My Friend David

“Constantly scanning the peripheral, always motivated by the desire not to miss opportunities.” Linda Stone

I remember the day I met him. He gazed up at me with those beautiful clear blue eyes, welcomed me with a glimpse of the Cheshire cat grin I would come to know well, and made a joke about my role at the Credit Union. It was clear that David was bright. Very, very bright. And he was funny.

I remember the last time we spoke, three days before he left. David emailed me following yet another of our sprawling conversations to let me know that we had spoken for 43 minutes and 27 seconds. He advised me that at his 9-5 EST grid (???!) $250/hr for on-call/off-site support, I owed him sushi and a Sapporo. I replied that I paid for tech support in rubles so the Sapporo might be a stretch. At either rate, it would have been a bargain.

David was a passionate and gifted teacher. Always kind. Always generous. And he had a way with words. Sometimes he’d email or tweet me and I’d have no clue what he was talking about. One day, catching my tweet of a song from blipfm, David tweeted back, “Spotify, silly wabbit…It’s the new black.” Say what?

We sparred with words and ideas. I’m the communications girl – it drives me nuts when I can’t understand someone. David drove me nuts frequently. His job description was “new media, technology, innovation and education” – I wanted his job! He described what he did as “figuring out where new “stuff” fit in with the older “stuff.” David didn’t research or network, he was “cool-hunting” in the CU system for “crowd-powered innovation”. God I had to run fast to keep up with him.

We first collaborated on an email presi for staff. We designed a cool broadsheet of email tips and David created a Keynote injected with neat graphics, cool video and lots of humour. That was the first time I got in trouble at work. Note to self: not everyone wants to know what LMFAO means.

I was determined to bring in the best communications tools and David was committed to ensuring we had the latest in Social Media, Web 2.0, and Open Source apps, and we were all going to work in Wikis. This proved a challenge. “Why is it,” he asked, “that when the wagon is broken and the wheels are square, peeps still try to push it uphill through the mud?” David had a gift for slinging a really good metaphor.

David was passionate about bringing “social/nu-media/network-ing” to the Credit Union. He saw change coming in the industry, and he was determined to make some of our own. He wanted to “empower the Gen-Y/next generation to become captains of the CU movement.” He was always trying to figure out where ideas can meet application.

But the world rarely moved fast enough for David. Communicating with him was like being at the epicentre of a tornado. Some chose to run for cover and dodge the fallout of scattered flotsam and jetsam. Their loss. I scrabbled to grab all that I could and there was always more to grab than I could hold onto – so more sushi, more Sapporo.

What’s the ROI of “pure win and awesome.” Where’s David? What’s a meme again?! He’s here… I catch fleeting glimpses of him from the periphery of my vision – he’s just outside of my grasp.

Gonna miss you, my friend.

Created by Oliver Swainson for the Marketing Dept.

Will CSR Survive a Recession?

For all the debate and criticism, being a good corporate citizen has become an admirable goal for many North American businesses that have been making a determined effort to take responsibility for the impact of their activities on their customers, shareholders, employees, and suppliers, as well as on their communities and the environment. Socially responsible companies acknowledge an obligation that extends beyond mandatory compliance to legislated standards; they are compelled to do more to improve the quality of life for their employees and their families, for the communities they serve, and for the planet.

But will CSR survive the current economic reality of tight credit markets, plunging commodity prices and a volatile loonie? The current economic crisis is creating especially tough challenges for companies trying hard to live up to their CSR policies. There is no doubt that being environmentally responsible, supporting altruistic community programs, and doing what it takes to be an enlightened employer are challenging goals without the belt-tightening measures necessitated by today’s economic reality.

At a time when short-term strategies must sometimes seem more palatable, Boards must stay strong and take a long-term perspective. Now more than ever, being a good corporate citizen must be a core business strategy that is deeply ingrained in the corporate culture of the entire organization.

If there is any doubt, take a look at credit unions. They invented the concept!