Why NGOs Are Your Best Friends

My headline slightly changes the title of a very provocative essay written by Peter T. Knight, President of Context America, titled: "Why Campaign Groups Are Your best Friends" (registration required).  It is filled with wit and wisdom.   I wanted to broaden the community beyond what Peter indicated in his title, because there are many NGOs who are just the opposite, who do not demonstrate and protest, but work collaboratively to get things done.   I believe our society needs both types of NGOS. 

Here are Peter's  Ten Tips:

1.       Accept campaigns as free market research

2.       Respect your challengers

3.       Roll with the punches

4.       Act human

5.       Forget Machiavelli

6.       But do learn from effective tactics

7.       Never ignore

8.       Always correct

9.       Treat campaigns as pump primers

10.   Keep smiling

My favorite is #9:  Treat campaigns as pump primers. 

Peter writes "The campaigners could be your pathfinders, leading you into formerly impenetrable thickets."   In other words, Peter sees opportunity in the midst of a problem. 

I observed this first-hand in McDonald's back in the late 80s.  In the height of the anti-globalization movement, French farmer, Jean Bove, used McDonald's as a symbol of his movement.  The McDonald's France business did not hide from the issue.  Rather, it started an "Open Doors" campaign, inviting the public into their offices, their restaurants, and their suppliers.  They had nothing to hide.  They were proud of their people and suppliers.  Instead of cowering, they were very transparent.   Today, our business in France is one of our most successful markets, with this transparency strategy as a key part of their success.

What I think Peter might have overlooked in his top ten list is what I'll call:  Getting Things Done.  When I think of the most significant things we have done within McDonald's on the CSR front, an NGO collaborator is part of the equation.   We changed packaging with the Environmental Defense Fund.  We developed sustainable fishing guidelines and a supplier environmental scorecard with Conservation International.  We help put in place a soy moratorium in the Amazon with Greenpeace.

That's why I count on my friends within the NGO community. They help bring the science, the credibility, and the one-two punch market power of a company and NGO together that is way more powerful than a company like us doing it alone.  

Peter's best tip is the last:  Keep Smiling.  It is tempting to get aggravated and to succumb to some of the doom and gloom.  But don't. 

Stay positive.

-Bob