Citizen IBM Blog » Stanley S. Litow

From Shared Value to Real Value

Stanley S. Litow — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:07:32 +0000

Over the last several years, corporate citizenship programs have begun to refocus their efforts from “responsibility” to “opportunity.” In other words, companies now realize that they can affect positive societal results by applying time, talent and technology to the common (and uncommon) challenges faced by people around the world. By intertwining corporate citizenship with business strategy, companies can advance their business goals while bringing about real, sustainable change.

WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) recently bestowed their “Visionary Award for Shared Value” on IBM in recognition of our “outstanding corporate governance and corporate citizenship” efforts. IBM Director and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson accepted the award on our behalf.

The ability of corporations to positively influence the direction of society did not appear overnight. From the late 19^th Century through the latter part of the 20^th Century, corporate philanthropy grew from the largesse of wealthy individuals into strategic corporate giving and more community-minded business practices in such areas as supply chain sourcing and mitigating impacts on the environment.

Today, as corporations address their citizenship responsibilities in a global context, they need to work with a variety of public and private-sector partners to pursue practical solutions to challenges no single entity can overcome alone. Some guiding principles to consider when implementing citizenship programs that deliver real value include:

Building broader partnerships that allow participation by stakeholders outside of
the corporation;
Reaching beyond so-called “checkbook philanthropy” to contribute a company’s
most valued assets – including its top talent and core competencies; and
Seizing opportunities to develop new relationships and build global leadership skills through programs that enhance the communities in which one serves.

In a changing and interconnected world with increasingly diminished resources, each of us should be committed in making sustainable civic, societal and economic improvements – not just creating short-term goodwill. As we continue to shape the post-philanthropic era, we move beyond the notion of shared value to create real value by helping citizens, governments, nonprofits and other companies build a smarter planet.

Stanley S. Litow is IBM’s Vice President for Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President of the IBM International Foundation.

Read More About IBM’s Citizenship Initiatives:

Corporate Service Corps: Focusing Technology and Expertise on Global Societal Problems

Smarter Cities Challenge: Improving the Quality of Urban Life for All Citizens

P-TECH: Reshaping Educational Paradigms to Connect Training to Jobs

Technorati Tags: corporate citizenship, corporate governance, Stanley S. Litow, Visionary Award for Shared Value, WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD)

From Spare Change to Real Change

Stanley S. Litow — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:59:59 +0000

In my new article for Corporate Responsibility Magazine, I discuss the strategy and cultural orientation behind how IBM’s Corporate Service Corps solves problems, grows leaders, and builds markets. Of course, discussions of business “strategy” are nothing new. But what differentiates IBM is the extent to which we integrate corporate citizenship into business strategy. As you’ll read in the article, our innovative approach to corporate citizenship has its roots in a culture of service that stretches back to our beginnings more than a century ago. Now in the 21^st Century – as governments, nonprofits and corporations struggle with global challenges that are too big for any single sector to manage alone – we are helping to evolve corporate citizenship into a set of replicable practices that create real and sustainable value.

Please read and share this article, and share your thoughts on how all of us can work together to make our planet smarter.

Stanley S. Litow is IBM’s Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President of the IBM International Foundation.

Related Resources:

IBM Deploys Talent, Technology and Innovation for Global Social Progress

Corporate Responsibility Must Be Integral to Corporate Culture

VIDEO: IBM’s Culture of Service

Technorati Tags: Corporate Responsibility Magazine, corporate service corps, Stanley S. Litow

Why It’s Critical to Connect Education to Jobs

Stanley S. Litow — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:51:20 +0000

When CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein and I began working with the New York City Department of Education on creating the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH), our top priority was connect education to jobs.

Why?

The U.S. economy will create 14 million “middle skill” jobs over the next 10 years, but we don’t have the people to fill them.
Right now in New York City, more than 300,000 jobs – most requiring the types of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and workplace skills training that P-TECH students receive – remain unfilled, even in the midst of high unemployment rates.
The undeniable fact is that a high school education is not enough to enable our young people to obtain (and maintain) middle-class careers.

What are we doing about it?

Read what Matt and I have to say in CRAIN’S New York Business about the critical connection between education and jobs, about P-TECH’s breakout success, and about why President Obama called for schools across the nation to “equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy” in his February State of the Union address.

Stanley S. Litow is IBM’s Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President of the IBM International Foundation. Mr. Litow is a former Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools.

