CEO Sees Ethics as Cornerstone of Business

CHICAGO, IL (May 15, 2003) - Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of the Chicago-based Bank One Corporation, was the keynote speaker at the 4th Annual Symposium for Nonprofit Professionals Wednesday at North Park University, challenging participants to make ethics the cornerstone of their business efforts.

"Leadership is an honor, it's a privilege, it's a responsibility," Dimon said during a luncheon honoring small and large businesses in the nonprofit sector. "It is not an entitlement."

Dimon, who came to Bank One in March 2000, discussed recent actions that ruined the credibility of companies like Houston-based Enron Corporation and others. He used a humorous story about an investment banker and the devil to illustrate how mistrust has colored business of all sectors. In his anecdote, the devil told the investment banker that he would give him anything if only the banker would give up his soul. The banker responds, said Dimon, by asking, "What's the catch?"

North Park's symposium, presented by The Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management and the Alford Group, Inc., was presented using the theme "The High Performing Nonprofit: Myth, Fad, Reality or Responsibility. As in Dimon's address, the responsibility portion of the title was a focal point for the day's presentations.

Opening speaker, President and CEO Emmett Carson of the Minneapolis Corporation, also asked a "What's the catch?" question as he discussed high performing not-for-profit organizations. In contrast to the perception that constituents are concerned solely with success, Carson said, "The public is more concerned with the ethics of how we run a non-profit than with our efficiency. We have an obligation to be efficient AND effective."

Later in the morning, a panel discussion featured three notable presenters who gave brief speeches and answered questions from a packed house at North Park's Lecture Hall Auditorium. For Peter Goldberg, president and CEO of Alliance for Children and Families, the key for gaining trust is in building what he calls a "goodwill account with the community. Public appreciation and public trust is a key for nonprofits."

For Carmen Velasquez, executive director of Chicago's Alivio Medical Center, the focal point of her work focuses on looking at a client as a whole person. "We must act as an example of what the mission is all about," she said as she discussed her 15 years of ministry to her community. Meanwhile, Michael Mulqueen, executive director of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, offered seven components that he believes produces an environment for effective nonprofit business efforts, including:

• A focus on one's mission statement
• Decentralized decision-making that allows every employee the freedom to express their ideas for bettering the company
• A low level of micromanaging so employees can have the freedom to take risks
• Reasonable compensation for valued employees
• Tangible recognition of employees who are following the company's mission
• Effective accountability systems
• A willingness to find people that can fit into an organization's culture

Mulqueen closed his portion of the presentation by explaining that his most important job is in recruiting and assessing people to do the job right. It also involves letting people's creativity flourish as they do their jobs. "We don't tell employees how to do their jobs," he said. "We tell them what we want (accomplished)."

Before and after lunch, concurrent sessions were held to share with participants a number of tools to use as they tackle issues pertaining to their respective businesses. During the luncheon, several nonprofit organizations were honored in both small (those with budgets of under $5 million) and large ($5 million or more) business categories. The awards were co-sponsored by The Axelson Center and Bank One and came after reviewing 42 Chicago area businesses that were nominated for two primary awards. Top recipients received a $5,000 unrestricted grant and a commemorative award. The Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence also was presented.

Winner of the large business category was Chicago's John G. Shedd Aquarium, which reorganized itself using a multiphase program and helped provide educational opportunities to more than 300,000 children last year, among other things. In the small business category, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School received first prize for its innovative efforts in education and work-study programs. A dual language curriculum and a mandatory work-study element (everyone works at least one day per week at a local business to pay for school) were among the ways the school is making a difference to 400 students in Chicago's Pilsen/Little Village neighborhood.

The Axelson Center was founded in 1999 as a way to honor the late Nils G. Axelson, former president of Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB) of the Evangelical Covenant Church. During Axelson's tenure, CMB expanded from one hospital and two retirement centers to two hospitals and more than 13 Covenant Retirement Communities throughout the United States.

For more information about North Park's Axelson Center and its nonprofit programs, call Chris Nicholson at 773-244-5518 or email him at cnicholson@northpark.edu. The organization's web site can be found at www.northpark.edu/axelson.

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