Speaker: Christine Arena, Author

Discussion Topic:

The trust deficit is clearly a trend on the rise. Back in 2005, a Roper poll showed that 72 percent of respondents felt that corporate wrongdoing was “widespread,” up from 66 percent the year before. A subsequent survey issued by the Customer Care Alliance reported that 90 percent of people were dissatisfied with the way companies treated them, while 64 percent felt “rage” toward corporations. In 2008, a Reputation Institute study revealed that 13 of 24 industries had “weak” reputations based on the perspective of the general public. And in 2009, things have grown worse.

According to pubic relations and research group Edelman, global faith in business has hit a 10-year low, with 62 percent of people worldwide trusting companies less today than they did a year ago, and 77 percent refusing to buy from companies they distrust.

Dismal as the current state may seem, it is a crucial one for companies to strategically face. It’s not so much about which companies and industries are among the world’s most and least respected, but why. What attributes and values do the winners and losers share? Having spent five years researching this issue, Christine has found a common thread in trusted companies: purpose. On this call, Christine will discuss how companies can become true High-Purpose Companies – those companies driven by a social or environmental cause to the extent where their financial performance depends on it – as well as Low-Purpose Companies – those companies whose social and environmental postures run contrary to shareholder interests. Call participants will learn how the strategic pursuit of purpose can be  an effective tool that companies can use to improve their impact on stakeholders, their perceived character and ultimately, their worth. 
 

About Christine:

Christine is the award-winning author of two business books: “Cause for Success: 10 Companies that Put Profits Second and Came in First” (New World library, November 2004), and “The High-Purpose Company: The Truly Responsible (and Highly Profitable) Firms that are Changing Business Now” (Collins, January 2007). She is the creator of groundbreaking research on corporate reputation, trust and corporate social responsibility (CSR) effectiveness – including the ongoing analysis of over 200 companies.

 Through her books and research, Christine’s primary objective is to help people better distinguish between true and false CSR, or winning versus losing strategic approaches. In addition to advising Fortune 1000 corporations, Christine is a business news blogger for Apesphere.com and a frequent speaker to corporate and academic audiences worldwide.  A masters graduate of New York University, she lives in San Francisco.

Registration (participation is a benefit of Global Membership)

Conference line and presentation link will be distributed via direct email following RSVP completion.

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