Related Resources:

President Praises P-TECH in State of the Union Address

Governor Cuomo and IBM Announce Public-Private Partnership to Prepare NYS Students for High-Skills Jobs of the Future

REPLAY: Stanley Litow Discusses Connecting Education to Jobs on NPR’s “On Point”

Technorati Tags: Matthew Goldstein, P-TECH, Stanley S. Litow

President Praises P-TECH in State of the Union Address

Stanley S. Litow — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:33:22 +0000

BREAKING NEWS:
GOVERNOR CUOMO AND IBM ANNOUNCE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
TO PREPARE NYS STUDENTS FOR HIGH-SKILLS JOBS OF THE FUTURE

In his February 12 State of the Union address, President Obama gave a lengthy mention to Brooklyn’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH), and the need to replicate the P-TECH model to connect American education to jobs more effectively.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Let’s also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path to a good job. Right now, countries like Germany focus on graduating their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges…. At schools like P-Tech in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York Public Schools, The City University of New York, and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in computers or engineering….

We need to give every American student opportunities like this. Four years ago, we started Race to the Top – a competition that convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher standards, all for about 1 percent of what we spend on education each year. Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. We’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math – the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill jobs that are there right now and will be there in the future.”
– President Barack Obama

The President’s call to action signals widespread recognition of our opportunity to make American education more academically rigorous and economically relevant as we close the skills gap and position the U.S. for long-term economic growth.

Even in the midst of stubbornly high unemployment, there are hundreds of thousands of jobs unfilled because applicants lack the proper skills. P-TECH is helping to close that skills gap with technical and workplace education that’s preparing graduates for real jobs in today’s economy, and to pursue higher education if they choose. In fact, fully half of P-TECH’s current 10^th graders (members of the school’s inaugural class) will complete an average of 14 college credits by the end of this school year. That’s solid, meaningful progress toward an associate degree and career readiness.

In Chicago, IBM and other companies are collaborating with five more P-TECH-model schools, with curricula focused on preparing graduates for a variety of in-demand jobs. And plans have been announced to replicate the P-TECH model elsewhere in New York City and in other states.

With so many of our high school graduates lacking the skills to succeed in community colleges, higher education or the workforce, the time has come for P-TECH’s innovative approach to preparing a generation for long-term, middle-class careers. P-TECH represents the next stage of the ongoing evolution of America’s educational system to meet and master the challenges of a changing world. It’s an idea whose time has come, and our partners at the New York City Department of Education and The City University of New York, P-TECH’s visionary principal and dedicated faculty, the school’s motivated students and the IBM volunteers who mentor P-TECH students, faculty and staff couldn’t be more excited!

Stanley S. Litow is IBM’s Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and a former Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools.

Related Articles:

REPLAY: Stanley Litow Discusses Connecting Education to Jobs on NPR’s “On Point”

Focus on Skills to Revitalize the Economy

P-TECH: Where We Are Now

Educating Tomorrow’s Adults: One Teacher’s Journey

Why I’m a P-TECH Mentor

What It Means to Have a Mentor

Technorati Tags: P-TECH, President Barack Obama, public private partnership, Race to the Top, Stanley S. Litow, State of the Union

Focus on Skills to Revitalize the Economy

Stanley S. Litow — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:58:48 +0000

Take a close look at monthly unemployment figures – specifically the requirements for unfilled positions – and our nation’s fundamental economic challenge becomes clear. We have a “skills crisis,” not a jobs crisis. In New York City, for example, the January 2013 Real Time Jobs Report documents more than 300,000 unfilled jobs – nearly 1,000 at IBM, and thousands more at companies such as AT&T, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup.

Read my latest op-ed in the New York Daily News to see how a new educational model that connects academic and workplace learning to college and careers is influencing public and private sector leaders to come together on this critical issue. They understand that through deeper partnerships between the private sector, higher education and K-12 schools, we can close the gap between education and employment – and reduce joblessness in a lasting way.

