A blog about marketing, causes and a variety of topics in the “goodsphere”

Category Archives: Lifestyle

Are many new businesses going to be useless?

Posted on November 28, 2009 in Consumers driving change, Lifestyle

Most businesses are socially useless. –Umair Haque

With “Black Friday” behind us and “Cyber Monday” ahead of us, economic pundits continue to wring their hands and fret that holiday retail consumer spending will not “hold up” enough in 2009 to pull us out of the current economic funk.   At the same time, many in the underground “anti” world are asking people to just Buy Nothing for 1 day (Nov 27th was Buy Nothing Day).

Umair Haque (one of my favorite bloggers) is taking a different path by (indirectly) asking us to consider buying from Constructive Capitalists who are creating what he calls “thick value”.  Umair’s Constructive Capitalists are not in business only to make a buck by selling a commodity product to consumers suffering from “affluenza”.  Instead, they are doing things that matter to people, communities & society.  They are creating “awesomeness.”

Umair goes rails against socially useless businesses in the hilarious post Is Your Business Useless.

According to Umair, “socially useless businesses” have cost us about $12 trillion at a minimum over the past 5 years via the various bailout packages.  Paul Krugman, Simon Johnson, and Lord Turner agree.

Here’s Umair:

Socially Useless Businesses

Socially useless businesses created a global economy on life support, a  jobless “recovery” and mass unemployment amongst the young. Socially useless business is why we don’t have a better education, healthcare, finance, energy, transportation, or media industry. Socially useless business is a culture in shock, reeling from assault after assault on the fabric of community and comity. Socially useless business is the status quo — and the status quo says: “You don’t matter. Our bottom line is the only thing that matters.”

Until now. Today, socially useless businesses are living on borrowed time — and the clock’s about to reach zero hour. Somewhere out there is a Constructive Capitalist who’s going to use the power of meaningful economics to relegate you to the dustbin of economic history — just like Google and Apple are doing to big media, Wal-Mart’s doing to big food, FMCG, and retail, and Nike’s doing to shoes.

Constructive Capitalists are better businesses. They’ve learned how to create thick value: value that’s socially useful. They are doing things that matter to people, communities, and society.

Though I agree with Umair that socially useless businesses shoulder a lot of the blame for the current economic mess, I would argue that we (consumers) shoulder some of the blame.

Fewer Trips to the Mall

As I’ve discussed here, consumers really are boss (consumer spending drives 70% of US GDP) and our purchasing decisions/habits do make a difference.  After all, people like you and me decided to buy all of those junk mortgages and souless McMansions.  We’ve chosen to run up credit card debt instead of save for a rainy day.  If, for example, we decided to downsize and live within our means, we could break the cycle.  If we responsibly shopped on sites like the ethicalsuperstore.com (read their manifesto) instead of Target.com we could support new ethical and social business focused on people, communities & society.

In many ways…its up to us.

Fewer Trips to the Bank or Venture Capitalist for Entrepreneurs as Well

Seth Godin is also in the “Umair Zeitgeist” as he recently reminded entrepreneurs that the do have options when it comes to avoiding those socially useless banks that Paul Krugman discusses above.  In “Debt, Equity and a Third Thing That Might Work Better.” he reminds folks that they don’t have to settle for risk averse banks and “venture vultures” when staring new businesses. Other new & interesting social financing entities are forming that avoid the traditional system all together. I recently stumbled across SellAVenture (not the real name) at the ClearlySo Conference.  This group will bring social enterprises looking for start-up funding together with like minded people keen to fund via small amounts of money.  People like you and I will be able to get in on the action to drive socially useful businesses…no banks required.


Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
2 Comments
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Closing on Sunday…part of the solution for crushing consumer debt?

Posted on December 13, 2008 in Europe, Lifestyle

Photo by ebaycoach

When I moved to southern Germany in the late 90s, I was surprised to learn that most shops were closed by 4 PM on Saturday and all day on Sunday. Literally, the only place you could get anything to eat at home on Sunday, if you did not manage your shopping during the week, was at the local gas station. To be fair, many restaurants were open on Sunday, so it was not the end of the world if you missed your weekly shopping, just a little more expensive. Oh, and major commercial trucking is also not permitted in Germany on Sunday (I love this rule–no complaints from me on this one…ever)

I adapted pretty quickly to the new routine during my first year in Germany, but whenever I had a particularly rough week and was forced to do everything early on Sat., I would start complaining loudly to whoever was willing to listen. Then, I would fondly recall the beautiful convenience of the 24 hour, always on, “consumer is king” lifestyle in the US.

Fast forward a few years…
Over time, I started to fully appreciate the shopping silence on Sunday. I began to enjoy the fact that Sunday afternoons were reserved for reflection, church, hanging out with family or friends, going to museums, etc. Yes, I would still go on the occasional “free market is king” rant, but, in general, I enjoyed the silence.

