广告业大佬：社交网络不容忽视

    从前，只要企业自称“绿色企业”，消费者就会相信。那时，人们还不像如今这般审慎，又或许手段实在太少，难以核查企业声明的真实性。那些日子对企业来说或许就仿若置身于已经消失的伊甸园中。某个大型企业集团尽可以宣称“我们促进了环保”，便会有一众消费者欣然点头，深受感动。瞧，那个时候多好啊（反正对企业很好）！

    但今非昔比。现在大公司不能只是嘴上说说，还必须付诸行动，肩负起社会责任。这就是《有心者胜》一书的观点。这本新出的商业著作和伪企业社会责任识别手册出自大卫•琼斯之手，他是法国广告巨头哈瓦斯集团（Havas）的CEO。

    早就有人主张，企业应该承担起社会责任，证明自己在造福于社会（不管是从事环保经营、社区发展还是其他的有益行为）。也早就有人主张，企业有必要关注消费者在社交媒体上对它们的评价。该书的主旨在于，这两种主张如今已经形成了某种内在的关联性。简单说来就是，如果企业没有在社会责任领域做到公开透明，就会在社交媒体领域尝到教训。

    可能会有人说，这种捆绑式的辞令同样是老调重弹。但琼斯在最近接受《财富》杂志（Fortune）访问时说，他不断见到许多大公司的CEO仍然乐而忘忧，对社交媒体及其力量毫无戒备。更糟糕的是，许多人更打算直接无视它。

    “我跟世界各地的人都谈起这些事情，他们却把我当成左翼疯狂分子来看，”他说。“在年轻人和媒体人的眼中，我所写的或许只是些显而易见之事。但对许多企业高管而言却并非如此。只要找当今的CEO们聊聊就会发现，他们当中有许多人都认为，社交媒体不过是一时的风潮，微不足道，终将式微。”

    不管你觉得这本书的观点有没有吸引力，有没有新闻价值，书中大部分的内容读起来都令人愉悦。《有心者胜》一书篇幅不长，封面抢眼，内容的目标定位却不够清晰，教人分不清这到底是企业指南、市场趋势分析还是自传。不过琼斯这位魅力非凡的英国人用有趣的个人轶事和大量的实例弥补了这些瑕疵。其中有许多故事甚至连嗅觉最敏锐的新闻记者都有可能错过。

    商界人士都记得（或许还带着一丝苦笑），英国石油公司（BP）前CEO唐熙华曾在墨西哥湾原油泄漏事件后表示——他渴望重新过上安生的日子。若是时间提早五年，他的过失可能并不会让他狼狈至斯。当中的差别在哪里？答案就是社交媒体。

    There was a time when corporations could merely say, "We're green," and consumers, not yet as scrutinizing as they are today, or perhaps simply less equipped to check up on corporate claims, would believe it. For corporations, those days probably feel like a lost Eden. "We help the environment," Mega-Conglomerate X would announce, and Consumers Y & Z would smile and nod, and be duly impressed, and lo, it was good (for the companies, anyway).

    Now those days are gone, and big businesses can't just talk the talk, but must walk the socially responsible walk. Such is the argument of Who Cares Wins, a new biz book and pseudo CSR manual by David Jones, CEO of the French advertising giant Havas.

    There's nothing new about arguing that businesses need to be socially responsible and prove they do positive work (whether that means environmentally-friendly operations, community outreach, or other good deeds). Nor is it news that companies need to care about what customers say about them on social media. The book's main argument is that these ideas are now intrinsically linked. In short, companies will be punished in the latter space for not being transparent in the former.

    Some would argue that this rhetorical marriage isn't new either. But in a recent a sit-down with Fortune, Jones said he continually meets CEOs of major corporations who remain blissfully unaware of social media and its power. Worse, many of them wish to ignore it.

    "I talk to people all around the world about this stuff, and they look at me like I'm a left-wing loony," he said. "To young people or people in media, it probably seems like I've written something obvious. But to so many executives, it really isn't obvious. If you talk to CEOs today, many of them think social media is a fad, something trifling that will go away."

    Whether or not you find its premise interesting or newsworthy, the book is mostly a delight. A slim little volume with an appealing cover, Who Cares Wins doesn't always know what it wants to be -- corporate guide, market trend analysis, or autobiography. But Jones, a charming and engaging Brit, makes up for these small weaknesses with amusing personal anecdotes and hordes of examples, many of them stories that even the most attentive newshounds could have missed.

    Everyone in the business world remembers, perhaps with a sad laugh, when BP (BP) leader Tony Hayward said that he wanted his life back after the Gulf spill. Five years ago, Hayward's gaffe would likely not have achieved the same level of notoriety. What's different now? Social media.