CSR 2.0!

In 2003 we had a complete mad Hindi movie in bold strokes of action, comedy, underworld, satire and what not Hindi Masala called ‘Waisa Bhi Hota Hai – Part II’, which means ‘It Happens THAT Way Too – Part 2’ (For the enthusiasts, it had the popular song ‘Allah ke Bande’ by Kailash Kher). A very common (and obvious, if not witty!) first reaction about the movie’s name was, ‘Are, the director has forgotten to make the first part, it seems!’, the reason being, it would have been logical for the First movie to have the name ‘Aaisa Bhi Hota Hai – Part I’ 'English - 'It Happens THIS Way Too – Part I’. When the enthusiasts in the first bracket above (although not many of them!) watched the movie and got the hang of it, they discovered the 'creativity' behind the name as it was intended.

Both Arshad Warsi and the Creative debuting Director Shashank Ghosh could not save this ‘a little out of the box’ and ‘a lot out of the way movie’ and none of them bothered the outcome even then. So what is it with me to bring a 12 year old outdated Hindi Masala movie into the discussion? Neither Arshad nor Shashank got anything out of this bizarre effort 12 years ago, so it is needless to mention that I am definitely NOT looking forward to some ‘Long-term Capital Gain’ here…! I was reminded of the movie by a weird term I heard recently… CSR 2.0! “2.0?” I mean what…?

   

The technology-freak society obsessed by the Microsoft way of life just loves to have numbered versions of anything without reforming (or even understanding fully), forget rectifying, the previous versions. And that was okay as long as Bill Gates, who turned 60 yesterday, had his way with that version game. Being the most incredible business brain around, there is no denying of the fact that Bill certainly has nailed it to create wealth in a most legitimate, economically viable and environment friendly (‘Windows’ is an environment, remember?) way and adding the Social element with the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation to complete the package. However, upgrading to a newer (latest) version is the biggest concern of the global Window-ers against which Global Warming and Acute Disparity looks distant and manageable; sorry Bill, no offense!

Anyway, that is not the point of the discussion and I do not intend to hurt the world’s richest living person on his birthday, it was just the analogy of versions (‘2.0’) that brought it up. I do understand the need of sequel or evolution of any theory or practice but the conventional wisdom and common sense says that before starting Second Round of anything, you must finish the First Round appropriately. (Ask any ‘Self-proclaimed-expert-of-everything-after-8-PM’) I mean how can you start emptying the bucket while it is being filled? Or even replace the original bucket with a new bigger, stronger one, for that matter, without examining and fixing what’s wrong with the older one? Even the ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ principle of sustainability doesn’t allow it!

...Farmer Joe was in his car when he was hit by a truck. He decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company (responsible for the accident) to court. In court the trucking company's fancy lawyer was questioning farmer Joe. "Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'?" said the lawyer.

Farmer Joe responded, "Well I'll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the...." "I didn't ask for any details," the lawyer interrupted, "just answer the question. Did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine'!"

Farmer Joe said, "Well I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road...." The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question."

By this time the Judge was fairly interested in Farmer Joe's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie."

Joe thanked the Judge and proceeded, "Well as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other.

I was hurting real bad and didn't want to move. However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans.

Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes.

Then the Patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me. He said, "Your mule was in such bad shape I had to shoot her. How are you feeling?”...

Many times Context is more important than the content. To understand other’s point of view, you must listen to the whole story and show some empathy. There cannot be versions or percentages in human cognition of the situation and considerate reaction to it. I haven’t seen or met a person who is 99% honest or ethical to the 'acceptable' level. Anybody can be honest or dishonest, ethical or unethical 100%, in pure Black and White, not in shades of grey! Similarly there cannot be Versions of fundamentally essential principles of any faculty. If we say that inquisitiveness is a basic principle to acquire knowledge, could the curiosity be divided into grades? Only school classes could have standards and grades, not ‘curiosity’, which is the root of all knowledge-base.     

The CSR is an essential way of doing business and Culture that needs to be cultivated in the DNA of any organization. It is neither just another Management funda nor a buzzword to throw around at conference tables or in corporate dinners. Moreover, it is neither an afterthought that is reactive but must be a vision that is proactive. It’s already being suffocated with the ‘New form of PR’, ‘Strategic Branding’, and ‘Image Building’, and alike camouflages which would never work. Unless and until the CSR is not understood in its spirit and intent, no reinvention or reform in any form will ever work except for those proposing it. An old maxim says ‘there is no point in reinventing the wheel…!’ and, between the lines, it reads ‘…if you have not understood the concept of a wheel!’

The bottom-line is, no matter how you clad any object with whatever material you have or can borrow for a while, it will never make a permanent impact on the original form of the object unless you are trying to reshape it while it is in the process of formation… just like a clay pot. While the clay is wet and the wheel is spinning, you can mould it the way you like it. Once it is dried and baked it would crack and fall in pieces with any effort of reforming.

So for now, I would appreciate if the Leading Management Gurus preaching CSR 2.0 could forget about the '2.0' and facilitate the transformation of CSR from concept to culture for the organizations all around the globe. They might just find some interesting insights in due course for themselves, who knows? Way to go…