A Change Avalanche

Pushing an avalanche down the mountain.

When you push an avalanche down the mountain you provide leadership for something that takes on a life of its own. An avalanche is like a tipping point. When your idea spreads, things scale up, something happens.

The mountain.

The mountain is organization. Most organizations were developed in an era when energy was cheap and information was expensive. In the 1900’s, before modern management, most business consisted of less then 6 employees. People lived their work, which was often serving a specific function, like a baker or miller. The culture celebrated apprenticeship. During the industrial revolution corporate managers made great strides in expanding the size of organizations. Most of these 20th century companies made a universally desired product, with cheap resources (energy, materials and labor) and yelled a consistent message from the roof tops. The masses came running. Capitalism went global. Business executives and finance professionals profited massively has they presided over the consolidation of industries. Economies of scale ruled the day.

The Internet has changed the snowpack.

The Internet has changed mass communications into mass conversations. Messages now flow freely in both directions. How effective is your interactive campaign? Well it depends what you measure. Traditional media estimates impressions and focuses on consistency of message, in a web 2.0 world interactions are important. Is your message spreading across social media platforms? Do people contact you with ideas? Do your customers feel like they own your brand? The point of interactive market is to interact. Have real people answer the phones. Publish useful and interesting information. Collaborate to create remarkable solutions.

This is the avalanche.

When you co-create something remarkable, the idea will spread. This is the power of the transparency and collaboration. That they are contributing to the greater good just by participating with the brand.

No own can own an avalanche.

Someone may create an avalanche, but it will take on a life of its own. Everyone knows that an avalanche is going down the hill but no one can mange it. This is both the risk and opportunity. If you are successful it may be a result transferring power to a distributed group of stakeholders.

Gold'n Plump is working with WRI to determine the lifecycle impact of its Just BARE line.

In a huge step towards creating a more sustainable food system, Gold'n Plump is now working with the World Resources Institute to develop a product life-cycle standard. This standard will help determine the environmental impact of the Just BARE line of fresh chicken products.

Nice Ride: a bike sharing program in Minneapolis

Nice Ride is a bike sharing program scheduled to roll out next summer in Minneapolis. 80 kiosks will be placed around the city; people will be able to rent bikes at one location and return them to another. The ability to use bikes in this manner encourages fewer people to drive, which greatly improves the sustainability and livability of urban life, as explained is this B Cycle video.

Bike sharing has been around since the 1990's. Copenhagen Denmark pioneered this concept (they had a system up and running when I was there in 2000) and Paris launched a similar system with over 10,000 bicycles in 2007. Other America cities, such as Denver, Portland, Washington DC, are also rolling out bike sharing programs.

Data Visualization: Stories for the Information Age - BusinessWeek

Data Visualization: Stories for the Information Age - BusinessWeek: "Ultimately, data visualization is more than complex software or the prettying up of spreadsheets. It's not innovation for the sake of innovation. It's about the most ancient of social rituals: storytelling. It's about telling the story locked in the data differently, more engagingly, in a way that draws us in, makes our eyes open a little wider and our jaw drop ever so slightly. And as we process it, it can sometimes change our perspective altogether."

Joshua Foss Thrives - Design Green - Blog on Interior Design

My business partner at Thrive Design Studio was recently featured by Penny Bonda on her blog.
Joshua Foss Thrives - Design Green - Blog on Interior Design

Save antibiotics for people, not poultry. - STLtoday.com

"Pop quiz: Most antibiotics in the United States are used for (a) healthy farm animals or (b) people with potentially life-threatening infections?

The answer, by a long shot, is healthy farm animals. Over the past 60 years, antibiotics have transformed once-deadly infections in humans — tuberculosis, pneumonia and typhoid — into treatable, mostly survivable illnesses. But some 70 percent of the antibiotics consumed in this country are used on healthy farm animals."

To read the full article go to Save antibiotics for people, not poultry. - STLtoday.com

Corporate Citizenship Study

This study on CSR show that people think people are more important than the planet.

Debate over using anti-microbials in livestock

From the San Francisco Chronicle

Debate over using anti-microbials in livestock:

"Calls for transparency...Consumers shouldn't need a degree in zoology to read labels,' said Charles Hansen, the executive director of the Truthful Labeling Coalition, an organization representing the natural chicken industry. The group spearheaded a successful lawsuit against Tyson Foods for advertising that its poultry was raised without antibiotics, despite the fact that the company was injecting its chickens with ionophores before they hatched."

Finnegans Featured in the Star Tribune

Minneapolis based Star Tribune finally ran an story on the social entrepreneur Jacquie Berglund Beer firm brews funds to help troubled teens. Her company Finnegans gives all its profits to social causes and is ran (with the exception of Jacquie) by volunteers and interns. I have a had the privilege to her speak a few times at Net Impact events and am delighted to see her getting some media coverage.

Op-Ed Columnist - Betraying the Planet - NYTimes.com

Thank you Krugman for explaining my contempt for the climate deniers

Op-Ed Columnist - Betraying the Planet - NYTimes.com

New Urbanism

At Thrive we are strong supporters of New Urbanism and here is a great video break'n it down.

The ripples of Twitter

The other day I was catching up on my Twitter feed and came across the following article from HarvardBiz.

Why Business Leaders Need to Get Over Al Gore - Andrew Winston:

The article starts off "I saw an interesting piece by Michael Graham Richard on treehugger titled, 'Let's Put This Meme to Rest: Global Warming ≠ Al Gore' (thanks to Will Sarni for tweeting it to me)."

Wow, just a few months ago I had lunch with Will Sarni where we breifly discussed Twitter. I gave him a few generic pointers and pat on the back.

The Great Ethanol Scam - BusinessWeek

The Great Ethanol Scam - BusinessWeek: "The Great Ethanol Scam
Not only is ethanol proving to be a dud as a fuel substitute but there is increasing evidence that it is destroying engines in large numbers"

Norway Thrives by Going Against the Tide - NYTimes.com

Socialist Noway sounds like an economic nirvana, but then again with $65 Billion in profits from oil you'd be in economic nirvana too.

Norway Thrives by Going Against the Tide - NYTimes.com

trendwatching.com's May 2009 Trend Briefing covering INNOVATION JUBILATION

Another trend forward article from the folks at trend watching

May 2009 Trend Briefing covering INNOVATION JUBILATION

Overweight People are creating a gigaton of extra CO2 emissions per year

Stay slim to save the planet | U.S. | Reuters: "They estimated that each fat person is responsible for about one tonne of carbon dioxide emissions a year more on average than each thin person, adding up to an extra one billion tonnes of CO2 a year in a population of one billion overweight people."

Billboard Tent - Offering custom and prefabricated tents in Huntington Beach California

Billboard Tent, custom and prefabricated tents from old vinyl billboards, another sustainable solution the mind that brought you 02 Treehouse.

Thrive Newsletter _ April 2009

The Boulder Office is mentioned in April 2009 publication of the Thrive Newsletter

Hulu - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Baracknophobia - Obey

Procrastination is so much better than actually doing your taxes.

Hulu - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Baracknophobia - Obey: "Republicans might be confusing tyranny with losing."

Is a Food Revolution Now in Season? - NYTimes.com

Is a Food Revolution Now in Season? - NYTimes.com: "“This has never been just about business,” said Gary Hirshberg, chief executive of Stonyfield Farm, the maker of organic yogurt. “We are here to change the world. We dreamt for decades of having this moment.”"