It Starts with Values

An Interview with Philippe Dauman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Viacom Inc.

EDITORS’ NOTE Philippe Dauman active company that has particular res- and the leveraging of both of our strengths, as was Co-Chairman and Chief onance with young people. We have any effective business relationship does. Executive Officer of DND Capital the ability to influence our audiences, We’ve had many varied initiatives that Partners, L.L.C. from May 2000 who are engaged and strongly con- ended up reaching far beyond the company, until September 2006. Prior nected to our brands. such as our Get Connected mentoring pro- to co-founding DND Capital As a result, we have a unique gram. As a result of our experience we created Partners, Dauman served in sev- opportunity to engage with them on “Mentor in a Box” to share what we learned eral positions at Viacom, includ- important social issues and to encour- with other companies. There had previously ing as Deputy Chairman and age them to take action. We are all in- been no road map for setting up a mentorship Executive Vice President. He is a vested in this mission, which, I believe program in a company. Education is a personal director of National Amusements, is one of the reasons we attract and passion of mine and as part of Get Connected, Inc.; Lafarge S.A.; and the KIPP retain great people. The young peo- I took on a mentee who I’ve been working with Foundation, as well as a mem- Philippe Dauman ple – the Millennial Generation – that for a year and a half. ber of the Academy of Motion we cater to and now employ want to With most of these efforts, do you look Picture Arts and Sciences and the Business make a difference in the world and we’re seeing to collaborate or partner? Roundtable, and Vice Chair of the Partnership higher levels of participation in our community We have found that collaboration with for New York City. He serves on the Executive initiatives because of them. On Viacommunity other organizations that have relevant expertise Committee of the NCTA, the Board of Trustees Day, which we’ve done every year for more is a very powerful approach. With our mentor- for The Paley Center for Media and the North than two decades, every employee around the ing program, we researched the best mentoring Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, the world is given a day off to volunteer with differ- organization that could help us. In education, Executive Committee of Lenox Hill Hospital, ent charitable organizations in their communi- we’ve partnered with the Gates Foundation. and the Board of Trustees and Dean’s Council ties. This year, we saw record levels of reach We look for practical programs that have of Columbia University Law School. and participation around the world. the potential for meaningful outcomes and Is it important that the charitable ini- partnerships that make sense. In this area, COMPANY BRIEF With more than 160 media tiatives you support tie into your business as in business, there should be accountability. networks, Viacom (www.viacom.com) is a lead- strategy or should they be kept separate? So we strive to have measureable objectives, ing global entertainment company delivering The key point of engagement for us is to which can inform our strategy and further our content to its audiences via television, motion use the power of our reach and influence initiatives. pictures, and a wide range of digital media. as a global media company. We’re leveraging Is it possible to establish metrics to Viacom’s brands include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, our business relationships to create excellent track the impact of these efforts? BET, Centric, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, work and to do good for our communities – Yes. For example, on Get Schooled, we Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, TV Land, Spike TV, and all of our stakeholders benefit – employ- had an attendance challenge that involved 100 and Tr3s. and Paramount Pictures, which cel- ees, audiences and business partners. high schools around the country and 250,000 ebrates its 100th year in 2012 and is America’s There are several prongs to what we do students. Through the work of the Gates oldest film studio, continuing today as a global and several strategic areas of focus, including Foundation, we found that there is a direct cor- producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. education, health and wellness, citizenship, and relation among high school attendance, high the environment. Supporting education, for ex- school graduation rates, and college attendance. How critical is it to drive community en- ample, helps to ensure the competitiveness of The challenge was to improve attendance for gagement as part of the culture of Viacom future generations and a stronger workforce. We the chance to meet a celebrity in person and and how do you define those efforts? started working on the Get Schooled initiative have them perform at your school. Doing good is a fundamental part of our with the Gates Foundation, the success of which Attendance went up in all the participating culture and has been for as long as we’ve been eventually led to the creation of Get Schooled schools, even those that didn’t win, and you in existence. Our COO and I just completed as a separate foundation. The nonprofit organi- can measure that. For those that didn’t win, we a series of leadership meetings that were held zation utilizes media, technology, and popular had celebrities record phone messages, which over a period of more than a year – we got culture to improve high school graduation and students could sign up for online to receive in together with a group of our leaders for a full college success rates. the morning. As an entertainment company, we day to go through our core values and lead- To ensure our employees were as passion- have that ability to partner with celebrities and ership attributes. Among them is good citizen- ate about the initiative as we were, we ran panels many are interested in