Technical Professionals acting on Social Responsibility

Example: With a worldwide energy crisis in full effect, IT is coming under pressure to be more socially responsible: what is your response ?

The $64,000 question is how responsible you feel towards the social implications of energy consumption? Do you care if data centers are burning more energy in a day than a town does? If you’re a lightworker , then there is no doubt, but what about the rest of the professionals in the industry?

Well green is big at the moment. The industry is waking up to the effect it’s power consumption has on everyone else’s life. Most hardware vendors and data center operators have declared their intent on addressing this issue. The challenge is in its adoption: buyers of IT in organizations need to be aware of the strides made in technology and incorporate green as a factor in the buying process. This is where you can come in. But how would you help?

Example: Outsourcing continues to grow at a pace, and many jobs traditionally done domestically are going overseas leading to unemployment: what is your response ?

If you’re involved in making decisions on international outsourcing, how do you feel about this? Do you care you neighbor might be out of her job because your organization has decided to use an Indian service provider? (not to pick on India especially!)

This issue will continue to grow unless something is done, but what? Maybe you can do something?

I don’t have the answers to these questions, but it’s possible you might do.

Who can do something about these kind of problems? Anybody can to be blunt, if you feel that a cause is something you really care about. Taking personal action is a sure fire way of influencing the change, and don’t think that your contribution is too small. You’d be surprised how being a leader of a cause generates interest in the people around you. See the post on TechieNation.com for an example of how Technical Professionals can consider energy issues and other green matters like recycling. Being aware is the first and most important step!

So by building your awareness, you’ll be ready to take action. Your cause already has started. Just deciding you’re going to do something about a cause means it will happen (see Steve Pavlina’s post on Intention Manifestation .)

Also, consider this. Championing a cause can raise your personal profile in your organization too, so you’d get something else back. People like other people who are motivated and take action. Execs especially. You should tell them about it.

Acting on Social Responsibility is cool, and good for you, both mentally and for your career. How do I know? I’ve chosen to help businesses in the small town I live in (Nailsworth) to compete with all the retailers available on the web. A bold objective! I chose this because I love living in my town and I love the fact it still has a micro-economy, even though it’s declining. I want to stop the decline! I’ve decided to meet with the businesspeople and increase their awareness of shopping on the web and the behavior of the consumer to help them understand the threat. I’ve also decided to build a search engine that will showcase their products alongside everything else available on the web and adding some clear messages to consumers about the benefits of buying local. I’ve talked about this to the CEO of my organization and he has offered his support and it’s improved our relationship. He now knows I am someone self-motivated and is considerate of wider issues.

I’ve decided this, so it will happen. And I am so excited about it!

Other reading: Rise of the Lightworker on StevePavlina.com