Positive Power of Principled Profit
Volume 3, Number 1 — September, 2005

Positive Power Spotlight: Wal-Mart's Response to Katrina Earns a Spot on the List

If you read last month's issue, you know some of the reasons why I am generally not a fan of Wal-Mart (if you missed it: http://www.principledprofits.com/pp2-12.html )

But...the company's response to Katrina was so thorough, compassionate, and well-done that I have to take my hat off to them this month. My profiling them doesn't mean I approve of their policies regarding labor, suppliers, local communities, etc.--but especially considering the pathetic and slow response of the government, there are probably a number of people in the gulf states who owe their lives to Wal-Mart. It is a lesson in preparedness and caring that other companies could emulate. Look at the publicity value that was so strong that even I, a publicly declared opponent, am thanking them publicly. The last time I can remember a company stepping up to the plate in such an extraordinary manner was Johnson & Johnson's response to the Tylenol poisoning scare, back in 1982.

* The company has donated 1500 truckloads of food, clothing, fuel, and water (some of which were reportedly turned back by federal workers)

* While FEMA couldn't seem to even find New Orleans until several days later, Wal-Mart moved in as soon as the wind died down. "In Brookhaven, Miss., for example, where Wal-Mart operates a vast distribution center, the company had 45 trucks full of goods loaded and ready for delivery before Katrina made landfall. To keep operating near capacity, Wal-Mart secured a special line at a nearby gas station to ensure that its employees could make it to work." ("Wal-Mart at Forefront of Hurricane Relief" by Michael Barbaro and Justin Gillis, Washington Post, September 6, 2005)

* Wal-Mart has donated $20 million directly to the relief efforts, not to mention 100,000 meals

* All of its displaced workers have a job promised, wherever they end up

* "Wal-Mart managers were taking evacuees into their own homes. Some 20,000 employees evacuated to other areas are temporarily working in other Wal-Mart stores to ensure that they keep getting a paycheck. Wal-Mart said it will pay hourly workers for the first three days a store is closed but will discontinue payments after that. Workers are eligible for $250 in emergency funds from store managers for food and other needs. " ("Employers Struggle to Pick Up The Pieces After Katrina" by Susan Warren, Editor & Publisher, September 6, 2005, reprinted from the Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.,com)

Of course, Wal-Mart has not been the only company. Eli Lily, CVS, and Albertson's are among others that made substantial donations; there are, I'm sure, hundreds of others. One information marketer I know set up a $25,000 matching fund. But the depth and commitment of its response are extraordinary, and even I will say so.

Original sources:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090501598.html
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/classifieds/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001055219
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050902/us_nm/weather_katrina_charities_dc (bottom paragraph documents other large contributors)
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=Katrina%20Wal%20Mart (Seattle Post-Intelligencer story on Wal-Mart trucks being turned back by federal officials)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10121.htm (Tim Russert interviews Aaron Broussard, President of New Orleans' Jefferson Parish, who says that FEMA not only turned back Wal-Mart's trucks, but cut communication lines!)
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north402.html (right-wing blogger highlighting the comments to Russert and also discussing the long-term economic impact; while I disagree with some of the conclusions, the economic analysis is something I haven't seen elsewhere and is probably pretty on-target).

Another Recommended Book: "A Marketing Plan for Life" by Robert Michael Fried

"Just as businesses extend their reach and establish their legacy by giving back to the community, an important part of the Marketing Plan for Life involves reaching out and improving the lives of others. If you can extend the good things you do to have a positive effect on others, you are beginning to form your own legacy." (p. 82)

More than most I review in this column, this book understands the connection between success by creating a unique position in business and making a difference in the world through individual action. Looking from a wide perspective that includes business management, career guidance, and the desire to do good in the world, A.M.P.F.L. shares stories of well-known (e.g., Paul Newman, Ben & Jerry's) and unknown entrepreneurs who understood that they need to plan their personal as well as business directions, and that the most satisfying way to do this is to attempt to leave the world better than you found it in some way. It includes a lot of examples that have wedged themselves into common folklore but also a lot that is fresh. My favorite example (pp. 77-78) involves a 13-year-old boy who created a major campaign to end child slavery in developing countries (in part by creating a cruelty-free certification program for rug weavers), and whose organization can directly claim respon sibility for freeing hundreds of individual child slaves.

The book has worksheets and chapter summaries at the end of each chapter, and includes plenty of specific skill-building techniques to be a more effective marketer. An excellent complement to my book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First.

As it happens, the authors are running a campaign to reach the Amazon.com bestseller lists. If you buy on or before September 20, you'll get over $1000 worth of bonuses, including two that I donated.

Order from a Booksense independent bookstore:
http://www.booksense.com/index.jsp?affiliateId=FrugalFun