Related Resources:

How New York State Connects Education to Employment

Webcast: Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce: Preparing Students to Compete
in the 21^st Century Economy

A Pathway to Prosperity for New York State

Technorati Tags: New York Daily News, P-TECH, Stanley S. Litow

New York’s Pathway to Prosperity

Stanley S. Litow — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:39:51 +0000

At the December 7^th “Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce: Preparing Students to Compete in the 21st Century Economy” forum in Albany, New York, State Commissioner of Education John King, Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) Founding Principal Rashid Ferrod Davis, the President and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, and many other education and industry leaders got down to brass tacks about what New York – and by extension, the nation – needs to do to:

Make education more academically rigorous and economically viable so that graduates have a clear pathway from school to careers,
Replicate the P-TECH success story statewide and nationwide so that all students – not just a handpicked few – have access to opportunity, and finally
Ensure that the 14 million new jobs that the U.S. will create over the next 10 years can be filled with homegrown talent.

I address these issues in A Pathway to Prosperity for New York State, my new article on The New York Business Council’s Capital Business Blog, and Citizen IBM will continue to cover the latest thinking from educators, employers and policy makers on this critical issue.

Related Resources:

WEBCAST REPLAY: Educating Tomorrow’s Workforce:
Preparing Students to Compete in the 21st Century Economy

VIDEO: New York State Commissioner of Education John King:
Replicating the P-TECH Model

New York Times: At Technology High School, Goal Isn’t to Finish in 4 Years

Citizen IBM: P-TECH: Where We Are Now

DOWNLOAD: STEM Pathways to College and Careers Schools: A Development Guide

DOWNLOAD: Enterprising Pathways: Toward a National Plan of Action for Career and Technical Education

Technorati Tags: Business Council of New York State, Educating Tomorrow's Workforce, P-TECH, Stanley S. Litow

Sharing Insights on Global Volunteerism and Smarter Cities

Stanley S. Litow — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 20:22:23 +0000

In recent articles in The Atlantic and The Huffington Post, I discuss the benefits of providing pro bono counsel to solve problems that intersect business, technology and society. IBM has been at the forefront of these efforts through our Corporate Service Corps and Smarter Cities Challenge initiatives. Since 2008, we have deployed more than 2,000 top-talent employees from 50 countries on more than 2,000 Corporate Service Corps assignments in 30 countries. Meanwhile, our Smarter Cities Challenge program is providing pro bono consulting services worth USD$50 million to 100 cities through 2013.

We’ve just announced the winning cities for the 2013 Smarter Cities Challenge, and are gathering the mayors of those cities and others – along with urban policy thought leaders and IBM experts – at the first Smarter Cities Summit. With more than half the world’s population living in cities, we depend on them for many of the essentials of life. But once we look across the boundaries of culture, geography and language, we begin to recognize that the challenges facing cities are universal.

Stanley S. Litow is IBM’s Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President of the IBM International Foundation. The Civic 50 has just named IBM as America’s Number One most community-minded company.

Technorati Tags: corporate service corps, Huffington Post, Smarter Cities Challenge, Smarter Cities Summit, Stanley S. Litow, The Atlantic

The Best in the Business

Stanley S. Litow — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 18:42:23 +0000

The Civic 50 survey today named IBM America’s Number 1 most community-minded company. The survey is conducted by the National Conference on Citizenship and
Points of Light in partnership with Bloomberg, LP. It is the first comprehensive ranking of the S&P 500 corporations that best use their time, talent, and resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A key factor in IBM’s Number 1 ranking was the work we do through our Corporate Service Corps (CSC) , which delivers a triple benefit to our company and to the communities we serve:

Communities have their problems solved.
IBMers receive leadership training and development.
IBM develops new markets and global leaders.

Through CSC, our education initiatives, the Smarter Cities Challenge and other innovative programs, IBM interweaves citizenship and business strategy into an integrated approach to making the world a better place. We are honored to be recognized as the leader among companies that give of their time and expertise – not just their cash – in service to the greater good.

Related Resources:

BloombergBusinessweek: Volunteerism as a Core Competency

The Civic 50: Companies Making a Difference in Communities

IBM Tops Ranking of America’s Top 50 Community-Minded Companies

Forbes: IBM Deploys Time, Talent and Innovation for Global Social Progress

Harvard Business Review: IBM “Enriches the Ecosystem”

2011 IBM Corporate Responsibility Report

Technorati Tags: Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Civic 50, corporate service corps, National Conference on Citizenship, Points of Light, Smarter Cities Challenge, Stanley S. Litow

U.S. Competitiveness: Addressing the Skills Crisis

Stanley S. Litow — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 14:57:32 +0000

In my op-ed in today’s U.S. News & World Report, I write about the critical relationship between education and jobs, and why it is essential for the U.S. to commit to both supporting and innovating education. With unemployment stubbornly high while tens of thousands of good jobs are waiting to be filled, we need to ensure that our young people receive educations that are academically rigorous and economically relevant.

