A Team Approach to Social Responsibility
by Jon Morris
JDQ Systems Inc. has provided business improvement consulting services since 1988. Its focus is to help clients in diverse industries – including telecommunications, aerospace, electronics, software development, chemicals, automotive, and heavy equipment – achieve measurable and sustainable business improvement.
Based in Vancouver, Canada, JDQ combines quality methodologies, software technologies, and an agile approach to organizations pursuing continual improvement.
Imagine if someone could prove that it profits business to help the community...
JDQ's approach for developing, nurturing, and sustaining community relationships is the 3Spheres of Reciprocity™ (see Figure 1). 3Spheres™ is both a philosophy and a model for healthy, optimal, and successful community engagement. It is designed to be a paradigm for social responsibility and cooperative, mutually beneficial relationships grown from the fundamental understanding that only through the symbiosis of the spheres of helping, profiting, and learning can we all thrive.
As the 3Spheres™ model reflects the obligation to maximize positive impact and minimize negative impact on society, it expresses JDQ's values of mutualism, respect, and equality.
In early 2005, work began to develop and codify JDQ’s methods of engagement with the communities it serves, shares resources with, and derives sustenance from. Through this process of discovery and development, it became apparent that mutual benefit – reciprocity – would arise naturally if parties would agree with the following three interrelated ideas:
- Every individual and organization should be actively concerned with helping others to ensure the welfare of each other and society at large.
- The food of growth is learning. Research and mentoring are the vehicles for this.
- The purpose of business is sustainable profit.
As a result, JDQ developed the 3Spheres™ model to describe its way of relating with the world and the intention to help shape the world it believes is possible. Over the years, 3Spheres™ has become more. Beyond a manifestation of the values JDQ upholds and its understanding of the natural order of things, the model also transformed into a set of principles that inform JDQ decision making and guide the evolution of the organization.
Figure 1 - 3Spheres of Reciprocity™
The 3Spheres™ model – gathering information and exploring new ideas to fuel evolution; helping those around us thrive and prosper; growing and sustaining our own wealth – is the foundation of all of JDQ relationships and activities.
A Team Approach
As a project-oriented company, JDQ depends on excellent teamwork. As a virtual company, JDQ’s success has depended on the facilitation, motivation, and trustworthiness of resources, regardless of local or global location.
Through 3Spheres™ projects, JDQ has learned that empowering people with an appreciative experience results in more successful and sustained outcomes compared to a traditional “reward and punishment" approach. JDQ strives to discover and incorporate the most effective tools and systems to inspire positive change measured in real business process improvement.
How JDQ Helps the Community
Regardless of what phase of the enterprise life cycle nonprofit organizations and social enterprises are in, JDQ offers and facilitates pro bono 3Spheres™ teams to help them discover best practices and realize their full business potential.
Using the 3Spheres™ model, JDQ works to promote clear communication, enable a greater opportunity for lasting business process improvement, and foster socially responsible community relationships.
Two successful initiatives to date are:
- 3Spheres™ Call For Process Improvement Proposals
- As a founding partner, the Social Enterprise Dragons event.
The 3Spheres™ Call For Process Improvement Proposals
The 3Spheres™ Call For Process Improvement Proposals is an ongoing program to improve nonprofits. Every year, nonprofits and social enterprises are invited to submit applications for pro bono assistance for business process or technology improvement initiatives.
3Spheres of Reciprocity™ project teams have worked with a number of organizations in and around Vancouver, including:
- Atira Women's Resource Society
- Developmental Disabilities Association
- EMBERS (Eastside Movement for Business & Economic Renewal Society)
- Home & Healthcare Society
- Little Mountain Neighbourhood House Society
- Neil Squire Society
- Our Community Bike Club
- Tradeworks Custom Products
- Street Youth Job Action
- Surrey Food Bank Society
- VIVO Media Arts Society
- Westcoast Family Resources Society
- Xá:ytem Interpretive Centre
Expert Teams
The experts who volunteer for 3Spheres™ teams include JDQ employees, subcontractors, vendors and customers, and members of professional associations. To maximize the benefits for both the team members and the recipient organization, the 3Spheres teams are selected after opportunities for improvement are understood at a high level.
Teams typically include the level of expertise that is often most needed by the nonprofit sector: quality engineers and auditors, Six Sigma Black Belts, chartered accountants, professional engineers, certified project managers, professional software application designers and developers, IT hardware specialists, and senior managers. The reality is that most nonprofits and budding social enterprises do not have the budget needed to hire this level of expertise.
The experts volunteer with the expectation of helping a nonprofit or social enterprise whose cause they believe in. Experts are encouraged to be innovative, to try new techniques, and to explore “new worlds” in an effort to enhance the learning aspect for themselves and their teammates. Team members also receive an opportunity to network with the nonprofits’ leadership, thereby generating positive referrals that help them make a living. These dynamics create the inherent synergy of the 3Spheres™ experience.
Quality Tools Used in 3Spheres™ Initiatives
3Spheres™ initiatives use a collection of proven process improvement and project management tools. Approaches include tried and true quality methodologies and techniques and other proprietary, cutting-edge tools. A process-focused approach is used to guide improvement projects while teaching the beneficiaries the intricacies of achieving business excellence. Figure 2 details the best practices applied based on the life cycle phase of an organization.
Figure 2 - Best practices throughout the enterprise life cycle
3Spheres™ Case Study: Developmental Disabilities Association
One 3Spheres™ project was for the Developmental Disabilities Association (DDA), whose mission is to enable people with developmental disabilities to achieve their full potential. The organization serves more than 1,500 children and adults and operates more than 50 community programs.
