Category: People Helping People

By Posted on Posted in Energy & Sustainability, Frugality/Frugal Fun, People Helping People Tagged with , , ,

Today is Blog Action Day, and this year, the international day of action focuses on climate change.

I could write about climate change for days, but I’ll keep it simple. Here are some quick, easy, painless things you can do to lower your carbon footprint, and some of them will save you a nice pile of money this coming winter, too.

  • Buy foam outlet insulator pads and plastic baby-fingers-out-of-electrical-outlet protectors, and install them in all the outlets on the outside walls of your house. You’ll be amazed and how much cold air you keep outside.
  • Eat for a day, or at least a meal, only foods grown within 100 miles (organically grown, if possible), and stop supporting the carbon-intensive culture of shipping foods all around the world instead of supporting local economies. You can get local produce, breads, dairy, and meat in most parts of the world.
  • Leave your car at home and go by bike, public transit, or on foot. In congested cities, it’s actually often faster to take a bike for distances up to about five miles; in more rural areas, it’s more like two miles. If that’s impractical, park your car in one central location and do all your errands without moving the car. I sometimes throw my bike on a bike rack, drive to one place, and then bike to all the stores I need to visit.
  • Saturday, October 24, is an international day of climate action. Click on the link. to locate (and participate in) an event near you.
  • Sign the Blog Action Day climate change petition, which has the support of Al Gore and others.
  • Do one thing to demonstrate a positive and easy change to someone in your life who’s skeptical that we can be Green without suffering.

    Need more tips? Spend a princely $9.95 on my e-book, Painless Green: 111 Tips to Help the Environment, Lower Your Carbon Footprint, Cut Your Budget, and Improve Your Quality of Life—With No Negative Impact on Your Lifestyle.

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    By Posted on Posted in Abundance and Prosperity, People Helping People, Politics Tagged with , , , ,

    Since the Republicans have taken a few pages from the Saul Alinsky organizing playbook—Alinsky was the legendary Chicago community organizer who influenced Obama, known for such tactics as a fart-in—maybe it’s time for Barack Obama to ask himself “What would Alinsky do?

    What he wouldn’t do is capitulate. Alinksy would know, as Obama should know, that if he lets health reform die now, his entire agenda will be sunk in a quagmire of intransigence, lies, and loud, even violent public opposition. He will have no legacy beyond this point, and that would be a tragedy.

    Barack Obama, President should turn to the Barack Obama of the past: that community organizer and brilliant marketer who knows how to galvanize a crowd, frame an issue, and move the discourse.

    The Barack Obama who understood from Alinsky the impact a group of low-income could have when they move from disenfranchised, socially alienated aloneness with their troubles to a cohesive community group able to press the power structure. The Obama who was a contributing writer to a book called “After Alinsky: Community Organizing in Illinois.”

    THAT Barack Obama would not be talking about taking the public option off the table. Instead, he’d make a speech something like this:

    “Fellow Americans, for the past several months, we’ve been trying to move this health care system forward from the disastrous present where good solid working folks can’t afford to get treated, but healthcare executives live the high life. All we’re trying to do is create a system where health care is the right of every American, just as it is the right of the citizens of almost every other industrialized country in the world. But we are blocked at every turn. We’ve tried to meet them half way, and we have been rebuffed. We try to negotiate, to compromise. And instead, we’re shouted down, we’re lied to, and we’re faced with people who will not budge an inch because they want to protect their own perks.

    “We will not allow this little group of small-minded selfish liars to control the dialogue. We made a promise to make healthcare not only affordable but he guaranteed right of every American, and we’re going to keep this promise.

    “To get out of the stalemate, I am withdrawing the existing health reform legislation and replacing it with just one paragraph that everyone can understand, that can’t be misrepresented, and that will rapidly transform us to full universal coverage. I ask your wholehearted support of this clear and simple action plan. It uses the one part of our healthcare system that has been working, and working well, since 1964. It’s tested and proven.

    “As of one year from the passage of this legislation, the effective age of eligibility for Medicare shall be lowered to age 55. As of three years from passage, the eligibility for Medicare shall be age 35. And as of five years from passage, all citizens of the United States shall be eligible from birth. Companies now offering healthcare coverage to their employees shall continue to extend coverage until they are Medicare-eligible or until an employee takes a position with another company that offers equal or better coverage.

    “That’s it. Instead of hundreds of pages of confusing legal jargon, a single paragraph of enabling legislation to open the door to the right of healthcare for millions of Americans. Citizens of America, this is your birthright.

    “I will introduce this legislation every year that I am in office, until it passes. And I will work with you to organize, community by community, until your Senators and Representatives, whether Democrat, Republican or independent, support this bill or are replaced by those who do.”

    Let’s see this speech on every network, every blog, every radio show, and in every newspaper in the country. Delivered, as he surrounds himself on stage with the victims of today’s healthcare policy madness: those who can’t get treatment, get the wrong treatment, are marginalized or even see family members die because of the cost-first, profit-only, single-bottom-line narrow-mindedness of today’s system.

