WASHINGTON, DC - June 24, 2013 — This week on BIZ+SOCIAL, we bring you the best from the Harvard Business Review, the Huffington Post, Devex, SSIR and more.
GLOBAL PRO BONO
Lessons from IBM’s Corporate Service Corps
Five years after it was founded, IBM’s Corporate Service Corps has become one of the best-known corporate volunteerism programs. The program has already sent more than 2,400 volunteers to developing countries, where they work side-by-side for a month with local NGOs and organizations. Speaking with Devex Impact on the sidelines of the International Corporate Volunteerism conference in Washington D.C., Gina Tesla, IBM’s director of corporate citizenship, said the program has become more sophisticated in how it works with local organizations. Read More…
IMPACT & INNOVATION
Social Innovation and Resilience: How One Enhances the Other
In 1972 Bunker Roy and a small group of colleagues set up the Barefoot College in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India. Their vision was an interesting and catalytic one, joining old and new, traditional and radical. Informed by the teachings and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi—giving the poor and the dispossessed the means to produce their own necessities—the Barefoot College trained the poor to build their own homes, to become teachers in their own schools, and to produce, install, and operate solar panels in their villages. Roy and his colleagues also emphasized empowering women in general and grandmothers in particular. As a result, “professional” expertise was placed in the hands of the poorest of the poor and the weakest of the weak: village women. Read More…
LEADERSHIP
What Inspiring Leaders Do
What do top executives want from their leaders? IBM recently asked this question of 1,700 CEOs in 64 countries. The three leadership traits that most mattered were the ability to focus intensely on customer needs, the ability to collaborate with colleagues — and the ability to inspire. Our own extensive 360° feedback data, which we’ve gathered from just under 50,000 leaders who have been assessed by approximately a half-million colleagues, strongly confirms the importance of inspiring leadership. Of the 16 leadership competencies we most frequently measure, it is clearly the one that stands out. In our data, the ability to inspire creates the highest levels of employee engagement and commitment. It is what most powerfully separates the most effective leaders from the average and least-effective leaders. And it is the factor most subordinates identify when asked what they would most like to have in their leader. Read More…
CITIZEN DIPLOMACY
‘Fast Diplomacy’: The Future of Foreign Policy?
Foreign policy is evolving and adapting in front of our eyes, not only to new technologies but also to the different personifications of power and influence. Thanks to social media and the advent of digital diplomacy, this transformation is happening very fast and affects the very DNA of how governments interact with each other and with their publics. New non-state actors are emerging quite rapidly, reshaping the international landscape and forcing foreign policy practitioners to rebalance their focus so to accommodate new priorities, engage with civil society, and democratize the diplomatic process. Read more…
ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
G8 Countries Commit to Boosting Development Efforts of African Partners
In a statement released on June 18 at the closing of the Group of Eight 2013 summit in London, the G8 countries of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, Canada and Russia praised the development efforts made by Africans citizens, governments and institutions, including the African Development Bank Group, and committed further support. “Africa is the next emerging continent, with a growing share of the world’s trade, investment and economic output. We have an historical opportunity to work with our African partners to help promote inclusive and resilient growth in Africa, through greater transparency, improved infrastructure, better trade facilitation, the elimination of trade barriers and the management of natural resources,” the G8 leaders said. Read More…
MORE
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10 Qualities That You Need To Create A Sustainable Brand
When Aid For Development is Challenged
New Global Citizen
The New Global Citizen chronicles the stories, strategies, and impact of innovative leadership and international engagement around the world. This is the world of the new global citizen. This is your world.
