The business case for working with your toughest critics
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0:02 - 0:06Who remembers this
infamous Styrofoam container? -
0:06 - 0:08(Applause)
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0:08 - 0:12Well, it sure changed me,
it changed my company, -
0:12 - 0:14and it started a revelatory journey
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0:14 - 0:18about how adversaries
can be your best allies. -
0:18 - 0:19You know, back in the late '80s,
-
0:19 - 0:25this Big Mac clamshell
was the symbol of a garbage crisis. -
0:25 - 0:27People were really angry.
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0:27 - 0:29For example, thousands of students,
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0:29 - 0:33young students around the globe
were sending letters, blaming McDonald's, -
0:33 - 0:36because we were using
millions of these at that time. -
0:36 - 0:41Now, no one at McDonald's knew anything
about environmentally friendly packaging, -
0:41 - 0:42including me.
-
0:42 - 0:43The last 10 years,
-
0:43 - 0:46I was in charge of logistics
and truck drivers. -
0:46 - 0:48Then out of nowhere, my boss comes to me
-
0:48 - 0:54and says, "Hey, we want you
to save this clamshell for the company -
0:54 - 0:57and lead the effort to reduce waste
within McDonald's." -
0:58 - 1:00I looked at him and I asked him,
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1:00 - 1:02"What is polystyrene?"
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1:04 - 1:06But it all sounded intriguing to me
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1:06 - 1:09because it brought me back to my roots.
-
1:14 - 1:17You see, I grew up
in the late '60s, early '70s, -
1:17 - 1:20in a time of huge social upheaval
in the United States. -
1:21 - 1:24And I was really in tune
with the protests, the sit-ins, -
1:24 - 1:26the anti-Vietnam sentiment,
-
1:26 - 1:30and I really felt there was a need
to question authority. -
1:31 - 1:33But as I went into university,
-
1:34 - 1:38I realized that I'm not
going to make a living doing this. -
1:38 - 1:40And that whole movement had subsided,
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1:40 - 1:44and my activist spirit went dormant.
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1:44 - 1:45And I needed to make a living,
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1:45 - 1:47so I got involved in the business world.
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1:48 - 1:51So, now these students against pollution,
-
1:51 - 1:54who were sending those
protest letters to McDonald's, -
1:54 - 1:58they reminded me of myself 20 years ago.
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1:58 - 2:00They're questioning authority.
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2:00 - 2:03But now, I'm the man.
-
2:03 - 2:04(Laughter)
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2:04 - 2:06I'm the corporate suit.
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2:07 - 2:09I'm the one representing authority.
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2:10 - 2:12And this new thing was emerging
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2:12 - 2:14called corporate social responsibility,
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2:14 - 2:17later corporate sustainability,
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2:17 - 2:20and now I had a chance
to make a difference. -
2:21 - 2:23So the beginning of this journey
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2:23 - 2:26started when McDonald's agreed
to a partnership -
2:26 - 2:29with the Environmental Defense Fund.
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2:29 - 2:30They were an NGO
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2:30 - 2:35that was founded with the principle
of "sue the bastards." -
2:36 - 2:38So I'm thinking,
-
2:38 - 2:40what are they thinking
about me and my team? -
2:40 - 2:43When I first met Richard Denison,
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2:43 - 2:46he's the senior scientist for EDF,
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2:46 - 2:48I was very apprehensive.
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2:48 - 2:50I thought he's a tree-hugger,
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2:50 - 2:53and I'm thinking he thinks
all I care about is the money. -
2:53 - 2:59So we wanted the EDF team
to give us real-world solutions. -
2:59 - 3:01So we did the logical thing.
-
3:02 - 3:05We had them flip burgers
in our restaurants. -
3:05 - 3:07So you have to imagine Richard,
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3:07 - 3:10who, by the way, is a PhD in physics,
-
3:10 - 3:13and there he is, he's trying
to dress a quarter-pounder, -
3:13 - 3:16and you're supposed to have
two squirts of ketchup, one mustard, -
3:16 - 3:18three pickles and an onion,
go on to the next one, -
3:18 - 3:20you've got to be so fast.