New approaches to career and technical education (CTE) and professional apprenticeships have the potential to maximize educational performance and create solid economic value. For example, New York’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) is preparing inner-city students for college and careers with an innovative grades 9 through 14 program that culminates with an associate’s degree in technology and first crack at jobs with IBM – P-TECH’s corporate partner. This summer, 15 rising 10^th graders from P-TECH performed better than most college students in a technology course at the New York City College of Technology (one of P-TECH’s higher education partners), and 48 of them (half of the class) are enrolled in college courses this fall.

When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits P-TECH next week, he’ll find that this open-admissions public school is helping young people achieve their dreams with techniques that can be replicated in any community. Secretary Duncan then will join other public and private sector influencers in education for the Classroom to Careers Conference at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. The conference – which will be streamed live, blogged live, and tweeted live – will address the skills gap in the U.S., and highlight solutions to the challenge of preparing all young people for college and careers.

Just as we have at other times in our history, we must invest in new educational models that will develop the skills of our young people and lay the stepping stones to global competitiveness.

Additional Resources:

BREAKING NEW YORK TIMES STORY ABOUT P-TECH:
A High School With a New Approach to Vocational Education

The Stepping Stone to Global Competitiveness

P-TECH: Where We Are Now

Enterprising Pathways: Toward a National Plan of Action for Career and Technical Education

Technorati Tags: Arne Duncan, Classroom to Careers Conference, P-TECH, Roosevelt House, Stanley S. Litow, U.S. News & World Report

The Stepping Stone to Global Competitiveness

Stanley S. Litow — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:00:40 +0000

We tend to think about education only when school is in session. But that tendency – just like our anachronistic, agrarian school calendar itself – is an example of the out-of-date thinking that is jeopardizing America’s competitiveness on the world stage. The truth is that “school” is (and ought to be) always in session – for industry, for educators, and for the young people on whose fortunes our economy will rise or fall. A vigorous and vital society never stops learning – even if that means using innovation to reinvent its educational institutions to make them more responsive to the demands of a global economy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

IBM has written the playbook for combining high school, college, and workplace learning to connect education to jobs by providing students with the skills they need to pursue 21^st Century careers. Working with our partners from government and from all levels of education – kindergarten through college – we are helping students, teachers, parents and communities understand that the mid-20^th Century standards of the post World War II era – a time when people could enter the economy and pursue lifelong careers with only a high school diploma – are no longer enough.

Beyond building understanding, we have taken direct action. More than 100 IBMers have volunteered their time and expertise to mentor the students, teachers, and administrators of New York’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH). Entering its second year as IBM enters its second century, P-TECH is achieving results that can only be realized when the public and private sectors work together to address challenges that no single entity can overcome alone. Some P-TECH students already are college-ready in key academic subjects, and will begin taking college courses as 10^th graders this September. In fact, more than a dozen P-TECH students began college courses this summer after completing ninth grade.

But rolling out one school in one neighborhood – even an exemplary school – was never the final goal of this new educational paradigm. From the very start, IBM designed the P-TECH model to work in any city or community that’s ready to take action to prepare its young people for meaningful, good-paying careers, and to make its workforce attractive to growth industries. The mayor and City of Chicago get this message, and will open five new P-TECH-model schools this fall. IBM – and IBMers – will support and participate in one of the new schools, while additional corporate partners such as Motorola and Verizon will join in our fight to sustain and enhance the global competitiveness of America’s workforce.

The need to integrate academic work and career preparation has never been more urgent, but no single entity can do it alone. Now that collectively we have a proven recipe, the only remaining ingredient for positive change in our approach to education on the national level is our desire to succeed.

Stanley S. Litow is IBM’s Vice President of Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Responsibility and President of the IBM International Foundation.

Related Resources:

Download STEM Pathways to College and Careers Schools: A Development Guide

U.S. News & World Report: Grades 9 through 14 School Model Strengthens Education-to-Work System

Mayor Rahm Emanuel: Building a Smarter Chicago

How P-TECH Inspired New Hope After Just One Semester: One Student’s Perspective

Technorati Tags: Chicago, global competitiveness, P-TECH playbook, Pathways in Technology Early College High School, Stanley S. Litow