helping. ship and doing good, which define what our and seminars in New York and L.A. so our peo- We also try to sustain these programs company is all about and are also important ple could hear the issues firsthand. The Gates and extend their benefits. For example, the attributes of a good leader. Foundation recognized that we are as good at Get Schooled effort is a multi-year plan that In our meetings and town halls, I also em- reaching people as they are at innovative pro- is measured as it progresses. Health care has phasize the special responsibility we have as a gramming, so it was a perfect partnership. The been a global initiative we have played a major media company, and even more so as a globally effort’s growth stems from its grassroots nature role in for over 20 years. Through outreach 2 LEADERS VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2 and education, initiatives like the MTVStaying You also publish a corporate responsibil- Alive Foundation and BET’s Rap-It-Up have ity report. increased HIV/AI DS awareness around the Yes, I want this company to be thought of world and affected millions. In 2011 alone, MTV as the best place to work and as a company Staying Alive Foundation grantees reached that people respect. Respect for an individual over half a million young people. For the past or a company is about something more than eight years, on Nickelodeon’s Worldwide Day the bottom line; it’s about forging relationships of Play, Nick goes dark for three hours to en- with our consumers and working to address the courage kids to get active. Over the summer, issues that are most important to them. Our the network motivated kids to complete more CSR report highlights all the initiatives under - than 3,300,000 health and wellness actions. way throughout Viacom, providing measur- These are just a few of the major issues that able data and concrete results. have been the subject of sustained effort over Even though many CEOs of leading a number of years. corporations put a major emphasis on What have you done to focus on the giving back, public perception of them is environment? not always favorable. Does that ever frustrate Again, a lot of our programs bubble up you? from the passion and efforts of our employees Regardless of public perception, you have to at the grassroots level. Individual brands have do what is right, which in addition to doing good, championed environmental efforts in their own means doing the best you can in a difficult econ- way, speaking to audiences through their sig- omy to run a successful enterprise. This way, you nature styles and personalities. For example, are creating jobs and giving people the wherewithal Comedy Central educates viewers on practi- to support their families and do good on their own. cal eco-friendly behaviors in its distinctly witty I’ve been involved with this company for voice. Sustainability is a major cause within the 25 years and our commitment to being socially company that resonates with audiences around responsible is a part of our culture, which pre- dates even my getting involved with the company. We have gotten better at our social responsibility efforts just as we’ve gotten better at operating our business, getting more employees involved and expanding to more places throughout the world. This commitment ties the com- pany together. Again, our extraordi- nary worldwide Viacommunity Day is a perfect example. We all get to spend time with old colleagues, meet new ones, and together discover commu- nity organizations with which to get involved. Employees can go online and see pictures of themselves and others participating – we even create a video about it every year. Viacom consistently inno- vates and leads in different seg- the world. Internally, we strive to green our ments. What makes the company so special? business practices through our Green Room It comes from our creativity and integrity. for recycling supplies, e-waste and cell phone In any organization, whether it’s government, recycling programs and green volunteering ini- corporate, or nonprofit, you start with values. tiatives. Paramount’s Rideshare program, an You have to decide what your values are and initiative within the “Green. It’s Paramount to those have to be values that are shared by the or- Us.” umbrella, allows employees to search and ganization, its partners, and other stakeholders. find Rideshare partners in the company, offers Viacom is fundamentally a creative orga- commuter planning resources, and provides in- nization. We are 100 percent about content centives for participation. and brands, and about entertaining people. So How does having the ability to the question becomes: What do you need to reach so many people create a different plat- succeed? We have to be creative and innova- form than other companies in this space? tive – adapting to a world and technology that Connecting people is what we do here – across is constantly changing. And we need a lot of all of our screens and around the world, we reach teamwork – people working together to make a people directly, and bring them together around TV program or a movie and, increasingly, mak - content and ideas. In some cases, we weave mes- ing sure that content can succeed in a digital sages and themes into our shows and air targeted environment across multiple screens. public service announcements. Some of the most In the end, it’s those attributes and the creative minds in the business are hard at work de- concentration of all the values we have as a veloping programming, Web sites and applications corporate organization that makes us successful at within these walls. For instance, MTV launched the what we do.• “My College Dollars” app with Get Schooled and The College Board, to connect students to eligible schol- Viacom sponsored community activities: Clean up of Zojoji Temple arships based on their Facebook profile data and in Tokyo, Japan for Viacommunity Day 2011 (above); an outline of provide information on getting financing for college. Viacom’s charitable activities (right) VOLUME 35, NUMBER 2 LEADERS 3