He’s from Minnesota. He studied negotiation at some fine American schools. Now my new midwestern acquaintance is applying his skills to the world of Indian CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility.
Franz Gastler is a curious fellow. Down to earth, genuine, and very calm. I attribute his quiet confidence to the same source as that of my brother’s. When you are sure of your ability to physically control someone else, you are more comfortable not acting. My brother has spent thousands of hours studying Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Franz knows his Judo.
This whole business of Corporate Social Responsibility is a controversial thing. My gut tells me: “distrust! propaganda! marketing!” I’m not distrustful of Franz — he is genuine. But I am distrustful of marketing. Walmart has plenty of shiny, community-oriented images, but is its existence really a net positive?
Despite this cynicism, I also know that strong opinions can create the very world that they are so critical of. If one looks for an Exxon in every business, then one runs the risk of building antagonistic relationships with entities that might want to do some significant social good.
And so when Franz tells me about his work with the Confederation of Indian Industries, I take a deep breath …. and listen.
Today, Franz is telling me about something else — his ongoing effort to move into a New Delhi slum. He is doing his homework — talking to NGOs, finding out where he should live, pairing up with an organization that can make his entry into a poor neighborhood a responsible one.
Then Franz gives me an example of an ugly scenario that he is trying to avoid by working through an NGO:
He shows up at a slum by himself, asks who the slumlord (literally) is, and asks if he has space available. The slumlord says “of course.” The slumlord then evicts a poor family from their shack. And the slumlord charges Franz double or triple for the space. Franz gets his slumlife experience, and someone living on the margins of Indian society is thrown back onto the street.
Even with the best of intentions, one can do great harm. Our footprints can be quite big. And it is good to know people who think carefully and calmly before taking a step in a new direction.
