Plotting Goodness

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

I’m not really sure why this particular quote has impacted me so over the past 3 years, but I came across it during my final MBA research paper on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).  To me it basically says there’s a lot of suffering in the world, a lot of injustice, a lot of poverty, a lot of people plotting evil – but do something.  Do anything.  Just don’t do nothing.

As it says on our website’s Giving Back page, I truly believe that those of us in the medical community can do far more than just donate money to humanitarian causes.  We can leverage our time, talents, and businesses to save lives.  This sentiment was echoed by Lou Gerstner, former CEO of IBM in his book Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance? “Individuals can be enormously generous… yet they lack the heft and leverage that corporations can bring to the solution of large systemic problems.”  At Kane X-ray I’m so pleased that our team is doing just that. 

With our CSR initiatives, we’re leveraging what we do best, health imaging, and delivering x-ray equipment to hospitals in need in developing countries.  We’ve partnered and consulted with some of the best people in this arena, but we’re still learning a lot about planning, managing resources, and communicating across boundaries.  We’re learning that plotting goodness isn’t as easy as it should be, but it is worth it.  Several customers, employees, and vendors have already committed their support to our work in Guatemala and it will be my pleasure to keep you updated on our progress.

At the same time, I would like to offer a challenge: consider what your business uniquely offers, consider what charitable project you can realistically take on – and do it.  Just start.  You’ll figure it out as you go. 

Feel free to contact me regarding our Guatemala project or I’m happy to share what we’ve been learning as well jthompson@kanexray.com.