CRO POV: Mattel’s Responsibility Play

By Jay Whitehead

As somebody whose professional life started in 1981, I clearly recall a frenzy around companies creating “mission statements.”  It got to the point in the mid-1990s that dot-coms with failing business models were raising tens of millions for having nothing more than a well-written statement in their lobby.

Despite all the goofiness around mission statements, one company’s has always seemed to me to be more fun than any other.  That company is Mattel.  Its central theme is “play.”  I suppose this makes sense.  After all, Mattel makes toys, including my daughter’s favorite, Barbie.  

When you visit Mattel’s So Cal headquarters, you see some of the weirdest things.  Adults playing tag with strange devices in the courtyard.  Grown men acting like 8-year-old boys, hooting and hollering about how high a toy motorcycle jumps.  Rubber-floor conference rooms where pre-teen girls squeal with joy about the latest Barbie accessories.  Offices filled with highly-paid MBAs from good schools who debate the merits of California Barbie and Ken reconciling after their much-ballyhooed breakup.  And a lobby guard who checks everyone’s laptops and bags, guarding against industrial espionage.  (In the toy biz, rapid knock-offs and imitators are an innovator’s greatest enemies.)

This tie-free workplace seems the least likely place for the sober work of Corporate Responsibility.   

But wait.  Follow me into the office of Kathleen Shaver, a UCLA PhD whose job it is to tell the world about Mattel’s CR profile.  She, along with her corporate communications counterpart Jules Andres, helped USA Today fashion its recent story “How Barbie is making business better.”  And she is the executive charged with Mattel’s new CR report, which debuts in the next few weeks.  

Around Valentine’s Day, you will see Shaver’s handiwork in the business TV show appearances of Mattel’s CEO.  These appearances correspond with the big NY Toy Show, at which the toy industry’s luminaries gather to talk about the latest in play.  To hear Shaver tell it, Mattel is about play and responsibility, working together to build an ever-more successful enterprise.  

In her role, Shaver is no defense-minded Sarbox-compliance wonk.  She plays on the offensive side of the CR game.  She is all about using CR offensively—to sell products, raise capital and recruit talent.  To see whether Shaver is having an impact, all you need to do is take a look at Mattel’s recent stock performance.  As a result of her and Mattel’s success, expect to see many other companies building their “offensive CR” capabilities.

Mattel plays hard at corporate responsibility.  Expect imitators.

Tomorrow’s CRO POV:  Corporate Responsibility’s New Frontier: Employee Recognition