…is reputation management. Sustainable corporate development only makes sense when company’s social engagements are reasoning its own conviction. Companies are often motivated by outside-based reasoning: popular media themes, pressure from certain groups or new regulations. Such an approach leads to blurring of lines between the company’s development and its responsibilities in terms of sustainability. In addition, companies notice that not all initiatives have real contribution to the strengthening of their business. Why is that so? The sort of activities only make sense when they are in line with the company’s principles. No universally-relevant aspects exist that require immediate, at-all-costs company action to be undertaken as solutions.

We want our employees to be happy and we work hard to make it so. Yes, defining and managing happiness is mostly a personal matter, but what role do we as organization leaders have? We believe that our role is to create an environment in which emotions are not labeled. It seems to us that the accepted definition of professionalism is the ability to always stay positive and to never feel negative emotions or at least manage and suppress them well. Let’s be honest – these are the rules that, more or less, define relations in teams. The problem is that people can’t feel happy, wholesome and capable of managing themselves and their stress for long in such environments. This happens because we falsely believe that we control our emotions, whereas as the truth is that they control us.

Over the last years a certain outlook has become trendy. It goes something like this: the application of universal policies, indicators and criteria for the sustainable development of companies and the decisions of their investors is a sure way to create long-term business success. At this point in time we have enough practical experience with this way of thinking so as to be able to gauge how true it is.