    In 1979-80, Shel Horowitz advocated for single-payer healthcare as a staff organizer for the Gray Panthers of Brooklyn. His eight books include Apex Award winner Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First.

    Source for the “fart-in story and Obama’s book contribution: Bill Dedman, “Reading Hillary Rodham’s hidden thesis,” https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17388372

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    By Posted on Posted in Customer Service as Marketing, Energy & Sustainability, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, People Helping People Tagged with , , , ,

    OK, so everyone knows by now, bottled water is uncool if you live in a place where the water is fit to drink (and that includes most of the U.S., Canada, and Europe, as well as many other parts of the world). Issues include environmental impact, cost, depletion of public resources, and centralization of corporate power.

    On the other hand, the health benefits of water are very clear—and having suffered a kidney stone, I personally make a priority of drinking water a whole lot.

    So…what do you do when you need that second (or third, or eighth) drink of water, but you’re out and about? Triple Pundit just featured a free service that matches those offering water with those who need it.

    And quite correctly, TP spent some time on the advantages to businesses of participating: getting people in the door, positive word-of-mouth, and more—but they missed a big promotional opportunity: This clever idea, called TapIt, so far has database listings only in New York City and Orlando, but the concept is infinitely scalable. If you have a physical location and can wash a few extra dishes, visit the TapIt site and click “become a partner.” And then, smart marketer that you are, send out a news release in your local area announcing that you’re the very first business in (location) to participate in this environmentally friendly act of good will.

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    By Posted on Posted in Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, Networking, People Helping People Tagged with , , , ,

    Proving yet again that you can network pretty much anywhere…I was listening to a teleclass and 37 minutes into the call, the presenter fell off. He didn’t come back on, but someone else asked if anyone was there, and I responded.

    Fifteen minutes later, I had been booked as a guest on his radio show, he asked me if I would collaborate on a joint venture involving a pitch to National Public Radio, and another person who’d been quietly listening joined the call to invite me to consider a project he’s involved with.

    All because I took 30 seconds to explain what had happened and introduce myself.

    What networking opportunity can you seize? (Need idea starters? I suggest my award-wining sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First.

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    By Posted on Posted in Abundance and Prosperity, Marketing Trends/News, People Helping People Tagged with , , , ,

    Readers of my various books will know I’m a fan of alternative locally-based currencies. Here’s a twist: A shopping center in Reno is sending street teams out all over Reno to spot acts of kindness, and reward them with “Karma Cards,” redeemable at the shopping center.

    Two extra things worth noting:

  • The retail complex is partnering with at least seven nonprofits
  • Anyone receiving the card not only gets store credit but is entered in a drawing for a $3000 grand prize

    • Sweet! The campaign is only six weeks long. Maybe it’ll be so successful, they’ll continue it.

    Thanks to Reno resident Jacqueline Church Simonds for sharing this.

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    By Posted on Posted in Advertising, language, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, People Helping People

    I love this!

    Troy White writes about a 97-year-old macho cowboy event, the Calgary Stampede, and how organizers got these touch cowboys to benefit breast cancer research by wearing pink.

    Be edgy and/or challenge them – “Are you tough enough to wear pink?” This was the campaign they ran this year – everyone who bought a pink western shirt (yes – for the guys) was donating a percentage of the shirt price to breast cancer research. This was a HUGE success for them … in the parades – everything was pink … at the bars – half the guys were wearing pink … at the midway grounds – pink, pink, and more pink. Major success – and for a very good cause.

    It reminds me of the long-running “Don’t Mess With Texas” campaign, also as macho as they come–and what you might not remember is that it’s an anti-littering campaign!

    I love the idea it’s possible to reframe very progressive messages in ways that resonate with a cowboy crowd. The reverse is probably also true. I’m a very un-macho guy with a strong progressive streak. What kind of message would reach me for a conservative cause? Either direction, this method makes for a lot of food for thought in marketing.

    I do spend some time discussing how to frame in my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First,by the way. Please see elsewhere in this newsletter for a deep-discount offer on that life-changing book.

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    By Posted on Posted in Democracy, Ethics-International, People Helping People, Politics

    Like many others, I am appalled both by the apparently stolen election in Iran and by the repressive, violent response of the government to the mass protests.

    And like many bloggers today who want to be cheerleaders for democracy and (to use Martin Luther King’s wonderful phrase) “drum majors for justice,” I’m joining in a worldwide campaign today to call attention to the problems with the Iran vote and its bloody aftermath. Click the link to see a long list of grievances and solidarity actions.

    Thanks to @engagejoe on Twitter for calling this solidarity action to my attention.

    Relevant Twitter tags: #FreeIran #IranElection #bloggersunite

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    By Posted on Posted in language, People Helping People Tagged with , , , , , ,

    Along with a similar campaign around business ethics, I’ve long been on a campaign to reclaim “family values” as a value that progressives can rally around. And to me, that means seeing the family as inclusive. I am not concerned about whether a family has two parents, whether it has different genders or where/how/if that family chooses to worship–and much more concerned that a family be a place of peace, love, support, and very deep connection. And the Left needs to take a firm position in favor of these true family values-to say unequivocally that the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, domestic violence, and the ludicrous don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy are NOT in keeping with our family values.