Tradition
Germany has a long tradition of closing the doors on Sunday. According to Der Spiegel, In 1919, it became illegal to open up shops on Sunday and stores on workdays could only be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Saturday afternoons later became taboo. Nowadays, political wrangling about when stores can do business has become something of a tradition in Berlin. About once a year the government raises hopes among less traditional Germans that the late-night snack or roll of toilet paper may not be far away

Will the downturn change things?
As the recession drags on, there may be more pressure on Berlin to change as some economists posit that longer opening hours could help stimulate consumer spending and give the flagging economy a bit of a boost.

I actually hope Germany sticks to their no Sunday opening policy. One day without full blast consumption pressure is probably good for people judgmentally (no, I don’t have data to support this). I do hate the fact that something like this has to be legislated, but without forcing retail shop closure, competitive pressures seem to force everyone to operate around the clock. I am sure there are a couple of examples of major retail chains bucking the Sunday open “rule” in N. America, but I can’t recall any at the moment. Interestingly, according to a UK poll on keepsundayspecial.org 71% of people say that they would not be bothered very much or at all if all shops except local convenience stores were shut on Sundays. (Side cause note: You can donate to the Keep Sunday Special cause online)

Soak up some of that consumer debt now please…


Photo by yksin

US consumers are currently sitting on $2,540,000,000,000 in Debt. $2.54 Trillion seems like a huge sum. This would mean $8,467 for every person according to this post. Could shutting the doors on Sunday help nudge people in the US reduce some of their debt? Countries that have a no shopping on Sunday policy generally don’t have an issue with consumer debt…

Rob Walker notes more ideas on getting consumer debt down to manageable levels in his latest Consumed column. He writes: the Institute for American Values recently issued a report offering more suggestions on how to tone down consumption…like endorsing a public-education campaign; making the Thrift Savings Plan, which lets federal workers regularly sock a portion of their income into diversified investment funds, available to all working Americans; and even a revival of National Thrift Week

What do you all think? Is it time for a little forced shop closure for the US consumer? I think we have proven that we are not to be trusted with our credit cards & so, sadly, it may be time for adult supervision. I know free marketers won’t like this idea…I didn’t like it at first either. Feel free to comment!

Here is a related article about a woman named Samantha Weinberg who apparently eliminated her shopping for a year…

Here is another post on where the new frugality (since the downturn) may be leading.

7 Comments
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

How can a marketer leave consumption behind?

Posted on September 17, 2008 in Lifestyle, Social Entreprenuers

Just how overrated is consumption?

Gaurav Mishra is trying to answer some pretty heavy questions about the nature of consumption in his blog to book experiment, The Marketer Who Went Off Consumption.

As global warming breathes down our collective necks and we enter “the age of responsibility” we should all probably question our consumption habits. Do we really need all this things?  Why does XMAS now just have to be about the gifts?  What if we all really made a commitment to just live a bit simpler & unclutter our lives?

Gaurav believes that “owning, buying, hoarding” is shifting into a experience, share/exchange/giving mindset.

At times in my life I have lived pretty lean.  During my days at West Point, I basically survived with a radio, computer & a bed.  Once you live like this for a few years, you realize that you really don’t need much.  My wife sometimes jokes that I could probably live like a monk and not have a problem…though we live relatively lean in Europe right now, we could certainly still clear out about half of our stuff and be just fine.

I am interested in hearing more from this “Amish marketer:” Keep going Gaurav…

2 Comments
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

One pretty good reason to hope gas prices stay high…

Posted on July 25, 2008 in Lifestyle, Randomness

I have been in Europe for about 10 years now & when I first arrived, I was startled by the very high price of gas.  What I quickly realized was that, for the most part, good public transport is widely available and cities are pretty compact…so people often offset the higher prices by walking more and driving less.

Over the years, when I would return to the US for visits, it felt like people were driving more and walking even less.   When I would return, it seemed like everything had morphed into “drive through”.  Sure, we had always had drive through fast food joints, but drive through cleaners??  It felt as if you could seriously do anything and everything via some type of drive though service.  At the same time, obesity seemed to become a bigger issue in the US.

So, it was interesting to read an article in Wired magazine about a guy named Charles Courtemanche, an assistant economics professor at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.  Charles asserts that rising fuel prices are the ultimate crash diet for a nation that grew fat on cheap gas.

Below is an excerpt from Wired (article from Chuck Squatriglia)

Courtemanche compared 20 year’s worth of government health surveys to fuel prices. The percentage of American adults considered obese doubled to nearly one-third between 1979 and 2004, and Courtemache says 8 percent of the increase can be attributed to low fuel prices. “Cheaper gas during that period made us fat,” he told Wired.com. “Presumably, the opposite would be true.

Courtemanche says a $1 increase in the price of gasoline could cut the obesity rate by 10 percent, saving 16,000 lives and $17 billion in health care costs each year. He makes the case in “A Silver Lining? The Connection Between Gasoline Prices and Obesity,” his doctoral dissertation in health economics. The paper, currently being peer-reviewed, can be summed up in the simple idea that people walk more, bike more and dine out less when gas prices rise.

Evidence suggests he’s on to something.

