PURPOSE, INC.

Participants:

Michael Young, Host

Grady Crosby, VP Pubic Affairs and Chief Diversity Officer at Johnson Controls

Michael Young:

Welcome to the Purpose, Inc., the podcast where we discuss corporate purpose and stakeholder capitalism. I'm your host, Michael Young.

The central question of this podcast is whether and to what extent corporations can be productive social actors. In 2020, the intersections between corporations and society has never been more starkly or sharply defined. First, with COVID and corporation relations with workers and now with the long overdue conversation we're having about racial inequality and injustice in the immediate aftermath of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. If you've not watched it, I would commend to you the eulogy of George Floyd given by the Reverend Sharpton in Houston on June 9th which in my view is the second most important speech on the subject of race in American after Dr. King. I'll link the speech in the show notes below. You can find it on YouTube. And in that very moving and powerful sermon, Reverend Sharpton makes the point about the rule of law and police and he says not only should the rule of law apply to police but it should apply to an even higher level and a higher standard because the police are given special powers to arrest and to use deadly force. There can be no lower standard.

Reverend Sharpton's eulogy of George Floyd: https://youtu.be/p6XffaKILcU

My guest today is Grady Crosby, the vice president of public affairs and the chief diversity officer of Johnson Controls. And Grady brings up a correlative and equally powerful point about the role that corporations play in society as a force for good and it is because corporations as entities, as citizens in our society have special powers. They can't be arrested, they can't be sent to jail, they live in perpetuity, they pay taxes at a lower rate. So, corporations have a unique role to play in our society precisely because they have these special powers and as Grady says, with great power comes great responsibility and that corporate citizens must be held to higher standards. And so, Grady and I talk about that and he shares very forcefully and directly about systemic racism and police brutality and the asymmetric impacts that racism has on African-Americans and people of color and vulnerable communities in terms of health and economic outcomes and protection and safety and public safety. And he talks about the inequities between people of color, African-Americans in particular and corporations whether it be in hiring, in leadership and in board representation.

But as a corporate citizens, Johnson Controls does much more than talk the talk and that's what we get into today and Grady unfurls the efforts that Johnson Controls is making, the many commitments it has as a corporation citizen in taking on issues of social and economic inequality and racial inequality in particular as a very large employer and corporate citizen in the city of Milwaukee in particular but more broadly as a global citizen. Grady is a sought-after speaker on corporate purpose and sustainability and diversity and inclusion. I've seen him on innumerable podcasts and webinars and I was thrilled and excited when he agreed to come on this podcast. Grady holds a JD from Wake Forest University's Law School and a bachelor of political science from Howard University. Grady has been incredibly generous with his time and his insights to me in helping me understand and talk about the issues of corporation citizenship and the role that corporations have in our society and I'm really grateful to Grady for coming on the podcast. So. without further ado, my conversation with Grady Crosby of Johnson Controls. Grady, thanks so much for coming on the podcast.

Grady Crosby:

Thank you, Michael, for inviting me. I appreciate the opportunity to be here with Purpose, Inc.

Michael Young:

Awesome. So, just if you could give us your bio and who you are, what you do at Johnson Controls?

Grady Crosby:

Yeah. So, real briefly, Michael, again my name is Grady Crosby. I'm the vice president of public affairs. I'm the chief diversity officer at Johnson Controls. I also have the pleasure of serving as the president of the Johnson Controls Foundation. I always tell people Johnson Controls is probably one of the biggest companies that people have never heard of so to speak. But we make building automation equipment. We do a lot in the area of HVAC equipment, building, operations control, fire security suppression as well as building access controls and things of that nature. And so, in my role in public affairs, my group, I have everything from our sustainability initiatives to community involvement and engagement to our workforce diversity. I also liaise with our procurement team on supplier diversity and of course, I will work with and lead the philanthropic efforts of the company. So, I consider what we do as being the conscious if you will of the company. So, we really are squarely engaged in the corporation social responsibility space.

Michael Young:

Excellent, excellent. That's a very broad brief you have and I want to get into a lot of that. But in particular in light of recent protests about police brutality and racial inequality and systemic in our society. And as you know, the purpose of this podcast is to talk about how and to what extent corporations can and are productive social actors. And so, if you could give me your thoughts on the last couple of weeks? We're recording this in the second week of June. George Floyd's funeral was yesterday. So, how do you think about this and what's happened in our society?