    And therefore I was delighted today to get a bulk email from none other than Michelle Obama, touting a 2-minute video of Barack Obama (and another father with four children) celebrating “responsible fatherhood”. Barack Obama noted once again that his father was largely absent in his life, and because of this, he’s made an intense commitment to be there for Sasha and Malia. Of course, Obama is a master marketer, and this video is an example of his marketing prowess. It shows him as not only charismatic but enormously likable.

    Oddly enough, I just finished re-reading the complete Harry Potter series. Harry’s parents are killed when he’s a year old, and late in the series he castigates another character for wanting to stay and defend Harry rather than being there for his newborn child. Harry tells him that if he can be his child, that’s where he should be.

    Anyway, the video is very sweet.

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    By Posted on Posted in Energy & Sustainability, People Helping People Tagged with , , , ,

    Want to make a REAL impact on carbon footprint, as well as put money back in the pockets of those suffering in this troubled economy (or perhaps those who never participated in the economic boom in the first place)?

    I got an e-mail describing a wonderful sustainability project in Cambridge, MA–one that would be easy to replicate anywhere: Weatherization Barnraisings.

    Steve Morr-Wineman, one of the initiators, wrote that a group of people organized…

    a local energy co-op called the Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET). In August we organized our first event – a weatherization barnraising. It was a simple idea: bring people together to weatherize a house by doing things like insulating doors, windows, and pipes, and installing programmable thermostats and compact fluorescent lightbulbs. We publicized the event with a simple flyer, got on some listserves, and then it just took off through word of mouth – and 40 people showed up.

    Since then we’ve been doing one weatherization barnraising a month, and people just keep turning out; 30-40 every time. We’ve assembled a pool of skilled team leaders, gotten contractors to come for free to some of the events, and have expanded the range of weatherizing we can do. The multiplier effects are huge, because people are learning skills they can use to weatherize their own homes.

    The Boston Globe even ran a story on the community weatherization project, noting that the group is looking at doing public buildings as well, including a school.

    If you’d like to start your own weatherization group, Morr-Wneman and his friends have posted a free how-to manual at https://www.audreyschulman.com/HEET/manual3.htm

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    By Posted on Posted in Abundance and Prosperity, Business Ethics, Energy & Sustainability, People Helping People, Social and Economic Justice Tagged with , , ,

    When are sustainability measures real, and when are they a counterproductive waste of time and money?

    That was one of a several very interesting questions posed by Dean Cycon, CEO of Dean’s Beans and award-winning author of Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee (Chelsea Green, 2007).

    Dean’s Beans uses only organic fair-trade coffee and cocoa, typically pays farmers well above the fair-trade minimum while still keeping consumer prices very affordable, and reinvests substantial profits into locally governed sustainability/economic development projects in the communities that supply his coffee. He’s also perhaps the business person with the highest integrity that I’ve ever encountered.

    Not surprisingly, his revenues and profits have grown every year, despite the recession.

    In a speech to small business owners in Massachusetts, Cycon described how he had decided not to invest thousands of dollars in a more eco-friendly liner for disposable coffee cups, that in a year would keep about a basketball’s worth of plastic out of the landfill on a year’s volume of 100,000 cups. It didn’t make either economic or environmental sense, he said.

    On the flip side, Cycon was asked to be the organic coffee supplier when Keurig introduced its wildly popular single-serve coffee makers. He looked at the machine, was disturbed by the large amount of plastic that would be consumed, and suggested to the engineers that they redesign it more sustainably, replacing the disposable plastic containers with biodegradable ones made of the same thick paper used to make egg cartons. When the company declined, he refused to supply the coffee, a decision that cost him millions of dollars, but which still feels like the right decision to him. He’s actually looking to develop a competing model that would be more eco-friendly.

    Cycon has also been an agent of change within the coffee industry, challenging companies like Starbucks and Green Mountain to up their percentage of fair-trade sources, and to make much larger donations to village sustainability programs in the coffee lands: $10 million to his $10,000, in one case.
    On the fair trade issue, he points out that if a large coffee roaster sources four percent from fair-trade co-ops, that could mean 96 out of every 100 farmers are not making a living wage.

    His challenge to business in general? Bring CSR and sustainability “deeply into your business” as an integral part of decision-making, and don’t just tack it on at the end. With that attitude, Cycon believes companies can influence their vendors, their customers, and other stakeholders to take many more sustainability steps: from convincing UPS to use biodiesel trucks in the fleet to biodegradable paper from their label supplier.

    Award-winning author of Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First and seven other books, Shel Horowitz writes and speaks on driving success through environmental sustainability, business ethics, cooperation (even with competitors), attitude, and extreme service. He is the founder of the international Business Ethics Pledge.

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