Category: Sustainability
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Why Are We Doing This?
Some of the big questions in the world are “why are we here” and “why are we doing this”? One of the professors from my MBA has a book that mirrors his course getting students to think through the big questions of life and how they relate to stakeholder business. Thinking About The Ultimate Questions…
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Give Purpose A Chance
In a final post on Eric Ries’ great book Incorruptible I will share a key idea, give purpose a chance. Enhanced Business Judgment Directors in a company are often allowed to use their judgment as to what is in the best interests of the company. Of course, there are limits — the directors can’t just…
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Defying Financial Gravity
Eric Ries’ book, Incorruptible, centers around the challenge of mainitaining a purpose. The (mostly) villain of the piece is the way business is currently done, specifically how it is funded. He calls this financial gravity. So how do we go about defying financial gravity without having to watch dubious movies? Financial Gravity What then is…
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Shareholder Primacy Is Baffling
I must confess I wasn’t sure when I approached the new Eric Ries book. From what I had seen he seemed a bit like a self-help guru for entrepreneurs. My assumption was completely unfair. He has an important book, Incorruptible, aimed primarily at founders. it details how they can create and, critically maintain, great companies…
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EVs Are Politically Divisive
One challenge with moving to more sustainable technology is that EVs are politically divisive. In the US whether you drive an electric vehicle (EV) is seen as a political statement. Nicole Sintov and colleagues investigated this back in 2020. Symbolic Attributes Matter It is important to understand, as pretty much every marketer does but occasionally…
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Business And Social Progress
At its heart this blog is about business and social progress. Business is part of society, so we should want business to be making the world better. It can do so, but that isn’t the same as saying it does so and will always do so. My final post on Kate’s Marvel’s Human Nature book…
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Geoengineering And Climate Change
When positing about a topic, here geoengineering and climate change it is helpful to share your expertise. Why should anyone listen to me on this topic? The good news is that the answer is simple — you shouldn’t. I have absolutely no relevant experience about geoengineering. That I lack knowledge is quite true in a…
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The Science Behind Climate Change Is Old
Kate Marvel is a climate scientists. Her book, Human Nature, discusses appropriate reactions to climate change. A number of things that I took from the book was that the science behind climate change is old. Climate Change And Lots of Digressions This isn’t a hard science book on climate change. Kate Marvel seeks to make…
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Systems Matter In Sustainability
Donella Meadows was the lead author on The Limits To Growth, a highly influential book in the world of sustainability. I am not a huge fan of that book, as I worried the book was over-ambitious in its conclusions which may have helped creating a panic about population. The danger being that some nasty bigoted…
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Hopeful Teaching About Climate Change
An interesting challenge with teaching about the problems in the world is that you don’t want it to get too depressing. Listing off a bunch of problems doesn’t really do much to help anyone but it can be pretty miserable. We need ways that the world can get better. We need hopeful teaching, that emphasizes…