Grady Crosby:

Yeah, Michael. It's been tough. It's not only been a tough couple of weeks but it's been tough last few months, it's been a tough year. I saw someone on their Facebook page said that somebody needs to hit reset if you will for 2020. Yeah. We have a part of our community that's really hurting and the George Floyd murder if you will, it's just kind of the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back and causes people to get out in the street and say no more to systematic racial inequality, police brutality. Black lives are worth far more than a $20 bill if you will. So, what we saw was just a response to really what has been building up in our society for some time now, the continued account over and over again the interactions that police have had with members of black community that have gone far south of interactions with just the black community and society in general that continue to go far south. We think of the Central Park situation. And then interactions between the black community and corporate America where our black community is far underrepresented not only with regard to corporate leadership but with regard to even boards of directors that run these companies. So, when you compile what has happened with regard to COVID-19 and the disproportionate impact that it's had on the African-American community and we know that was and has been a result of a lot of the health inequities and disparities that go on in our communities. And then you think about the economic hit that has happened as a result of COVID-19 which again has disproportionately impacted the black community because when you think about it, there are a lot of black and brown people who are working in the service industry and those were the jobs that are eliminated during COVID-19 because nobody's going to bars or restaurants and movie theaters and things of that nature anymore and hotels and things of that nature. So, you've got the impact of that. And then you think about the racial inequity and the police brutality that occurred with Ahmaud Arbery, with George Floyd and when people are fed up, they take to the streets. So, all I can say is that I know that some type of systemic racism exists in our society and to what extent, what level, what degree is all the public debate that's going on right now. But when you just look at the numbers, they just don't seem to add up and you have to ask yourself why and if the reason is embedded in the systems that we continue to rely on for our health, for our economic well-being as well as for our protection and safety.

Michael Young:

I was listening to Reverend Sharpton's eulogy yesterday and he said I think there's this calculus that we've talked about in our society which is look how far we've come. And I think one of the things that he said that really struck me was but we don’t understand how deep this goes and by that, he meant how deep racism goes. And I think what you just said about COVID and systemic inequities and George Floyd is just one name, right? There are hundreds and hundreds of names and thousands of names. And that I think is how deep it goes but I guess a question, Grady, is have we come to terms finally, has George Floyd ultimately, as you said, broken the camel's back? I feel like something has shifted. How do you think about that?

Grady Crosby:

Michael, it feels different because when you look at the outcry that's going on in the street, the voices that are blending, it's not just black voices, not just brown voices but it's really made up of all voices in our community. I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and whether you're on the most affluent street and whether you are in the proverbial hood if you will, voices are standing up and saying we won't continue to tolerate racial injustice and black lives matter. And again, that goes from the million dollar mansions on Lake Front Drive to those that are living in publically assisted housing in Wisconsin. So, that part of it feels different. However, I recognize also that there still is a part and significant segment of our society that still doesn't quite either understand or has gotten to a point to where they are ready to acknowledge that it may be time for some radical change, to think about things drastically differently than they have been thought about in the past. And I think that's where we're going to continue to have some tension in terms of how do we bridge that understanding? How do we get people to continue to listen to each other and acknowledge that there are parts of our society that are hurting? And we need to figure out why and how we can make it better. Because truly, your podcast is titled Purpose, Inc. and one of our values at Johnson Controls is to be purpose-led and that's because we believe that we are all inextricably woven together for a purpose to accomplish something great. And that connectivity of people together means that sometimes I may not get to a total understanding of what's going on with you and your situation because I just don't have that background, I just don't have that sphere of knowledge but maybe if I commit to trying to understand, then perhaps I can add voice and stand with you because I know your reality is reality and although it may not be mine because we're kind of in this thing together, we have to stand up and continue to support all segments of our society. So, I'm so hopeful that this is something different but I'm optimistically cautious that the heavy lifting is still ahead.

Michael Young:

Yeah, yeah. And I thought about that quote, Thurgood Marshall said we have dissent from indifference and I think that's a lot of what white society has to do is really just say enough is enough. And I think we are seeing the opening of that. So, I do want to talk about where you sit in Johnson Controls and as you were introducing yourself, I was thinking wow, Johnson Controls is about comfort and safety and that's really maybe where we could start to tie some of this together because there are a lot of places and a lot of corners of our society that don't have that. So, what is Johnson Controls doing? How are you prioritizing inclusion? What actions are you taking? And that again is a big part of the critical journey of this podcast is really asking the question. Are tone and deeds lining up? And I think that's what we all need to do in every corner is hold ourselves accountable. And so, I'm asking you how does Johnson Controls come at this? What are the words and what are the actions?