-
3:20 - 3:22And you know what?
He couldn't get it right all day long. -
3:22 - 3:24And he was frustrated.
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3:24 - 3:27And I was so impressed,
-
3:27 - 3:31because he was trying
to understand our business. -
3:32 - 3:33Now, the EDF team,
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3:33 - 3:38they thought reusables
were the holy grail for our business. -
3:38 - 3:41Me and my team thought, reusables?
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3:41 - 3:43Too much space, they'd make a mess,
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3:43 - 3:44they would slow us down.
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3:44 - 3:46But we didn't reject the idea.
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3:46 - 3:52We went to the restaurant they chose
outside DC, we went to the back room. -
3:52 - 3:54The dishwasher wasn't working properly,
-
3:54 - 3:55it's spitting out dirty dishes.
-
3:55 - 3:58The kitchen area is dirty and grimy.
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3:58 - 4:00And compared to their
experience at McDonald's -
4:00 - 4:02that's clean and organized,
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4:02 - 4:05they could see the stark difference.
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4:05 - 4:08We also sat in a restaurant
at McDonald's, all day long, -
4:08 - 4:11and watched the customers eating in.
-
4:11 - 4:12Their behavior.
-
4:12 - 4:15Ends up that many customers
left with the food, -
4:15 - 4:16they left with the beverage.
-
4:16 - 4:19And EDF came to their own conclusion
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4:19 - 4:22that reusables wouldn't work for us.
-
4:22 - 4:26But they did have
a lot of ideas that did work. -
4:26 - 4:29And we never would have thought
of them by ourselves, -
4:29 - 4:31without the EDF team.
-
4:31 - 4:35My favorite was switching
from the white carry-out bag -
4:35 - 4:37to the brown bag.
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4:42 - 4:45We had been using the white bag.
-
4:45 - 4:47It's virgin material,
-
4:47 - 4:51it's made from chlorine
bleaching chemicals, -
4:51 - 4:53and they said, use an unbleached bag,
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4:53 - 4:54no chemicals.
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4:56 - 4:57It's made from recycled content,
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4:58 - 5:00mostly recycled shipping corrugated boxes.
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5:00 - 5:04Ends up that the bag is stronger,
the fiber is stronger, -
5:04 - 5:05it didn't cost us more money.
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5:06 - 5:07It was win-win.
-
5:13 - 5:15Another idea they had
-
5:15 - 5:19was that we could reduce
our napkin by one inch. -
5:19 - 5:21And make it from recycled office paper.
-
5:23 - 5:26I'm thinking, one inch, no big deal.
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5:26 - 5:30We did it, it reduced waste
by three million pounds a year. -
5:30 - 5:32Sixteen thousand trees saved.
-
5:32 - 5:36(Applause)
-
5:36 - 5:40What was really cool
is we changed that bright white napkin, -
5:40 - 5:44because the recycled content
became gray and speckled. -
5:44 - 5:46And we made that look, you know,
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5:46 - 5:49in tune, in vogue with customers.
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5:51 - 5:54So, I came to really enjoy
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5:54 - 5:57the time working with the EDF team.
-
5:57 - 6:00We had many dinners,
late-night discussions, -
6:00 - 6:02we went to a ball game together.
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6:02 - 6:04We became friends.
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6:05 - 6:07And that's when I learned a life lesson.
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6:07 - 6:10That these NGO crusaders,
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6:10 - 6:12they're really no different than me.
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6:12 - 6:14They care, they have passion,
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6:14 - 6:16we're just not different.
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6:16 - 6:18So, we had a six-month partnership
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6:18 - 6:23that ended up producing a 42-point
waste reduction action plan. -
6:23 - 6:25To reduce, reuse, recycle.