His number-crunching suggests a permanent $1 increase in gasoline prices could cut the obesity rate by 10 percent within seven years. The number of Americans who are overweight, but not obese, could fall by 7 percent in that time, he says, as people shun cars in favor of walking, biking or taking mass transit. Granted, you don’t burn many calories sitting on the bus, but you burn quite a few walking to and from the bus stop, he says. People also tend to eat out less frequently, opting instead to cook their own meals. “These results suggest that the recent spike in gas prices may have the ’silver lining’ of reducing obesity in the coming years,” he writes in the paper.

Photo from Flickr by Jen-the-librarian

2 Comments
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

(Recent) all-time best selling books + reading list for summer

Posted on July 21, 2008 in Lifestyle, Randomness

Summer seems to have just started in Geneva (it has been so rainy!) so I am trying to get caught up on some books I probably should have already finished by now.  On the marketing & bus. side, I just completed Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin (I know…probably a bit later than some of you) and am just now getting into Groundswell by Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff. I will also check out Purpose, the Starting Point of Great Companies. On the cause side I am (finally) going to check out Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity by Stuart Hart and The Power of Unreasonable People by John Elkington.  On the inspiration side, I will pick up The Way of the Peaceful Warrior on a tip from Mitch Joel in a very good post he recently wrote called The Way of the Keyboard Warrior.

As I was fishing through the (virtual) book stacks, I was wondering…which (recent) books have made the all-time best sellers list?  Wikipedia is great for questions like this.  I sorted through the list to find the top 3 selling books since 2000 (in English).  I probably could have guessed #1 & #2…but #3 did surprise me.

1. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 2003:  57 million copies

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (2007)  44 million copies

3. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (2002):   30 million copies

I saw the Da Vinci Code movie, but did not read the book.  I did not read any of the books in the Harry Potter series…I did see a couple of the movies, however.

About a year ago, I had a listen through the Purpose Driven Life audiobook.  Indeed, Rick Warren’s message of hope and spiritual purpose seems to have motivated millions of people worldwide.

So, my reading list is pretty full for the next couple of months.

What are you guys reading?

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
4 Comments
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us

Are you happy?

Posted on June 29, 2008 in Lifestyle, Randomness

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Are you happy?  This is definitely a question for the ages.  When I Googled the word happiness I got some pretty interesting hits on the first page of results.  My current favorite is thehappyguy.com…and my favorite happy song is Goldfrapp’s Happiness (I also still like Shiny Happy People by REM).  Here is the Goldfrapp video…object>

My 3 year old nephew came up & sat next to me when he heard the Goldfrapp song…he asked me to play it again :-).  Then he started tapping his foot & smiling.

Happiness & Science:

Scientists say they know how to measure happiness and they have been researching life satisfaction for years.  You can read about the science of happiness in this BBC article.  Science suggests happiness leads to long life, health and good performance, so raising happiness levels across the board is definitely a good idea for world leaders.  Making people laugh & feel happy should interest marketers (and companies) as well.

BUT “Richer” Does Not Equal “Happier”:

Although there has been a huge rise in wealth over the last 50 years, happiness levels have not increased. “Standard of living has increased dramatically and happiness has increased not at all, and in some cases has diminished slightly,” notes Daniel Kahneman of the University of Princeton.

Sure, richer countries are happier, but clearly the “more wealth is better” mantra that Gen X’ers & Millennials grew up hearing from the culture does not lead to happier lives.

Stop Watching TV…Engage the Spirit Instead

An interesting article entitled Down the Tube: the Sad Stats On Happiness, Money and TV in the Wall Street Journal noted that “engaging leisure and spiritual activities, things like visiting friends, exercising, attending church, listening to music, fishing, reading a book, sitting in a cafe or going to a party” were all exercises that typically make people happy.  Strangely, Americans have had the chance to devote more time to “engaging leisure and spiritual activities.” But, time spent on these activities has actually declined over the past four decades.

Instead, there’s been a significant increase in time devoted to “neutral downtime,” which is mostly watching good ole’ TV. Women now spend 15% of their waking hours staring at the tube, while men devote 17%.

Watching TV may help folks “wind-down”, but TV does not engage people in meaningful activity.

A Smart Agency Brings it Together:

Here are 4 things to keep in mind about happiness.  I took this from Saatchi & Saatchi S, a new agency that I posted about previously here:

1) Be of service to something larger than yourself. Kevin Roberts in his post The Happiness Challenge quotes Daniel Dennett: “The secret of happiness is to find something bigger than yourself and then to devote your life to it.”

2) To experience “flow,” or full engagement, on a regular basis. I think people experience flow when they have a great set of personal goals and actionable deliverables to work against.  Once you set up a weekly, 90 day or year plan that revolves around what you want to achieve, then you can easily get into the flow and engage.

3) To show your gratitude to the people in your life. Being continuously thankful for what we have and thankful for the people in our lives is clearly very important.

4) To have at least three people who are emotionally close enough to share your life with. Efficiency is nice, but we all must be focused on people…

Post a comment
Permanent Link | Digg This | Stumble It | Save to del.icio.us