One way of arguing for the value of sustainability is to suggest that we (humans, westerners, whatever) have declined from a past that was more in touch with nature. Jason Hickel does this by combining ideas about sustainability and grand historical sweeps. History Is Very Much In The Past This isn’t the approach I would…
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Sustainable Marketing Strategy Cases
This page contains a number of free sustainable marketing strategy cases. These cover a variety of topics in business. For more on sustainable marketing strategy see here. Introductory Sustainable Marketing Strategy Cases These are simple cases designed to set the stage for discussions of business, purpose, and sustainability. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals This…
Don’t Expect Perfect, Go For Better
I have written before about B Corp. Today I am looking at the B Corp Handbook. This is a how-to (and why-to) guide to getting registered as a B Corporation. The authors have a number of suggestions that could prove useful. One of the most important should be shown in big lights whenever people discuss…
The Limits Of Math Models
The Limits To Growth is a fascinating piece of scientific history. It was a 1972 report by the Club Of Rome. Yes, they did seem to actively want to fuel conspiracy theorists’ fantasies with their enigmatic name. (They still exist by the way and seemed to have moved to Switzerland, which seems a little odd…
Management Accounting Ideas In Business
It is always interesting to see where ideas come from. Therefore, I was interested to read Johnson and Kaplan’s history of management accounting; Relevance Lost. This noted how a few important accounting ideas in business developed. Du Pont Return On Investment Model F. Donaldson Brown developed one of the most impressive views of business that…
Business Ideas Change
Reading history gives you an understanding that things change. (Often for the better, see here and here, but that isn’t the point of today’s post). Here I just want to note how business ideas change. This is important to remember. What we advocate now might be thought weird, quaint, or barbaric in the future. The…
Management Accounting For Marketers
Marketers often want to make the case that accounting does not treat marketing well. I have good news for marketers, there is a major group of accountants who (should) agree with you. There are accountants who feel that financial accounting standards have subverted their discipline. Managerial accountants, whose job it is to deal with internal…
Sage Advice On Positioning
Kim Whitler, author of Positioning for Advantage, has had a fascinating career. This has taken her through senior marketing roles at some notable companies. She is now at Darden, the University of Virginia (my MBA alma mater). Her book brought back a lot of memories. She has managed to distill the spirit of academic advice,…
Regulation And Business Responsibility
What can business history tell us about regulation and business responsibility? The Purpose Of Business Looking at business history gives an interesting perspective. The idea that businesses are only there for the benefit of shareholders (see here) is not the only view that exists by a long way. One set of people who had a…
Weird Versus Non-WEIRD
Joe Henrich’s book on the WEIRDest people in the world is ambitious and packed with ideas and data. To be honest it isn’t my sort of thing but you have to admire what he has done. He is looking at the psychology of weird versus non-weird people. Weird being western, educated, industrialized, rich & democratic….
