Category Archive: Uncategorised

1. Paul Newman – did he have The Right Ethos?

   13th October 2008 3:22 pm Leave a Comment

   This time last year I wrote following the death of Anita Roddick – about whether she had The Right Ethos – which she clearly did have.

   Sadly, I’m writing today about Paul Newman who died last month – another individual who used their wealth and celebrity to try and make positive change in the world.

   I met Paul Newman, in September 2004 (corrected from e-newsletter, which said 2005). It was a genuinely bizarre but wonderful encounter.

   It was on Highbury Fields in Islington. I was the Deputy Mayor of the council at the time. And he was promoting his Newman’s Own food range – all the profits of which go to support children’s charities.

   To keep the children’s theme, Paul Newman was there performing as a clown at a special event as part of Zippo’s circus. There I told you it was bizarre, he was dressed as a clown and me and my wife, Cath, as deputy mayor and mayoress in our chains of office.

   After the performance, we were introduced to him. We expected a quick handshake and to be moved on – but instead we spent a cherished 4 minutes talking to him, mainly about Blair and politics. Just to confirm that those blue eyes were incredible close up.

   It was a cherished moment because I knew the power of the man. Obviously I loved his films – particularly Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and The Sting.

   I also admired his commitment to philanthropy including the establishment of summer camps for children who suffered from life-threatening illnesses.

   But what was great about Paul Newman – why he had The Right Ethos – was his commitment to human rights. Supporting unpopular causes which could have at least limited or even stopped his career.

   Newman was also a vocal supporter of gay rights and, in particular, same-sex marriage.

   He once said

   “I have never been able to understand attacks upon the gay community. There are so many qualities that make up a human being… by the time I get through with all the things that I really admire about people, what they do with their private parts is probably so low on the list that it is irrelevant. “

   In 1963, Newman and his wife, Joanne Woodward, demonstrated in Alabama with James Garner and Marlon Brando, promoting civil rights, and in 1968 they opposed the war in Vietnam.

   He championed the cause of nuclear non-proliferation and in 1978 President Jimmy Carter appointed Newman as a US delegate to the UN Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.

   It is not surprising then and clear confirmation of Newman having The Right Ethos that he was 19th on the enemy list of Richard Nixon.

2. Why it’s important to have The Right Ethos

   1st October 2008 3:22 pm Leave a Comment

   I often wonder whether people fully understand what our organisation means by the term “The Right Ethos”. And why our recruitment consultancy, which specialises with organisations that campaign, felt it important enough to use the term as its name.

   Recently we successfully placed a candidate who I felt epitomised the sort of candidates that we want to attract to The Right Ethos. She had the qualities that our client needed for them to succeed.

   She had about four years experience as a fundraiser for a hospital. I think she was grateful for the job but not comfortable fundraising for a charity which she wasn’t particularly passionate about.

   She had gained very transferable skills and experience useful for most charities and campaigns. She came to The Right Ethos determined to work for a campaign that she cared about. I interviewed her and was convinced by her enthusiasm to work for a cause that campaigned to improve our society or our world.

   We fortunately had a role that was perfect for her – however, the salary was about 18% less than she was currently earning. But she didn’t need any persuading that it was a good move for her. She was determined to work for this campaign – even though financially she would be out of pocket.

   The best part of the job of a recruitment consultant is when a candidate, who you’ve got to know and understand, which is necessary if you are going to match them with the right role and organisation, gets the job they really want. And this is what exactly happened – she was delighted to hear the news. Happily resigned to taking a drop in salary, as for her this was taking her in the right direction for her career and her life.

   Now she has The Right Ethos. But it isn’t just about commitment. I think our successful candidates are a different breed to people who want to work for a conventional charity. For the candidates that we select, it’s also about wanting to be involved in political change. Not simply about offering charity, but about working for justice as they can see a wrong that needs to be fundamentally righted.

   When I first drafted this article for ngomedia last December, the newspapers were dominated with the news of the unfortunate British teacher in Sudan, who inadvertently caused offence with the name of a toy. This issue achieved many times the coverage and causing so much more outrage and anguish in the UK media than the death of over 400,000 people in the conflict in Sudan in recent years.

   This for me is an example of the incorrect balance of priorities we still have in the UK.

   I don’t believe our society is wholly wrong – but something is clearly a bit skewed, if we give more attention to the imprisonment of one British person against the deaths of so many Sudanese people.