Challenge
The DDA had created a model for planning and costing the services it provides to clients. This manual system was unique enough to be patented in North America. To take advantage of the patent, the DDA sought to develop a software application that would allow it not only to manage plans for its own clients, but also to offer an expert software solution to the North American healthcare sector.
While the DDA had the knowledge and the patent, it needed help defining the software application requirements that would automate the process and provide data storage. The challenge presented to the 3Spheres™ team was to define and document a detailed requirements specification for the proposed application to foster planning and accountability in the social services and community healthcare fields. 3Spheres™ was tasked with anticipating innovative user interface mockups, solid data privacy controls, high performance, and an industry standard application programming interface (API).
Solution
The 3Spheres™ project team – composed of staff and volunteers with experience in the nonprofit, social support, healthcare, and software application development sectors – worked with the DDA to evaluate the needs of the application and presented comprehensive documentation of the requirements for the patented planning and costing system. The team offered an unbiased view of the potential success of the software application and the effort required to make it happen. The application requirements not only allowed the DDA to evaluate third-party competition in the area, but it also provided a clear requirements document for the next phase of design and development.
The team provided a cost estimate for a custom software application development that, in turn, provided the DDA’s executive director, Alanna Hendren, the information she needed to gain approval from the association’s board to proceed with the project.
Result
The result was a more than 50-page detailed requirements specification document that defined the use cases and data requirements to make the software application a reality. Throughout the JDQ Jump!Start™ requirements discovery process, the DDA expressed satisfaction with the process and team. During the project, Hendren said, "When triple-bottom line businesses like JDQ meet socially enterprising nonprofits like DDA, people’s lives change. Our work so far with JDQ has been exciting and surprisingly painless, considering that we are not a high-tech organization."
The requirements discovery process exposed many hidden requirements and the DDA gained a significant understanding of what was ahead on its "custom software application” journey.
The Social Enterprise Dragons (SED) Event: Business Case Competition
In the Social Enterprise Dragons (SED) business case contest, the "dragons" of business and “high finance” leave their dens and enter the realm of social enterprise. Three social enterprises pitch their key challenges to a judge and jury of their peers. Social enterprises with the highest synergistic opportunity in the spheres of helping, learning, and profiting are selected to present. The goal is to provide support to the successful social enterprise candidate, while creating learning value for hundreds of attendees.
Through a popular Letter of Intent process, three local finalists are selected to present case studies at the annual SED event. The groups share their stories with an expert panel and an audience of peers in an evening that begins with a reception and marketplace before moving onto the presentations. Each group receives feedback from the panel, with the goal of creating learning through tangible experiences.
The event offers the following awards:
- Business process improvement services from JDQ Systems to help one group form strategies to address its key challenge or opportunity.
- A $5,000 to $15,000 grant to help the winning group implement solutions developed through its work.
- A technical assistance award of $2,500 sponsored by Enterprising Nonprofits to help one group secure professional support to address its identified issue.
SED History
In 2007, Vancity Credit Union and JDQ created a pilot partnership project to support social enterprise development. The key objective was to build the capacity of social enterprises to achieve their financial and mission-related goals.
The project began with a workshop to deliver practical and skill-building information to social enterprises and was complimented with distribution of a booklet, Best Practices throughout the Enterprise Life Cycle. JDQ provided pro bono business process improvement services to one of the participating workshop groups, and the Vancity Community Foundation provided funding for solution implementation.
The second event welcomed another partner, Enterprising Nonprofits. Based on lessons learned from the first year, JDQ, Vancity Credit Union, and Enterprising Nonprofits collaboratively delivered a case study competition modeled loosely after a similar event held annually at Hollyhock's Social Venture Institute. By the third year a fourth host partner, the BC Social Venture Partners, joined this collaborative effort.
The Vancity Community Foundation, Junxion Strategies, KPMG, and TELUS have also partnered to deliver this event. Numerous other organizations and community groups have volunteered to make the event possible.
Transforming Networking into Community Building
As external validation of the impact of its social responsibility approach, JDQ was named recipient of the 2007 Technology Impact Award for Leadership in Social Responsibility.
Because the heart of the model is relationships, JDQ also values close ties with a growing list of 3Spheres™ partners, collaborators, and friends:
- The American Society for Quality Vancouver Section
- BC.NET
- BCCQ - BC Centre for Quality
- BCIT - British Columbia Institute of Technology
- BCTIA - British Columbia Technology Industry Association
- Enterprising Nonprofits
- Imagine Canada
- IT Volunteering
- SFU - Simon Fraser University
- VANTUG - Vancouver Technology Users Group
- Volunteer Vancouver
JDQ remains committed to the 3Spheres of Reciprocity™ model and the culture of win-win relationships that it can foster. Traditional networking focuses on meeting people with common interests where engagement is sometimes superficial. 3Spheres™ works to develop meaningful community participation where reciprocity is contagious.
For More Information
- Visit the JDQ Systems Inc. website at http://www.jdq.com
- Learn more about the Social Enterprise Dragons event at www.socialenterprisedragons.com
- Find more resources about social responsibility in the ASQ Knowledge Center
- This case study was selected as the first-place winner in the 2011 "What Path Are You Taking?" content contest by TheSRO.org, an online community providing resources and networking focused on social responsibility
About the Author
Jon Morris is the principal and president of JDQ Systems Inc., where he consults on strategic improvement initiatives while providing leadership based on quality principles. He is a quality practitioner with 20 years of experience in the application of quality methodologies to affect business improvement. Jon holds a master’s of business administration from the Ivey School of Business and is an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt. His experience includes the implementation of quality management systems for ISO 9000 registration, implementation of lean Six Sigma methods, and software application design to support continual improvement efforts.
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