Released on: October 20, 2008, 5:12 am

Press Release Author: Will Marre

Industry: Financial

Press Release Summary: Corporate Social Responsibility takes on the Wall Street
crisis and bailout in a discussion forum. Will Marre, acclaimed speaker and CSR
advocate, spoke to a large group of community leaders and students on values-based
leadership, or what Marre calls socially-strategic leadership, "business leadership
that creates sustainable value instead of just short-term profits".


Press Release Body: San Diego, CA, October 20, 2008 -- Corporate Social
Responsibility takes on the Wall Street crisis and bailout in a discussion forum in
Greenville, South Carolina. Will Marre, acclaimed speaker and CSR advocate, spoke to
a large group of community leaders and students on values-based leadership, or what
Marre calls socially-strategic leadership, "business leadership that creates
sustainable value instead of just short-term profits".

Sponsored by the Clemson University Capitalism Institute, the format was to give a
short opening statement and engage in a discussion with John Allison, the CEO of
BB&T Bank, a large regional bank in the Southeast. Three hundred people filled the
meeting room at the Greenville Westin, anxious to hear what Marre and Allison had to
say about morality and capitalism, especially with the bailout credit crises
looming, and they were not disappointed. Marre and Allison had plenty to say.

The supposed tension between Marre and Allison stemmed from the fundamental
differences of their views on capitalism. While Allison believes capitalism is
inherently moral, Marre does not. "I believe capitalism is like a shovel," explains
Marre, "You can use it to dig an irrigation ditch to grow organic food or swing it
like a baseball bat and kill someone. The majority of it is the leader - not the
system."

Even though Marre and Allison have strong differences regarding capitalism, they
both adamantly agreed on one thing: the wild greed machine of Wall Street and the
huge mistake they view the bailout to be. Allison said the core problem is not a
so-called credit crisis. It was an illusion caused by the investment banks
themselves. In fact, he said his bank had just borrowed a billion dollars for less
than 1%. Marre said, and Allison confirmed, the problem is overvalued real estate
that has been used as the personal ATMs of the American consumers.

Market Crisis from ProPublica.org explains the cause stating, "The current market
crisis... is rooted in the subprime mortgage crisis. The subprime mortgage crisis,
in turn, is the outcome of unscrupulous lending by the mortgage industry, banks who
bought those loans without doing the requisite research, deceptive credit ratings,
and the government's increasingly relaxed regulation of the banking industry."

Of the bailout, Marre stated, "We simply cannot electric-shock our economy into
resuming consumer spending when consumers don't have the income to support
credit-based purchasing. The problem is the nation's net-worth has been hammered
while our debt has soared." Marre continued, "Leaders of the past 30 years have
dumbed down business to a mad pursuit of materialism rather than value creation."
Allison even offered a solution of his own to the housing crisis, a 10% government
tax credit to buyers, based on the purchase price of a home. For more details visit
www.thoughtrocket.com/blog

The discussion was well received and it seemed that Marre and Allison left with a
deep respect for one another. Marre concluded, "At least the Wall Street crisis and
bailout has shone a positive light on one thing, the desperate need for true
Corporate Social Responsibility."

About Will Marre
Will Marre is an Emmy Award-winning writer, CSR Expert, CSR speaker and Leadership
Coach. He is the co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center (The
7 Habits of Highly Effective People). He is currently the CEO of the REALeadership
Alliance where he helps leaders implement new socially-strategic business and
branding models, and Consulting Director of UC San Diego Extension's Responsible
Enterprise Forum. Located in San Diego, California, ThoughtRocket can be reached at
www.thoughtrocket.com or phone 866-876-6596.
Press Release Submission By PressReleasePoint(http://www.pressreleasepoint.com)

Web Site: http://www.thoughtrocket.com/blog

Contact Details: Contact:
Will Marre
ThoughtRocket.com
P.O. Box 235180
Encinitas, CA 92023
866-876-6596
info@thoughtrocket.com
http://www.thoughtrocket.com/blog