Community forms a great basis for commerce. Commercial interests common among a people is one basic building block of any community, and in any enterprise you have to know your 'Cs', Community, Constituents, Customers, and Competition. Without solid knowledge of these your enterprise will be vulnerable and weak.
Churches, benevolent organizations, community coops and other organizations that are now acronymed NGOs are some of the foundations of a common trust and have been the basis for community for years. I prefer to do business with those I trust whether I am the buyer or the seller. Through sincere involvement in a community through these organizations I can assess the good and the bad in the people I serve.
Through sincere and intimate involvement organizations like these I can also assess resources of talent - e.g. who would be good help - when business is good. This also holds me accountable in my dealings when business contracts.
If I hire my pastors daughter to be my receptionist, the treasurer of my Cub Scout pack to keep my books, or the son of the bartender at the Eagle’s lodge to make deliveries for me, I have an additional layer of personal accountability to them. From there it is more likely I will conduct business in a more conservative and prudent manner – I don’t want to have to lay them off. This means by my fundamental decisions sustainability is a key concept in my decision landscape.
If I am active in my community, I am more likely to know what unmet needs exist there and how best to meet it. That forms a good basis for establishing a customer base. In The Music Man (Willson, Meredith, 1957, filmed in 1962) a memorable line from the train scene with all of the salesmen chanting rhythmically - 'you gotta know the territory'. The more active I am in my territory, the more I will know it.
And if I am active in my community, I am more likely to know who else is monitoring the situation, and how best to either compete with them, or to ally with them.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Money is Green Too
What makes a business sustainable? The first consideration has to be money. Sure - filthy lucre, the root of all evil, moolah, booty, . . . it's the stuff of greed, but it too is green and is necessary for a well intended socially responsible business to make an impact.
If an enterprise is not profitable, it is no longer in business. We can only change the fields in which we play. Business is no different.
All businesses are in the game to make a difference whether that difference is in the level of wealth of the shareholders, or in the welfare of the stakeholders.
Look at New Belgium Brewing Co. for instance;
Beyond my occasional (maybe more often) foray into libations including the staple Fat Tire and the odd Abbey (I prefer darker) there exists in my heart a special place for New Belgium - they are going about business with a great attitude, and they are rubbing off on their community. I hope that can last this current economic situation.
Follow your Folly is a great way go make a customer want to join up - especially when it comes to a leisure product such as beer. But business isn't folly, is it? None of the bankers I know folly. Not with money anyway. And yet we have New Belgium. They are successful. Their mission statement is “To operate a profitable brewery which makes our love and talent manifest.” There it is! profitable is right there in the mission statement for all of the world to see - fourth word, the longest word in the phrase, the only one that starts with a 'p', it's golden.
So that's their intent - how do they do? In 2008 Colorado Biz magazine selected Kim Jordan - New Belgium's chief CEO of the Year. That's impressive.
The numbers are available if you want to mine them out - I prefer to judge them by their fruits. They maintain their 'Mothership' operation in Ft. Collins, Colorado off of the electric grid. They are wind powered. Could they do this if they weren't profitable? Not likely. Wind power is a capital intensive undertaking. It is much cheaper to plug into the grid than it is to put up a turbine. That's more money to the shareholders. But that's what they did.
Now there is some controversy about the EPA's claim that New Belgium is '100% Wind Powered' but there isn't any controversy that they didn't have to do what they have done - and they did something. They also have in-house water treatment to lessen the impact on the environment. They employ green strategies in their buildings and use recycled products - it's all in their sustainability section of their site. It's more than hype. It's good stuff and it's good business.
New Belgium is a pioneer in this area - by doing what they are doing they are making a statement - you can be profitable and green. By using their financial resources in this arena they are supporting growth in technology that will put these tools within reach of less profitable businesses. And they are doing it with a tall frosty one in one hand and a smile in the other.
Well done New Belgium, "folly on" and cheers.
If an enterprise is not profitable, it is no longer in business. We can only change the fields in which we play. Business is no different.
All businesses are in the game to make a difference whether that difference is in the level of wealth of the shareholders, or in the welfare of the stakeholders.
Look at New Belgium Brewing Co. for instance;
Beyond my occasional (maybe more often) foray into libations including the staple Fat Tire and the odd Abbey (I prefer darker) there exists in my heart a special place for New Belgium - they are going about business with a great attitude, and they are rubbing off on their community. I hope that can last this current economic situation.
Follow your Folly is a great way go make a customer want to join up - especially when it comes to a leisure product such as beer. But business isn't folly, is it? None of the bankers I know folly. Not with money anyway. And yet we have New Belgium. They are successful. Their mission statement is “To operate a profitable brewery which makes our love and talent manifest.” There it is! profitable is right there in the mission statement for all of the world to see - fourth word, the longest word in the phrase, the only one that starts with a 'p', it's golden.
So that's their intent - how do they do? In 2008 Colorado Biz magazine selected Kim Jordan - New Belgium's chief CEO of the Year. That's impressive.
The numbers are available if you want to mine them out - I prefer to judge them by their fruits. They maintain their 'Mothership' operation in Ft. Collins, Colorado off of the electric grid. They are wind powered. Could they do this if they weren't profitable? Not likely. Wind power is a capital intensive undertaking. It is much cheaper to plug into the grid than it is to put up a turbine. That's more money to the shareholders. But that's what they did.
Now there is some controversy about the EPA's claim that New Belgium is '100% Wind Powered' but there isn't any controversy that they didn't have to do what they have done - and they did something. They also have in-house water treatment to lessen the impact on the environment. They employ green strategies in their buildings and use recycled products - it's all in their sustainability section of their site. It's more than hype. It's good stuff and it's good business.
New Belgium is a pioneer in this area - by doing what they are doing they are making a statement - you can be profitable and green. By using their financial resources in this arena they are supporting growth in technology that will put these tools within reach of less profitable businesses. And they are doing it with a tall frosty one in one hand and a smile in the other.
Well done New Belgium, "folly on" and cheers.
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