September 25, 2009 : Archives

Sustainability. Again.
Article:  Why Sustainability is now the key driver of Innovation.
Source:  Harvard Business Review
By:  Ram Midumolu, C.K. Prahalad, M.R. Rangaswami

“Making our operations sustainable and developing ‘green’ products places us at a disadvantage vis-à-vis rivals in developing countries that don’t face the same pressures.”  Obviously, becoming more “green” is a trend that happening, but not always with the grace and patience that one might hope for.  After all, it is change.  And for some organizations, change is negative.

The authors say that sustainability should not be a drain on the bottom line. It’s positive talk, positive communications, translated into entrepreneurial-talk.  The authors describe a sort of culture shift to make sustainability a part of an organization’s competitive niche.  Not a bad concept.  Have you checked out the market for FSC certified sustainable wood lately?  People buy it, and producers make pretty good money at it.

It’s a part of the new competitive repositioning.  They say this shift starts with looking at compliance as an opportunity.  And it continues from there – right through the organization’s value chain, to its services and products. 

While relatively dry, the article is one example of the kind of shifts that are occurring in the “greening” business at all levels. It is a huge social trend, and more and more folks are recognizing this.  It is an indicator that communications can cause behavioral changes that can result in systemic  – all to make the world more sustainable and keep it around a little longer.   The fact that this article is in the Review is a sure sign that sustainability is a real part of western business.

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Rating:  4.5 Stars (out of 5)
Reference:  Page 57, September, 2009
Link:   http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/09/why-sustainability-is-now-the-key-driver-of-innovation/ar/1

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June 17, 2009 : Archives

Brand Obama.
Article: Desirée (Desirée Rogers is selling the White House)
Source:  WSJ Magazine
By:  Amy Chozick

Are ya tired of the Obamas yet?  Neither am I – I’m learning a lot about a fresh kind of outreach – both from the President and from the First Lady.  But there’s more, and this article features one of the key “marketers” of the public face of the Obama’s.

Desirée Rogers is connected.  She knows how to “open” the White House to the public.  Her approach is all part of the new culture of open access.  This is a good read on one of President Obama’s new, young strategic team.  More to come on more team members…

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Rating:  4.6 Stars (out of 5)
Reference:  Page 34, Summer 2009 (Europe edition)
Link:  http://magazine.wsj.com/features/the-big-interview/desiree-rogers