be cases where reporters come a-calling without one's pro-active seeking.
Personal values
This, in-turn, says a whole lot about the personal values of the decision makers in those companies, and the individuals. Values, again, are pretty subjective - what is an absolutely good value for one, may not be high up on the list of another.
Here's one man's perspective. If I were to be emotionally touched by the suffering and loss, and genuinely want to play a small part in making a difference in some charitable acts, not confined to just cutting a cheque, I will probably try to extract some media mileage.
Let me explain my rationale. I am an executive coach who owns and manages a boutique coaching business (read: no budget for media advertising) - if I am able to gain some publicity (read: free publicity), I will have a good platform to demonstrate to the business world that in doing business in the countries that we have clients in, we do recognise the need to give back to those societies that allow us to do our business - CSR stuff.
Secondly, by promoting our charitable act, I hope to inspire others who are also capable of helping to consider doing the same. The media, undoubtedly, is very powerful - in a positive sense.
It can potentially play a key role in garnering support for such worthy causes, and the ultimate beneficiaries, are of course, the victims, and those deserving of public assistance.
Of course, I will be absolutely discerning and I think I am smart enough to understand that if I am donating a sum of money, it should be pretty significant (ie, with a whole lot of zeros following the initial numbers!).
Otherwise, the media would not even want to talk to me. But that is another debatable issue altogether - again, no 'right' or 'wrong'.
For my fellow SME business owners who are somewhat publicity shy, or have 'modesty' high up on their list of personal values, may I urge you to consider again the next time you pull out the cheque book, or get your staff members to troop down to the old folks' home to spend time engaging with the often forgotten ones?
And, if you have been paying your tax dues faithfully, and thus have no serious concerns about the tax man digging deeper into your tax files, there are actually quite a few good reasons why you should let others know of your generosity.
Try to see things from a higher perspective - the potential of inspiring others to do the same.
Paul Heng is founder/executive coach of NeXT Corporate Coaching Services
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