In 1985, when Whitney Houston told us, "I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way," she didn't know that kids would be using YouTube or VEVO to watch her videos, texting with friends about the song and programming their own games, mashing up her music. But she was on to the fact that children can be a change agent, when given the right tools.
A new Pew Internet Project report reveals 93 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 go online, and of those, three out of four are accessing the Internet on cell phones, tablets and other mobile devices.
This gets dicey when you layer on the fact that up to eight percent of mobile devices have been infected by malware, according to McAfee Labs, and there were 1,800 new distinct families of viruses detected in the past year, according to Fortinet.
And yet, "12345" and "Password" are the two most common passwords for the fifth year in a row.
At Level 3 Communications, our cybersecurity staff joined together to voluntarily create a purposeful program to teach youth about cybersecurity safety and help train the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. The team became aware of an issue at a local school -- a young student had figured out how to get around the school's firewall -- and wanted to do something about the bigger issue.
The Idea
Starting with the idea that purpose needs to be baked in from the bottom, all corporate social responsibility, diversity and inclusion and community impacting activities are driven from employees and focus on their interests.
The cybersecurity team took their interest in tech and decided to help educate youth on smart online practices through a Cybersecurity Super Hero training.
The Program
The training is a complement to what kids learn from their school safety officers about Internet safety -- cyberbullying and online predators -- and teaches kids what actions to take to combat cybercrime. The goal is to not only give them a peek into the career of a cybersecurity professional -- a field with a huge career gap -- but also to arm them with the tools to help themselves and their families, be safe and smart online.
The Impact
So far, more than 350 grade school students have taken the training. And the message didn't stop there. The children were tasked with going out into their communities to teach these lessons to senior citizens, neighbors and family.
The program gained additional legs -- more cybersecurity professionals across the company were excited about its mission -- and it will debut at another school next fall.
Creating a program the security experts were passionate about -- and letting them run with it -- made a huge impact on both the program results and longevity.
For at least this one example, purpose created an environment where our youth are better educated and can continue their tech dominance - safely.
Purpose from the Bottom Up
Letting employees drive the direction of corporate social responsibility programs is not a common theme. Generally, organizations decide where and how employees can make an impact, and more often than not, this focus area is connected to the organization's business. Don't get me wrong; this model allows for a ton of wonderful philanthropy work to take place.
However, letting employees drive the program, baking in the purpose from the bottom up, allows for a deeper level of engagement and creativity.
And engaged employees mean more productive employees; which is good for your bottom line. Allowing employees to support organizations near and dear to their hearts can also provide happiness with their employer, another key factor for productivity. A recent study by economists at the University of Warwick found happiness led to a 12 percent spike in productivity.
Letting purpose guide employee's giving efforts connects to societal prosperity, which we know is inseparable from business profits.
Whitney's song still rings true. The children are our future - and a source for great purpose in the work place.