So, why don’t more companies behave the way Unilever does?

　　那么，为什么没有更多公司仿效联合利华的做法呢?

　　For one, many executives underestimate how difficult it is to build this kind of culture. That doesn’tmean every company needs to make grand pronouncements like Unilever has done. (Case inpoint: Polman has described his company as “the world’s biggest NGO.”) Having purpose simplyrequires being clear about how you’re delivering value to your customers while taking responsibilityfor whomever and whatever you touch.

　　原因之一在于，许多高管低估了建立这种文化的难度。这并不意味着所有公司都要像联合利华那样发布宏伟的宣言。(一个恰当的例子是，波尔曼曾把联合利华描述为“全球最大的非营利性组织”。)拥有目标，只是要求公司清楚该如何把自己的价值观传达给顾客，并为一切接触的人和事物负责。

　　The problem is, many companies are fuzzy about their mission. And all too often, “corporate socialresponsibility” amounts to nothing more than trotting out a few empty slogans, cutting somechecks for charity, holding a day of service for employees, or setting up a CSR department thathas no actual input into major decisions.

　　问题在于，许多公司没有搞清他们的使命。太多情况下，“企业社会责任”的意义只是喊几句空洞口号，在账上拨点钱用于慈善，给员工组织一天的公益活动，或是建立一个无法对重大决策施加实质性影响的企业社会责任部门。

　　Unilever UN 1.35% , by contrast, rigorously measures and reports its progress against threeambitious goals it aims to reach by 2020: helping more than a billion people across the globeimprove their health and well-being; halving the environmental footprint of its products; andsourcing 100% of its agricultural raw materials sustainably while enhancing the livelihoods of thoseworking across its supply chain.

　　而联合利华正好相反，该公司严格地测算和报告他们准备在2020年达成的三个雄心勃勃的目标的进展情况：帮助全球10亿以上的人口提高健康和幸福水平;将公司产品对环境的负面影响减半;农业原材料要具有100%的可持续性，同时提高供应链工人的生活水平。

　　What’s more, the company has committed to doing all this while doubling the size of its business,to about $100 billion. (Unilever derives nearly 60% of its sales from emerging markets.)

　　此外，该公司还决心在做到这一切的同时，将业务规模翻番，达到1,000亿美元。(联合利华的近六成销售额来自新兴市场。)

　　On the ground, these objectives manifest themselves in many ways, like the recent launch of theToilet Board Coalition, a cross-sector group that is trying to find scalable, market-based solutions towhat it calls “the sanitation crisis.” Could this Unilever-led effort make a difference in the lives of the2.5 billion people around the world who lack access to a safe, clean toilet? Quite possibly. Could italso help Unilever sell more bottles of Domestos, its bathroom germ killer? Definitely.

　　在实际执行中，这些目标从许多角度证明了自己的价值。比如最近成立的厕所董事会联盟。这是一个跨部门的组织，旨在寻找可扩展且基于市场的方法来解决所谓的“卫生危机”。全球目前还有多达25亿人缺乏安全且洁净的厕所，这场由联合利华发起的行动究竟能否他们的生活?很有可能。这项行动能否帮助联合利华卖出更多杀灭卫生间细菌的产品“家净”呢?绝对如此。

　　Using the same logic, Unilever is trying to position Knorr bouillon as a weapon to combat foodinsecurity; Lifebuoy, a vehicle to promote good hygiene.

　　秉持同样的逻辑，联合利华试图将家乐的肉汁清汤作为与食品安全问题斗争的武器，利用抗菌品牌卫宝来宣传良好的个人卫生习惯。

　　Making this tangible for those on the front lines isn’t easy. So, in late 2013, Unilever launched anonline “Social Impact Hub” for its 174,000 employees to learn more about its myriad initiatives inthis area. Unilever has also augmented its training programs so that workers at all levels canunderstand the company’s commitment to sustainability and how their own jobs fit in.

　　要让第一线的工人感受到这一切并不容易。所以在2013年底，联合利华为17.4万名员工建立了在线“社会影响中心”，让他们认识到公司在该领域的许多举措。联合利华还增加了培训项目，让所有级别的员工都能理解公司在可持续发展领域的投入，以及他们自身的工作如何促进这项目标的实现。

　　Being purpose-driven also demands that companies have a clear long-term vision. And that’stough when investors are pushing executives to set their sights not much further out than thecurrent quarter’s earnings or the day’s stock price. “We’ve created a rat race toward short-termism,” Polman says.

　　要用目的驱动员工，公司还得有明确的长期愿景。在当今时代，投资者总是敦促公司高管专注于当前季度的收益状况或当日股价而不要看得太远，所以许多公司很难做到这一点。波尔曼表示：“我们一直在与短期主义激烈地斗争。”

　　Standing up to this myopic mindset takes guts. Under Polman, Unilever has stopped reporting itsquarterly profits, and it resists giving earnings guidance to financial analysts. His own compensationis tied to how well the company is tracking against its long-range sustainability metrics.

　　抗拒这种短视的思维模式需要勇气。在波尔曼的领导下，联合利华不再发布季度盈利报告，并拒绝向金融分析师提供业绩预期。而波尔曼自己的薪酬也与公司执行长期可持续计划的效果相挂钩。

　　No organization is perfect, and Unilever’s outspokenness on social issues has made it a juicy targetfor critics; any perceived stumble is quickly called out.

　　没有哪家公司是完美的。联合利华讨论社会问题的直白方式，也让该公司成为批评家乐于抨击的目标，任何被认为犯错的地方都会被迅速指出。

　　But Polman is relentless about the need for business to “serve society, rather than take fromit”—and his message appears to be getting through. With it comes the “satisfaction of working fora company that generally tries to lead and do the right thing,” as one Unilever employeecommented on Glassdoor.

　　但波尔曼依然在毫不松懈地遵循“服务社会，而不是向社会索取”的理念，这种讯息似乎已经得到理解。一名联合利华的员工在职业社区Classdoor上如此评论：“在这样一家总是试图引领潮流并且做正确事情的公司中工作，我感到很满意。”

　　That may sound a bit touchy feely. But in an era in which cultivating talent isincreasingly essential, building a deep and authentic sense of purpose could be acompany’s ultimate competitive advantage.

　　这听起来也许有点肉麻。但在一个培养人才日益重要的时代，能建立深切而真实的目标感，也许是一家公司最具竞争力的优势。

　　Rick Wartzman is the executive director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University.

　　本文作者里克•沃兹曼是克莱蒙特研究大学德鲁克学院的执行理事。

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（编辑：何莹莹）