Thursday, February 12, 2009

Waging peace through enterprise?

Today in Strategy class we had a lively discussion. There is such a great mix of perspectives, though we could have used our token I-Banker today. Oh well, he was probably off driving a rock through the hull of the economy.
Our discussion meandered, purposefully, for 85 minutes about w.t.f. is strategy; and how we implement, drive, create, change, and imagine it.
I can't help but think of stakeholder theory. Regardless if it is the "right" direction for humankind, I desperately want us to re-examine every paradigm we hold dear and try to understand how/if we can change our enterprises to ensure our continued inhabitance of this planet.
Because with the current parameters, I'm not sure that we can.
Buffet was right: Profits can be equated to oxygen. We need oxygen to breathe, but to confuse breathing with the purpose of life is fall short.
So we've finally come to understand that profits aren't everything. And now we implement corporate social responsibility. Whatever that is.
Don't we take the Mickey when we string a bunch of operational strengths together and call it a socially responsible strategy?
So, for reasons I can't fully grasp, this song popped in my head.

One Tin Soldier
Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago,
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below.

On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone,
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

So the people of the valley
Sent a message up the hill,
Asking for the buried treasure,
Tons of gold for which they'd kill.

Came an answer from the kingdom,
"With our brothers we will share
All the secrets of our mountain,
All the riches buried there."

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

Now the valley cried with anger,
"Mount your horses! Draw your sword!"
And they killed the mountain-people,
So they won their just reward.

Now they stood beside the treasure,
On the mountain, dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it...
"Peace on Earth" was all it said.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,
Go ahead and cheat a friend.
Do it in the name of Heaven,
You can justify it in the end.
There won't be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgement day,
On the bloody morning after....
One tin soldier rides away.

The fact that I connect Peace on Earth and misdirected competitiveness with corporate activity is both scary and encouraging. I feel that businesses have most of the power (ok, in a free market) to either destroy or enhance a society.

2 comments:

Julie said...

I love it! Since getting into Darden, I've been reading all the student blogs. CSR is a huge passion of mine, and I'm so excited that it comes up in a strategy class.

Looking forward to next year...

matt said...

That song has been one of my favorites since childhood.