New CRM Blog

This blog is no longer in service and the new blog for the CRM can be found at http://www.gwsbcrm.blogspot.com/.

Environmental Film Festival coming up (March 15-27)

For full details:

http://www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org/

10 February Business Response to Climate Change

The Business Response to Climate Change is a student-organized conference that will explore how forward-thinking businesses seize market opportunities for clean technologies. The conference includes three panels, a keynote address, lunch and a networking reception as well as an afternoon career fair featuring representatives from leading energy employers.

The goal of the conference is to inspire the business leaders of tomorrow to think about ways that they can drive tomorrow's energy strategies, and use the power of business to create lasting social and environmental good.

Students can register for the conference at a discount rate.

http://thebusinessreponse.com

The Other Climate Conference

Driving down Mexico highway 307 en route to the beach over holiday break, I was surprised to learn that the gated, sprawling structure we passed on our right was the site of the Cancun Climate Change Conference, which took place just weeks before in early December.

Glimpsing it brought me back to the morning I cracked open the Economist and read the headline summarizing it: A Sort of Progress. After the disappointment that followed the much-hyped 2009 Copenhagen Summit, it was encouraging to read something suggestive of progress.

The 194 countries in attendance agreed:

· By 2020, to provide $100 billion a year for developing countries as climate assistance.

· To establish a Climate Fund to channel that would channel money through the World Bank.

· To develop a system whereby countries receive rewards for lowering rates of deforestation.

While a step in the right direction in terms of process and international cooperation, several countries, Bolivia foremost among them, opposed the eventual agreement on the grounds that it would do little to slow down global climate change. America, China, and other big polluters are no closer to subjecting themselves to binding emissions targets, nor will they be any time soon. In a controversial move, Japan used the occasion of Cancun to make clear that it will not make a renewed commitment to emissions cuts once the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

It is interesting to follow these events as a business school student. The Cancun negotiations took place on the highest of macro universes, seemingly far removed from the level of the firm. At the same time, any progress or lack thereof on a global scale is bound to affect business, and my career.

My beliefs are such that I view the work of the government and extra-national organizations as crucial insofar as they create the conditions for business to function, and operate on the level needed to address global issues.

That being said, the business student and economics major in me is banking on the private sector to get the job done. If you have the chance, definitely read Steven’s Levitt’s new book, Super Freakonomics. True to his billing, Levitt provides an interesting take on climate change and profiles in a very interesting and accessible manner, some of the wacky private-sector innovations that could save the world!

John Dillman Global MBA, 2012

Toys for Tots and NORAD Santa tracker

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the George Washington School of Business' Toys for Tots drive in conjunction with some of DC's finest United States Marine Corps troops and leaders!

Student's teachers and administrators - please know that your contributed toys are now on their way into the hands of local children in need.

Track santa as he works his magic: http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html

How much control do we have over the economic future?

4 out of the top 5 economies in 2050 will be formerly developing economies. Who will help shape their growth? Will the growth be sustainable? Equitable?

Intrapreneur versus Entrepreneur by John Dillman

In determining which business school to attend, I used resources such as Aspen Institute’s Beyond Pinstripes and Net Impact’s annual b-school rankings to narrow down the field. When it came time to make my decision, GW’s involvement with Net Impact and its leadership in weaving ethics, sustainability, and the like into the fabric of the program tipped the balance and here I am today.

After a fast-paced but enjoyable module 1 in which I suffered from the tunnel vision one gets when navigating 6 classes in as many weeks, I was amped to attend the Net Impact Conference in Ann Arbor. Occurring one week after our first set of finals, it presented the perfect opportunity to put academics aside and reconnect with what drew to me to business school in the first place.

I came to GW to become a better problem solver, and the problems I wanted to help solve were the focus of this conference. I set loose goals going in, knowing that the weekend would inspire more questions than provide answers.

Among the many questions swirling through my head when I boarded the plane after a great weekend, there was one that stood out: intrapreneurship or entrepreneurship?

Whatever I end up doing after business school, my primary motivation will be solving problems and helping people. How should I express this through my career? Should I go the CSR route and push for change from within an organization? Or should I heed the advice of Gary Hirshberg (founder and CE-YO of Stonyfield Organic) or Majora Carter (economic consultant and environmental justice advocate) who both make convincing arguments for building from the ground up?

Both paths feature excitement, opportunity, advantages, and disadvantages. With CSR and intrapreneurship, there is the opportunity to change well-established organizations. The size of a Wal-Mart or Coca-Cola is such that any change you make will have a far-reaching impact. You learn from people who have been in business a long time and have a chance to develop into a seasoned professional. This is appealing to someone like me who will re-enter the workforce in 2012 with less than 3 years of professional experience on the books. Furthermore, there is something to be said for the notion that the most effective agents of change are those who understand and have lived the system. Only after a year and change at Ashoka’s Youth Venture was I able to push through effective programs in my area.

With entrepreneurship, you avoid the risk of getting sucked into the belly of a slow-moving organization. You avoid the situation of taking a position in marketing or HR when what you really want is to work on sustainability. With entrepreneurship, it is your ship to steer. You can move the ball forward as fast or as slow as you want to, and apply pressure to incumbents who are not altering their behavior fast enough.

There are downsides to this path as well. There is the risk that you fail completely. Even if you are successful and your organization is doing wonderful things, you may have a hard time achieving the scale needed to make a big impact. Is an hour spent working to increase the success of your start-up better than an hour spent working to make Wal-Mart more socially responsible?

Of course, the choice is not simply between entrepreneurship or intrapreneurship, start-up versus incumbent. There are a variety of options in between – established-mid size organizations or start-ups with a couple of years under their belt.

The purpose of this post is not to endorse one path over the other. Rather, it is to share with you my still evolving thought process on a career in effective change making.

John Dillman Global MBA, 2012