Not so long ago, I broached the subject of “goodwill capital” with a wireless industry leader at lunch. A number of things prompted me to do this.
First, I’ve come to realize how much a pillar of the community one local TV broadcaster has become in the nation’s capital.
In addition to reporting local news, weather and sports, this TV station sponsors various community and charitable events. The involvement appears to be more than just show; it seems quite genuine. Whatever. The fact is, the TV station is an important part of peoples’ lives here. It is making a difference.
Why, I wondered out loud, could this not be a model for wireless carriers whose life-simplifying and life-saving services often are overshadowed at surprise intervals by issues that have accompanied the introduction of wireless technology into mainstream society: antenna siting moratoria, unsafe driving a la cellular, alleged health risks, mobile phone interference with pacemakers, wheelchairs and anti-lock brakes and so on. Why not invest in goodwill to cushion the blow when each new techno-controversy arises? Yes, there will be more.
Maybe, if wireless carriers involved themselves in their communities as some have begun to do, the backlash would be less severe and short-lived. Why? Because a level of goodwill and trust will have been built up over time between carriers and their customers.
With a community relationship, a harsh rush to judgment is less likely. Cool heads are more likely to prevail. Folks will weigh the evidence.
Antenna siting applications for Rock Creek Park make local headlines here. And yet I don’t hear anyone protesting the second coming of TV antennas that will tower over the land when broadcasters convert to digital technology. What gives?
Maybe goodwill capital.
For sure, this movement has taken root in the wireless industry. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has a wonderful program to link needy schools to the Internet via the airwaves. The Personal Communications Industry Association is doing its part with the Life Page program for needy organ-donor candidates.
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. has begun donating wireless phones to schools around the country and another carrier makes phones available to battered women.
In the course of normal business, wireless carriers shine amid the darkness of clouds that bring floods, blizzards, hurricanes and other rages of nature.
That’s all well and good, the industry leader replied. But, he pointed out, broadcasters have a built-in advantage; that is, they can self-promote by virtue of being broadcasters. And how right he is. It is a huge advantage that wireless carriers don’t enjoy, not to mention having to pay dearly for spectrum broadcasters get for free.
Be that as it may, the central point remains the same. Goodwill capital pays off over time. Even if you don’t buy the do-gooder angle, how about this: It’s good business. Compassionate capitalism works.
Investment in goodwill probably will not show up on the bottom line in a big way right away now. On the other hand, when some nail-biting moment arrives, carriers with goodwill capital can take comfort in the fact that, for them, there will be a tomorrow.