Grady Crosby:

Yeah. We recognize when this situation, what's continuing to grow with regard to not only COVID-19 but with regard to the civil unrest as a result of the George Floyd murder that it was going to take more than just kind of thoughts and prayers and warm sentiments that we're behind you. We're going to have to continue to back that up with the actions that we had already started. And that's a great thing is that Johnson Controls has always taken corporate social responsibility very serious. We take our corporate citizenship very seriously. When you think about it, the corporate citizen is a very special citizen in society. It has super citizen rights if you will. For example, the corporate citizen lives in perpetuity, the corporate citizen pays taxes at a different rate, the corporate citizen doesn't even have to serve jury duty, the corporate citizen can't be handcuffed and hauled away to jail and no one can put a knee on the neck of the corporate citizen. So, with super rights of corporate citizenry come super responsibilities in our minds. And so, we look at it from a range of perspectives not only our products and services as you talked about. We're all about being safe, smart and sustainable and where that shows up in our business in terms of our products and services from HVAC units and operating systems to fire protection and safety, we think about creating safe, smart and sustainable communities when we look at it on the philanthropic side. We make sure that not only our products and services do no harm but we also want to make sure that our company is trying to do good as well.

And then we think about it from the standpoint of just making, Michael, we're engaging in strong business practices around ethics, diversity and sustainability kind of from the concept that everything that builds equity inside a company ultimately can build equity outside of a company as well. And so, from a diversity and inclusion standpoint, we've been very committed to our employee experience, making sure that from the onboarding of employees within Johnson Controls, they understand about our commitment to the diversity and inclusivity. We have launched an enterprise internship program to make sure that we are shepherding the diverse talent in a way that's going to help them continue to grow and develop and have an opportunity to advance in the company as well. From a talent management standpoint, we're trying to make sure that we see everything that we do through a lens of D&I competency and so trying to make sure that all our initiatives have this component of looking at how it impacts our diverse population within Johnson Controls. That means that we have to upskill everyone from a learning development standpoint. There's been a lot of talk about implicit or unconscious bias and biases are something that just exist and we need to make sure that we're acknowledging that but making sure that our people have the skills necessary to leverage that to be able to manage and produce and grow all the talent that comes in to Johnson Controls.

So, a number of things went on the D&I side but then you look on the community side and we've had a long-standing commitment to the African-American community. We have in Milwaukee a unique relationship with some neighborhoods that sit very close to our main corporate campus here in Milwaukee and these are neighborhoods that are primarily African-American neighborhoods that are facing a number of challenges. And we decided to double down with the place-based initiative in these neighborhoods and our goal and focus there, three years ago when we decided this, was to change the trajectory of lives and over the last two years, we've poured in a little more than $2 million in programs that directly support those who live and work in those neighborhoods. Been a longtime supporter of UNCF and actually one thing that's interesting, even though we kind of sit in the Midwest and Chicago is our big brother if you will to the south, it's been here in Milwaukee and a lot has had to with the support of Johnson Controls that we've raised more money for UNCF annually than even our friends in Chicago through their annual fundraising programs. We're also just really proud to say that we were one of the million dollar contributors to a brand new museum project that is now under construction in Charleston, South Carolina called the International African-American Museum which kind of traces the slave trade from the shores of West Africa to places within the low country where especially Charleston and particularly at a site called Gadsden's Wharf where you can trace about 80% of those who are African Americans living in the U.S. today back to someone in their lineage would have landed at Gadsden's Wharf. And so, that project is kind of being billed as the Ellis Island experience for African-Americans here in the United States.

And the reason why I'm just bringing all of this up is because through these efforts, we're always looking at how we can continue to invest in kids to see some things that they haven't seen before, to expose them to careers that they may not necessarily think of as a first choice but really trying to point kids to the science and technology type of careers so that we can continue to grow the capacity within our communities. And I haven't even talked about, of course, our supplier diversity program. We're engaging with a number of women minority-owned businesses. So, there's a body of work, Michael, that we're trying to continue to foster and support to show all elements of our community that Johnson Controls is really serious about our commitment to our communities in total. And of course, we have a special relationship with the African-American community. So, we're not only trying to talk the talk but we're trying to walk the talk as well in a number of different areas.

Michael Young:

And put your money where your mouth is which is always great to hear. I think you're a Howard graduate. Is that correct?

Grady Crosby:

Yep. That is correct. I went to Howard University and I have a legacy son who graduated from Howard as well.

Michael Young:

Fantastic. And I think—what's your thought on recruitment out of historically black colleges and universities? And is that something that Johnson Controls does? And I guess what advice would you give to other organizations in particular in deepening—because again this is where I think there's been talk. Now I think we're going to see corporations really start to move and act. And so, do you have thoughts there in particular on recruitment and talent recruitment?

