Sunday 28 February 2010

The Wisdom Manifesto by Umair Haque

In my last post I shared with you some of the wisdom of Umair Haque. Well it is very hard to beat his wisdom manifesto. It proves to me that being comes before doing.

Be remarkable
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Wednesday 24 February 2010

Doing what we are capable of - with thanks to Gandhi and Haque

The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing said Mahatma Gandhi would suffice to solve most of the world's problems.

We can do a lot worse that following some of the controversial, yet I think common sense approaches of Umair Haque, a Director of the Havas Media Lab, and a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review blogs.

I particuarly like Haque’s great to good,
Obama's 5 collaboration mistakes,
a strategy for the 21st century in four words,
and the builders manifesto.

More of Haque’s blogs are here.

I would be very interested in your comments, could it be that Buildership has replaced leadership?

Be remarkable
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Monday 22 February 2010

When sustainability isn't sustainable and how it can be

Here is a link to an excellent article by Zack Smith and Chad Stewart.

Zach and Chad are principals of Interkannections an organisational development consultancy focusing on leadership development, sustainability, and talent management systems.

I love their article for several reasons. It focuses on why being less bad (which is what a lot of organisations are doing) is not necessarily a strategy for sustainability even though many think it is. The article also shows us a pathway through compliance, conformity, and cooperation, the common path that often doesn't lead to a sustainable business, and the next essential steps of collaboration, coherence, and constellation. This article provides a lot of value about how you can go through each of these stages and end up with a truly sustainable and prosperous business.

Be remarkable
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Sunday 14 February 2010

Changing What's Normal Webinar

On behalf of differencemakers community and Leaders Cafe 2020 I will be presenting my webinar Changing What's Normal - inside-out innovation for entrepreneurs and SMEs at 9 pm GMT on 23rd February and 2 am GMT 24th.

I will be exploring why:
a new normal is essential
business as usual is dangerous
change is personal first, and
how personal change leads to all other change

I will also be sharing my insights on what we must change and quickly.

All participants will receive my new ebook Game Changers.

You can register for 23rd here.



You can register for 24th here.



I look forward to "seeing" you online.

Be remarkable
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Thursday 11 February 2010

Receiving and Giving - how much is enough?

When I hear or see that a child has died somewhere in the world from hunger or a preventable/curable disease (as 27000 will today) I feel an emptiness I cannot describe. I have always felt this way. Sometimes when confronted with this appauling news I stare for a few minutes without a single thought crossing my mind. When I return to normal I am renewed once more to do my bit to make poverty history.

My wife and I support children in need through World Vision and we know that our support combined with many other people’s mean less children live in poverty. We also give a percentage of the fee from Torchbearer membership of our differencemakers community through our membership of Buy1-Give 1 to help the work of Room to Read and World Youth International, two more great organisations who are helping to make poverty history. We often ask ourselves however, can we do more? are we doing all that we can?

Recently I read Peter Singer’s lastest book The life you can save - acting now to end world poverty. Singer, named by Time magazine in 2005 as one of the world’s 100 most influential people, leaves me with no doubt in my mind that each of us can and should do more.

Singer displays a chart in his book that shows that even if just the top 10% of income earners in the United States gave modestly we would raise more than twice the amount respected economist Jeffrey Sachs suggests we need to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals that would end poverty by 2015.

Singer clearly demonstrates that these goals should be easy to achieve. The reality is none are looking as though they will be!

So we have the means to end poverty, why aren’t we? I commend Singer’s book to you as he gives many reasons why we aren’t including the fact that a lot of aid that we do give is tied up in politics and doesn’t actually help make poverty history. The good news is he also gives many ideas of what we can do and how to do it.

For me there is one main reason why we haven’t yet made poverty history. Very few people know how much is enough when it comes to receiving and giving.

The top 10% of income earners in the world earn just over $100,000 per annum. Even if they all gave 5% of their income, and could be certain their money actually went to the right places, poverty could be history. And consider this. The world’s top 0.01% of income earners earn more than 10 million dollars per annum. Singer points out that these folk could give a lot more than 5% and still be very comfortable!

How much we receive for our labour and the value we provide and how much we give away to those less fortunate is a personal decision. I know how much is enough for me to receive and to give. How about you?

Be remarkable
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

PS Join me and make a pledge to give more here.

Sunday 7 February 2010

Do you know anyone not interested in saving money or saving energy?

The following video was recorded pre the monumental failures of Copenhagen Climate Change Summit. Nevertheless it contains great case studies of four UK companies, Kingfisher, Adhams, Continental Clothing Co., and 4energy and how they are proving the business case for sustainability and that doing good through saving money and energy really is great for business.



Be remarkable
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

Tuesday 2 February 2010

Is CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) a movement?

One of the best summaries of what I think is happening in the business world today is here.

Written by Bill Baue Executive Director of Sea Chane Media the summary contains many great links and is well worth your study if you are interested in making CSR a way of life for you which I think you should be .

Be remarkable
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Sign-up here for a least one free resource per month and to get your complimentary copy of my ebook Differencemakers - how doing good is great for business.

I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.
Leonardo da Vinci