4.26.2013

Gem of the day

An example of how not to sum up where we are with the sustainable business agenda, especially when making the case for leadership (via HBR):

"Warren Buffett, Robert Rubin, and Howard Schultz have been outspoken about the role of business in American society, and companies from Walmart to Chevron have engaged in socially responsible activities."

4.15.2013

Another non-environmental wonder

The aftermath of CEO Ron Johnson's hasty exit from retailer JC Penney has proved a busy space for commentary on just how wrong he got it.

Apple board member Bill Campbell echoed a critical insight into why business transformation can fail with his take on the situation (via Businessweek):

“You have to keep your current business going while you experiment with a new one. [Ron] didn’t do that. He just put a bullet hole in his current business."

Even better, an interview with Johnson offers a priceless look at his misguided attitude towards the change process, in his own words (via FastCompany):

"All my ideas just sort of come. I don’t know to explain it. It’s all intuitive I think...I wanted to do something that had scale. I don’t just want to run a business, I want to do what I did at Apple--I want the chance to transform something. So I picked JC Penney. I didn’t come here to improve Penney, I’m here to transform Penney."


4.10.2013

Gem of the day

Infamous Whole Foods CEO John  Mackey is on a roll with his "Conscious Capitalism" call to action - business should lead by embedding a "higher sense of purpose" in value creation. So it's beyond ironic that his answer to an area where upscale Whole Foods has yet to fulfill that kind of leadership - increasing access to healthy food in the US, land of "food deserts" - is to...create a nonprofit (via Forbes):

Forbes: "One of the primary issues with Whole Foods is that the stores are largely located in well-to-do areas. How does Whole Foods intend to make healthy food available to all?"

Mackey: "We do take seriously our responsibility, and growing ability, to educate people about healthy eating and giving them greater access...We will start to bring healthy food options to people in several other cities, starting with a new store in mid-town Detroit that will open in May. We are even looking to create a new non-profit to help make this a reality."


4.04.2013

Gem of the day

Former BP chief Tony Hayward's take on the operating environment for oil companies in Kurdistan, where he's quietly excelling as CEO of Genel Energy as the memories of Deepwater Horizon fade away (via BBC):

"If you like, it's conventional Middle Eastern oil and gas exploration - pretty straightforward, and pretty low-cost."

In that case what passes for "conventional" in the Middle East must mean something quite different from in other parts of the world, if we believe this Kurdish observer (via Independent):

"We Kurds have one of the most complicated political situations in the world."

Or even better:

"I call it ‘Corruptistan’," said one woman.

4.02.2013

Gem of the day

Coca Cola's new "Chairs" ad (see raging critique in HuffPo) is the company's latest take on placing responsibility for health and wellbeing squarely on the consumer - where it's easiest to say it belongs. Why "Chairs"? Of course Publicis, creators of the ad, can handily explain:

"The goal was to open the discussion with the society about the sedentary lifestyle problem. Some studies show that people spend more than half of their lives seated and that was the inspiration for the idea. Since the insight is human and universal the campaign can be used in future in other countries, depending on Coke Worldwide's decision."

With half of Americans already obese and numbers rising, surely a "sedentary lifestyle" is only chipping away at a much larger systematic issue - but given Coke's focus on marketing around this issue rather than taking real action, that's probably asking too much.