Citizens in Business Daily Reader: 1.7.2015

Fives stories follow that will make fire up your mind and quicken your pulse if you're a Citizen in Business. Speaking of Citizens in Business, I'm planning our slate of Motor City Citizens in Business meet-ups for 2015. Check out my blog post from earlier today to see what I have in mind and please send feedback. Either post your critique or suggestions in the comments or send them to me direct at [email protected]. Also, please join the Citizens in Business meet-up group here.

Without further ado...

Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario fights the fights worth fighting (Fast Company). As of reading this article, I have a new corporate hero (Patagonia) and leadership hero (Rose Marcario). I mean, I almost jumped out of my chair and danced when reading this. As you'll see, nobody could ever accuse Patagonia of greenwashing. The company walks the talk and it starts at the top with its CEO. The best part: The "bad" business decisions the company makes in the name of doing good are paying off: Profit is growing by leaps and bounds.

Eight CSR trends to watch out for in 2015 (Forbes). If you're a business leader who takes your company's citizenship seriously, this is a must-read from Susan McPherson (@susanmcp1). Here is the best quote from the article (by Denielle Sachs at McKinsey & Co.): "In our information-rich, media savvy environment, there is no one-off philanthropic initiative that can distract from an utter lack of sustainability or responsibility in the core business operation."

Report from JetBlue, Ocean Foundation finds direct correlation between healthy ecosystems, increased revenue (Sustainable Brands). Applause for JetBlue doing more than paying lip service to the environment. The company invested dollars and energy in doing research to find the direct link between bottom line performance and environmental stewardship. The represents one of the first times a company is making a top-down business case for the environment. Why is this important? The research becomes vital to business decisions up and down the leadership chain. It also makes the case for practices and pricing that may be a little more expensive (but worthwhile) in the eyes of consumers and shareholders.

Matter to a Million: Practical tools for employee engagement and culture change (Sustainable Brands). The Matter to a Million initiative that HP and Kiva launched last year is one of the most amazing (and effective) corporate citizenship efforts you'll ever see. In this video, you'll learn some of the principles HP and Kiva put into place to make the program successful--both in terms of employee engagement and social impact. How can you apply these principles to your own company?

A wave is rising (Stanford Social Innovation Review). Marjorie Kelly (@marjorie_kelly) shares some glowing news on how bold and creative community foundations are making great strides across America. First, many community foundations are finding new ways to excel at their original mandate: Build community wealth. Beyond that, however, community foundations are discovering their special place as catalysts and conveners for diverse stakeholders working together in their communities. In some cases, community foundations are leading these collaborations to achieve breakthroughs nobody ever thought possible.

What's the biggest challenge and opportunity you and your organization are facing this year? I'd like to hear all about it! Please post your challenge and opportunity to @BTIrwin with the hash tag #CitBizChallenge or email it directly to [email protected] and we'll visit in person.

Onward and Upward!