-
6:25 - 6:27We measured it during
the decade of the '90s, -
6:28 - 6:33and over 10 years we reduced
300 million pounds of waste. -
6:35 - 6:38Now, if you're wondering
about that polystyrene clamshell, -
6:38 - 6:40yeah, we ditched it.
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6:40 - 6:43And luckily, I still had a job.
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6:43 - 6:47And this partnership was so successful
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6:47 - 6:52that we went on to recycle
the idea to work with critics. -
6:52 - 6:55Collaborate with them
on solutions that could work -
6:55 - 6:57for society and for business.
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6:59 - 7:02But could this idea of collaborating
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7:02 - 7:05work with the most contrarian folks?
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7:05 - 7:09And on issues that are, you know,
not within our direct control. -
7:09 - 7:11Like animal rights.
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7:12 - 7:13Now, animal rights,
-
7:13 - 7:16obviously they don't want
animals used for meat. -
7:16 - 7:19McDonald's, probably
the biggest purchaser of meat -
7:19 - 7:20in the food service industry.
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7:20 - 7:23So there's a natural conflict there.
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7:23 - 7:24But I thought it would be best
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7:24 - 7:29to go visit and learn from
the most vociferous and vigilant critics -
7:29 - 7:31we had at that time,
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7:31 - 7:35which were Henry Spira,
head of Animal Rights International, -
7:35 - 7:37and Peter Singer,
-
7:37 - 7:39who wrote the book "Animal Liberation,"
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7:39 - 7:42which is considered the modern treatise
about animal rights. -
7:43 - 7:45You know, I read Peter's book to prepare,
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7:45 - 7:47I tried to get into his mindset,
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7:47 - 7:49and I have to admit, it was tough,
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7:49 - 7:51I'm not becoming a vegan,
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7:51 - 7:54my company wasn't going that way.
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7:54 - 7:56But I really thought we could learn a lot.
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7:56 - 7:59And so I set up a breakfast meeting
in New York City. -
7:59 - 8:01And I remember sitting down,
getting ready, -
8:01 - 8:04and I decided I'm not
going to order my favorite, -
8:04 - 8:06which is you know, bacon
and sausage and eggs. -
8:06 - 8:08(Laughter)
-
8:08 - 8:11And I'm just going to stick
to the pastries. -
8:11 - 8:12But I have to admit,
-
8:12 - 8:15I was waiting for the adversarial
discussion to happen. -
8:15 - 8:17And it never did.
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8:17 - 8:20Henry and Peter were just gracious,
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8:20 - 8:24they were caring, they were smart,
they asked good questions. -
8:24 - 8:26I told them about
how working on animal welfare -
8:26 - 8:28is very tough for McDonald's
-
8:28 - 8:31because our direct suppliers,
they only make meat patties. -
8:32 - 8:36The animals are three or four steps
removed from our influence. -
8:36 - 8:38And they were very empathetic.
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8:38 - 8:41And while we were so directly opposed
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8:41 - 8:43in terms of the missions
of our organizations, -
8:43 - 8:45I felt that I had learned a lot.
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8:45 - 8:49And best of all, they gave me
a terrific recommendation. -
8:49 - 8:50And that is, they said,
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8:50 - 8:53"You should work with Dr. Temple Grandin."
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8:53 - 8:56Now, I didn't know her at the time.
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8:56 - 8:57But I tell you,
-
8:57 - 9:03she's the most renowned expert,
then and now, on animal behavior. -
9:03 - 9:07And she knows how animals move
and how they should react in facilities. -
9:08 - 9:09So I end up meeting her,
-
9:09 - 9:12and she's the very best type of critic,
-
9:12 - 9:15in a sense that
she just loves the animals, -
9:15 - 9:16wants to protect them,
-
9:16 - 9:20but she also understands
the reality of the meat business. -
9:20 - 9:21And I'll always remember,
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9:21 - 9:24I had never been
to a slaughterhouse in my life, -
9:24 - 9:26and so I go with her for my first trip.