   Another example of this being that of the extreme amounts of media focus on the fate of one child, Madeline McCann whilst other children in the UK and across the world are mistreated or killed.
   That’s why we firmly believe that best placed to correcting this and the several other problem situations or injustices are the many campaigning organisations that The Right Ethos works with – be it on social justice, human rights, animal rights, democracy, housing, the environment or other just causes. And their individual staff members working for justice and long term change. To do so their starting point is having the right ethos.

3. Did Bagpuss have The Right Ethos?

   23rd January 2008 3:20 pm Leave a Comment

   Children’s television programme maker Oliver Postgate died aged 83 in December. He was behind the classic children’s TV programmes Bagpuss, The Clangers, Noggin the Nog, Ivor the Engine, Pogles and Pingwings.

   He made the bulk of the shows while living at Wave Crest in Whitstable – about half a mile from where I’m writing this article in the offices of The Right Ethos.

   Oliver Postgate had The Right Ethos. His family had a strong socialist history. His grandfather on his mother’s side was George Lansbury, Labour party leader from 1932 to 1935, one of his aunts Margaret Cole of the formidable Fabian partnership of GDH Cole and Margaret Cole.

   The young Oliver registered as a conscientious objector when he reached call-up age during the second world war, and spent some months in prison.

   Postgate subsequently worked for the Red Cross in occupied Germany. Back home, he went into partnership with Peter Firmin, forming the production company Smallfilms which produced the children’s TV classics.

   Postgate was later to be active in the campaign against nuclear weapons, addressing public meetings and writing pamphlets.

   But did Bagpuss have The Right Ethos? It’s inconclusive. Postgate, of a left-wing persuasion, described Bagpuss as a Miaow-ist

4. Anita Roddick – did she have the right ethos?

   8th October 2007 3:27 pm Leave a Comment

   Last week the memorial to Anita Roddick was held at Westminster Central Hall in front of 1500 people on what would have been her 65th birthday. I’m sure many people reading this article that work for campaigning organisation will have a story to tell about her. She played a major part in the funding and campaigning support of so many organisations.

   Is it too cynical to suggest that her involvement was all part of the building of the Anita Roddick brand? That she did so much just to position herself and the Body Shop in order to develop such a Unique Selling Point of being a highly ethical business. This certainly has attracted a significant number of her customers over the last three decades to turn her into a multi-millionaire, as they wanted to buy into the ethics of her and the Body Shop.

   Before you answer, let me just say that yes, I think it is too cynical.
   Anita Roddick was a woman who used her position and wealth to try and improve our society and the world. She was a business woman first and foremost. You have to be that single-minded to have her success. But what she did with her wealth and profile, often quietly and without excessive ego, was admirable.
   When I was at the World Development Movement, she recorded a BBC Radio 4 appeal for us. She was easy to deal with and did the job that we asked of her, trusting what we asked her to read. This on top of “organisation-changing” sized donations from her foundation.

   I believe that Anita Roddick was someone who demonstrated time and time again that her motivations were not cynical, but very healthy and that she had the right ethos.

5. Charities campaigning….are they having a laugh?

   1st August 2007 3:27 pm Leave a Comment

   Over the last five to ten years, charities have moved into campaigning and started getting political. They have entered territory where previously only more politcal campaigning organisations would venture. Organisations such as Amnesty, Greenpeace etc. set up purely to campaign have been joined by their charity counterparts in the arena of campaigning.

   Or are they really campaigning? Has it been a genuine strategic move by charities to affect long term change in society? Or has there been other motives at work…money, or fundraising to be fairer.

   I’m talking in general terms of course, I truly believe that some charities have started campaigning and done so for the best reasons. They are employing some of the top campaigners in the not-for-profit sector and are making real political change.

   However, as a recruitment consultant some campaigners have told me that they’re leaving their roles because they don’t believe the charity’s heart is really in long term change. That when the charity use the term “campaigning” that they really mean “brand positioning” or “brand awareness” in order to support their fundraising from their individual supporters. And that charities set unachievable campaign targets with no real hope of achieving them but just to be out there, somewhere in the campaigning arena.

   Is this true what people are saying? And is it just charities? Or are campaigning organisations themselves guilty of this? Is there anything wrong with the tactic of using campaigning to strengthen the brand?