Grady Crosby:

And this is part of our talent strategy at Johnson Controls. Certainly, one of our partner schools is Howard University because we're always looking for engineers and Howard has an excellent engineering program. And when you think about the HBCUs in general—for those who may not be familiar with that acronym, historically black colleges and universities—the HBCUs are producing somewhere close to 50% of the African-American engineers in the U.S. today. And so, if you want and are looking for African-American talent, black talent, African-American engineers like Johnson Controls, then you need to go where they are. And so, we are partnering with the Howard's of the world and the North Carolina A&T State University and the Tuskegee's there are a number of gems of institutions and colleges and universities of higher learning where this talent is just there and waiting to continue to be tapped.

But I continue to emphasize to folks that it takes a commitment to wanting to kind of be there and understand if you will the needs that go on within HBCU communities as well. HBCUs have traditionally provided a little bit more in terms of wraparound services for students than our larger majority colleges. I say that thinking about even my own experience, how I had professors that were so willing to lean in with my personal growth and development, we had smaller class sizes, more people lived on campus. And so, HBCUs had a very big and still have a very big dependence on people living on campus and utilizing campus dining facilities. And when COVID happened and everyone had to go home, the HBCUs were probably hit even more so because of the model of not necessarily have been shifted to distant or remote learning as quickly or early as some of the other institutions as well as the fact that now we have real revenue streams that were going away. So, if companies are really serious about identifying African-American talent, black talent, the HBCUs continue to be that gem and they need our support now more so than ever because of the impact of COVID and because of the fact that these are the institutions that have historically fought against racial injustice, have historically stood up for our communities and have historically provided educational opportunities to allow people to really fully live out what we consider or call the American dream and that is to have the ability to be all that God has purposed you to be.

Michael Young:

Yeah, yeah. My dad taught at Meharry for many years. He taught human anatomy as a PhD and human anatomy and he did his postdoc at Vanderbilt and then he went and worked at Meharry for I think eight or nine years in the 60s. So, very familiar with—actually grew up on that campus you might say.

Grady Crosby:

Oh, that's beautiful. I had a cousin that went to Fisk University so right there in Nashville. But Meharry—and again, people say well, why do you have these HBCUs? One of the reasons is because at the majority institutions, black folk were not allowed to go and so there was a need and there still is a need for that specialized type of care and Meharry, Howard University Hospital are still providing valued service and still producing more black doctors in the world than a lot of our majority institutions.

Michael Young:

Yeah, yeah. All right, Grady, we're coming up on time here. So, maybe if you could just share over all your lessons learned and advice for those who were like you on this journey and especially now in light of post-George Floyd, post-COVID, corporate social responsibility? Give us your perspective if you would in your closing remarks.

Grady Crosby:

Well, again Michael, thank you so much for the opportunity to be here today and I've enjoyed this conversation. But I think at the end of the day, people have to continue to seek understanding and the best way to start that knowledge journey if you will is to be willing to listen. And so, we have to have more people listening to each other. And on the business side, businesses just have to challenge each other to do better and continue to collaborate on best practices. Businesses are known for competing against each other but this is a space, when we talk about corporate social responsibility, where we can be collaborative and we can share with each other what are some of the best practices in order to gain impact in the communities that we serve. And we have to be patient. Corporate social responsibility is still a fairly young discipline if you will. Companies have always had CEOs and CFOs and general councils and things of that nature but we haven't always had departments that were working towards gain and impact in communities and trying to improve lives and live out what the Business Roundtable has called upon to be kind of an increased if you will purpose of the corporation, that is taking into account a wide range of views towards its stakeholders. And so, the beautiful thing about corporate social responsibility is that we don't need to patent our work. We can share it freely knowing that everybody will benefit when we share our best practices. And I'll leave you with this. Mark Twain said in order to get the full value of joy, you should find someone to divide it with. And we know at Johnson Controls that there is a tremendous amount of joy in giving and we want to partner with any companies who are so willing so that we can continue to divide the joy and gain impact in our communities.

Michael Young:

Yeah. That's really powerful, that open source idea of the good. Right? That it's not something you kind of hold on to as an organization but you share it freely. That's really powerful and I also love what you said about corporate citizenship and as an entity with great power comes great responsibility. And so, I really, really, really appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us today, Grady. Thank you so much.

Grady Crosby:

Absolutely, Michael. Thank you. Anytime.

Michael Young:

The Purpose, Inc. Podcast is a production of Actual Agency, helping innovators communicate in a changing world. More at www.Actual.Agency.

RECORDING ENDS

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