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9:26 - 9:29I didn't know what to expect.
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9:29 - 9:34And we find that the animal handlers
have electric prods in their hands, -
9:34 - 9:39and are basically zapping
almost every animal in the facility. -
9:39 - 9:42We're both appalled,
she's jumping up and down, -
9:42 - 9:44you'd have to know her,
-
9:44 - 9:46she's saying, "This can't be,
this isn't right, -
9:46 - 9:48we could use flags,
we could use plastic bags, -
9:48 - 9:51we could redesign the corrals
for natural behavior." -
9:52 - 9:54Well I set up Temple with our suppliers
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9:54 - 9:57to set up standards and guidelines.
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9:57 - 10:01And ways to measure her ideas
of implementing animal welfare. -
10:01 - 10:04We did this for the next
two to five years. -
10:04 - 10:07And it all got integrated,
it all got enforced. -
10:07 - 10:10By the way, two of McDonald's
suppliers lost business -
10:10 - 10:11because they didn't meet our standards.
-
10:11 - 10:13And best of all,
-
10:13 - 10:17all these standards ended up scaling
to the entire industry. -
10:17 - 10:20And no more zapping of those animals.
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10:20 - 10:25Now, what about issues
that we're blamed for elsewhere? -
10:25 - 10:27Like deforestation.
-
10:27 - 10:29You know, on that issue, I always thought,
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10:29 - 10:32policy makers and government,
that's their role. -
10:32 - 10:35Never thought it would end up in my lap.
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10:35 - 10:38But I remember in early April 2006,
-
10:38 - 10:40I opened up my Blackberry,
-
10:40 - 10:44and I'm reading about
Greenpeace campaigners -
10:44 - 10:48showing up in the UK by the dozens,
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10:48 - 10:50dressed as chickens,
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10:50 - 10:52having breakfast at McDonald's
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10:52 - 10:56and chaining themselves
to the chairs and tables. -
10:56 - 10:58So they got a lot of attention,
-
10:58 - 10:59including mine.
-
10:59 - 11:02And I was wondering if the report
that they had just released, -
11:02 - 11:05it was called "Eating Up the Amazon."
-
11:05 - 11:08And by the way, soy
is a key ingredient for chicken feed, -
11:08 - 11:11and that's the connection to McDonald's.
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11:11 - 11:14So I called my trusted friends
at the World Wildlife Fund, -
11:14 - 11:16I called Conservation International,
-
11:16 - 11:22and I soon learned that
the Greenpeace report was accurate. -
11:22 - 11:23So I gathered internal support,
-
11:23 - 11:27and I'll always remember,
next day, after that campaign, -
11:27 - 11:28I called them up,
-
11:28 - 11:30and I said, "We agree with you."
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11:31 - 11:34And I said, "How about working together?"
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11:34 - 11:37So three days later,
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11:37 - 11:39miraculously, four people from McDonald's,
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11:39 - 11:41four people from Greenpeace,
-
11:41 - 11:44we're meeting in the London
Heathrow airport. -
11:44 - 11:46And I have to say,
the first hour was shaky, -
11:46 - 11:49it wasn't a whole lot
of trust in the room. -
11:49 - 11:52But it seemed like
everything came together, -
11:52 - 11:57because each of us
wanted to save the Amazon. -
11:57 - 11:58And during our discussions,
-
11:58 - 12:00you couldn't really tell, I don't think,
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12:00 - 12:04who was from Greenpeace
and who was from McDonald's. -
12:05 - 12:08So one of the best things we did
-
12:08 - 12:12is we traveled with them for nine days
on a trip through the Amazon, -
12:12 - 12:16on the Greenpeace airplane,
on the Greenpeace boat. -
12:16 - 12:19And I'll always remember,
-
12:19 - 12:22imagine traveling hundreds
of miles west of Manaus, -
12:22 - 12:25the capital city of the Amazon.
