Hello CCSD Community

Here is our bi-weekly Conscious Capitalism content share. We hope you find it informative and inspirational.

In the news

It is no secret that the apparel industry has a huge environmental and social footprint.  There are several newer, more environmental and ethically friendly apparel organizations popping up. However, four older brands, like Fruit of the Loom and Hanes, have also committed to revamp their strategies to reduce their negative impact on the world and support their consumer demands.

Impact

As the head of Heineken USA and Heineken Mexico, Dolf van der Brink has learned to use the power of people and purpose to apply smart, impactful, and profitable practices. “By letting go of fear and stereotypes, something van den Brink has had to do multiple times in his career, he says, he has learned an important lesson “A big part of humanity is suppressed in organizations and bureaucracies. But when you can find a way to tap in that, and appeal to people’s passions and unleash their energies, amazing things can be done.” Read more about specific examples here in this FastCo article. 

Informative Read

Get Your Head Out of Your Bottom Line: And Build Your Brand on Purpose, by Bethany Andell. This book explores what could happen if executives shift their focus from solely improving the bottom line to the company’s long-term health and non-monetary impact on the world. And how to do it!

In Practice

Branch Out Market is a curated social impact market. They partner with nonprofits who are teaching a skill, working with women, young artisans, or refugees to help create economic opportunities and income streams for their projects. By partnering with these organizations they hope to help them focus on their missions and help in creating a stable and reliable access to market. Please read their stories online and browse through the market as if you were walking the streets of Guatemala, Tanzania, South Africa, India, and more combined!

From the founder:
“I am a strong believer in capitalism as a resourceful and efficient way to solve the worlds challenges. Don’t get me wrong, we need charity, but we also need jobs. After working with farmers in South Africa for a few years I saw how their sense of purpose was critical to their success and happiness. My job was to bridge the gap to market, with each opportunity our farmers worked harder and were able to improve their skills and resourcefulness. I joined Conscious Capitalism because I knew that in order for Branch Out Market to be successful I needed to meet and collaborate with like-minded individuals. This is how we will make the world a better place!” – Rachel McKinney

Hello CCSD Community

Here is our bi-weekly Conscious Capitalism content share. We hope you find it informative and inspirational.

In the news

Conscious Capitalism is all about elevating humanity through business. Our fellow Arizona Chapter President, Brian Mohr, got to experience this first hand with his visit to Televerde’s Perryville call-center. What makes this unique? Besides their intensive training, development and investment in their people, this call center is located in the Arizona Department of Corrections in Perryville. 70% of Telverde’s workforce are inmates. After his visit Brian believes Televerde to be “THE BEST EXAMPLE OF CAPITALISM THAT I’VE SEEN. IT’S WHAT CAPITALISM CAN ASPIRE TO DO AND BE. THE COMPANY IS THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE OF BUSINESS AS A FORCE FOR GOOD.” Learn more about his experience here. 

Impact

GoCheck Kids is the first iPhone app registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to screen young children for correctable vision impairment with a simple photo. This replaces the need for a $20,000 screening device and can be also be used on kids under 6 years old. They have raised  $20 million in funding so far and have screened over 900,000 kids with the goal of 20 million by 2020.

Informative Read

Simon Sinek, author of Leaders Eat Last and Start With Why, is releasing his next book, The Infinite Game, on June 4th. You can pre-order your copy today. Learn to embrace an infinite mindset and why that is key to building stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations.

Hello CCSD Community

Here is our bi-weekly Conscious Capitalism content share. We hope you find it informative and inspirational.

In the news

The annual World Economic Forum is currently taking place in Davos, Switzerland. U2 singer, Bono, was one of the many speakers, thinkers, and leaders present. He shares, “Capitalism is not immoral – it’s amoral. It requires our instruction…Capitalism has taken more people out of poverty than any other ‘ism’. But it is a wild beast that, if not tamed, can chew up a lot of people along the way.” Conscious Capitalism and it’s tenets, we believe, is a way that can “tame the beast” and continue to serve all our stakeholders.

Impact

Forbes released The Just 100 companies in the US list.  The criteria they considered about 890 of America’s largest publicly-traded companies include: pay workers fairly; treat customers well and protect their privacy; produce quality products; minimize their environmental impact; give back to the communities they operate in; commit to ethical and diverse leadership; and create abundant job opportunities.

San Diego’s ResMed came in #18 on this list.

Informative Read

Founder & CEO of PayActiv, Safwan Shah, is the first author to publish a book through Conscious Capitalism Press. His book, About TIME: How Businesses Can Save the World (One Worker at a Time), shares how we came to pay workers in this country and how practices positioned to ‘help’ the poor amid crises have resulted in massive financial stress, loss of happiness, and productivity. It also takes a look at the role “time” plays in our society today and how the speed of life is changing, challenging company leaders to step into their heroic nature.

Get on the pre-sale list here. Learn more about PayActiv and how they are transforming the underserved and underbanked workforce.

Hello CCSD Community

Here is our bi-weekly Conscious Capitalism content share. We hope you find it informative and inspirational.

In the news

Paul Tudor Jones’ Just Capital company listing and metrics will be used to create a new Goldman Sachs Exchange Traded Fund. The metrics are something Mr. Jones has been working on since 2012 (the inspiration for this is in the article) . He, himself was “taken aback when he realized how a company’s stock performance correlated with how responsibly it behaved. “I couldn’t believe it,” he said. The results were sufficiently profound to make him rethink his own business.”

Impact

Sometimes what you think is going on, or what you intend to happen, really isn’t what is actually occurring in your company. As a leader it is vital that your actions support your intentions. This is a lesson serial entrepreneur Pete Gombert learned during his third venture. And what inspired his fourth venture, GoodWell – a company dedicated to helping companies be aligned to their values.

Informative Read

It’s no longer good enough to just do what you do. You need to be more conscious and strategic about HOW you do it. If curious about why how you do things matters most, check out Dov Seidman’s book, How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything.