Jamaica Life and Debt

Last night our local Amnesty International chapter showed the movie Life and Debt, a documentary about Jamaica's experience with the IMF and the World Bank. I found this movie to be excellent in its portrayal of the relationship between a developing country and the IMF - including the outcomes and, hopefully, unintended consequences that result. The approach taken in the documentary is to contrast the experience of tourists who arrive in a beautiful Caribbean destination resort and the lives of the people whose country is indebted to the IMF. What appears to be a systematic dismantling of the local economy, by the terms imposed by the international community, perpetuates a cycle of debt and poverty. Unfortunately it would appear that the interests of American and multinational corporations reign while the hopes, dreams, and prosperity of individuals, families and communities are disposable.
Is there not enough that has been learned following decades of failed policy that the time has arrived for new approaches can be considered. In the world of organizations and quality there is a truism - the definition of insanity is trying the same things while expecting different results. Different results need new thinking - thinking that is grounded in whole system approaches and community. I am sure that when people who have been working to examine alternative ways of viewing system level problems are brought together with people who are skilled in facilitating whole system processes along with decision makers who truly want to break the poverty cycle - new thinking can emerge that is a win win win.
Please - we owe it to the people in our world who are trapped in circumstances beyond their ability to influence to try.

Learning Together

Here at The Acacia Group we are committed to learning. On a regular basis we gather together and delve into a topic, usually an article or web site, to see what we can co-learn together. We find this to be a generative learning experience – the topic may not be directly related to the core social responsibility and leadership development work of The Acacia Group; however as we explore the topic we often find new ways to view the work that we are doing and the world that we are interacting with. It also helps that we genuinely like and respect each other and that we all enjoy a fine glass of wine and good food.
We find that our conversations are rich. What catches one persons attention may have been missed by the others –and the meaning that one person applies to a concept can be completely different then the next person’s.
Some of our topics have included the Characteristics of the Best Workplaces in Canada, Coaching across Cultures, Managing with the Brain in Mind, Wisdom in Three Acts, and The Tale of Three Organizations.
One of my favorite conversations ended up being about `Why would you choose an Acacia Group Socially Responsible Leadership Experience? Our answers: to gain intelligence and wisdom… a desire to do good… to be a part of creating what is still to come… to go into the lion’s den… for the growth and challenge… to experience community… to become connected to more… to breathe life in to the phrase Global Community… to be different than I am right now… to replace surface conversations about corporate culture with conversations that have depth and meaning… to learn about more than just one right answer… to frame my world differently… to find the most innocent thing that makes the biggest difference…

A corporate perspective on why CSR is important

It would appear that CSR continues to be a corporate imperative that is recognized by senior leaders and corporations. This short video provides a brief overview of why one leading organization believes CSR is worth the investment. In this video the impact of having a CSR strategy on staff engagement is highlighted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNKn93VViUc