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12:25 - 12:27And it's so pristine beauty,
-
12:27 - 12:29there's no man-made structures,
there's no roads, -
12:29 - 12:31not one wire, not one house.
-
12:32 - 12:34You would travel east of Manaus
-
12:34 - 12:37and you would see the blatant
rainforest destruction. -
12:39 - 12:45So this very unlikely collaboration
produced outstanding results. -
12:45 - 12:46By working together,
-
12:46 - 12:50we recruited over a dozen
other retailers and suppliers -
12:50 - 12:52for the same cause.
-
12:52 - 12:55And by the way, within three months,
-
12:55 - 12:58a moratorium on these
clear-cutting practices -
12:58 - 13:00was announced by the industry.
-
13:00 - 13:05And Greenpeace themselves declared it
as a spectacular drop in deforestation -
13:05 - 13:08and it's been in effect ever since.
-
13:09 - 13:12Now, you think these types
of collaborations that I've described -
13:12 - 13:14would be commonplace today.
-
13:14 - 13:16But they're not.
-
13:16 - 13:18When organizations are battered,
-
13:18 - 13:22the common response
is to deny and push back, -
13:22 - 13:24put out some sort of lame statement
-
13:24 - 13:27and no progress is made at all.
-
13:27 - 13:30I say the alternative is really powerful.
-
13:30 - 13:32I mean, it's not going to fix
every problem, -
13:32 - 13:34and there's more to do for sure,
-
13:34 - 13:36but this idea of working with critics
-
13:36 - 13:39and trying to do more good for society
-
13:39 - 13:41that actually is good for business,
-
13:41 - 13:44believe me, it's possible.
-
13:44 - 13:46But it starts with the idea
-
13:46 - 13:51that you need to assume
the best intentions of your critics. -
13:51 - 13:54Just like you have the best intentions.
-
13:54 - 13:55And then secondly,
-
13:55 - 13:58you need to look past
a lot of these tactics. -
13:58 - 14:01I admit, I did not like
a lot of the tactics -
14:01 - 14:03used on my company.
-
14:03 - 14:06But instead, focus on what the truth is,
-
14:06 - 14:08what's the right thing to do,
-
14:08 - 14:11what's the science, what's the facts.
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14:11 - 14:13And lastly, you know, I would say,
-
14:13 - 14:16give the critics the keys.
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14:16 - 14:18Show them the back room.
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14:18 - 14:20Bring them there, don't hide the details,
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14:20 - 14:22because if you want allies and support,
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14:22 - 14:25you need to be open and transparent.
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14:26 - 14:29Now, whether you're a corporate suit,
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14:29 - 14:31whether you're a tree-hugger,
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14:31 - 14:34I say the next time you're criticized,
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14:34 - 14:36reach out, listen, learn.
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14:36 - 14:40You'll become better,
your organization will become better, -
14:40 - 14:43and you might make
some good friends along the way. -
14:43 - 14:44Thank you.
-
14:44 - 14:47(Applause)
- Title:
- The business case for working with your toughest critics
- Speaker:
- Bob Langert
- Description:
-
As a "corporate suit" (his words) and former VP of sustainability at McDonald's, Bob Langert works with companies and their strongest critics to find solutions that are good for both business and society. In this actionable talk, he shares stories from the decades-long transition into corporate sustainability at McDonald's -- including his work with unlikely partners like the Environmental Defense Fund and Temple Grandin -- and shows why your adversaries can sometimes be your best allies.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 15:00
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for The business case for working with your toughest critics | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for The business case for working with your toughest critics | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for The business case for working with your toughest critics | ||
Oliver Friedman approved English subtitles for The business case for working with your toughest critics | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for The business case for working with your toughest critics | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz accepted English subtitles for The business case for working with your toughest critics | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for The business case for working with your toughest critics | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for The business case for working with your toughest critics |