By Posted on Posted in Abundance and Prosperity, General Commentary, Uncategorized

I’m writing this from Guanajuato, Mexico; we’ve been traveling and studying Spanish since December 26. My wife and I were also here 22 years ago for an extended trip, and I notice differences in the business world since then.

The most obvious is how much more advanced the infrastructure has become. A few examples:

Making a long-distance call within Mexico had been rather an ordeal. In 1984 and 1985, a person would contact the operator, you’d get a call back in an hour or two when the line became available, and the sound quality was iffy. These days, just buy a phone card, slide it in, and dial, and usually get a good clear signal. However, you may have to try two or three phones before you find one that likes your card. And everybody that we met had a cell phone; many also have land lines. In the old days, most people had no phone at all.

Intercity bus travel has become a joy (other than the constant barrage of poorly chosen TV and movies). Luxurious seats, immaculate restrooms, even a snack.

Banking has been computerized, and transactions such as changing travelers checks that used to take half an hour or more now take only a few minutes.

Purified water is common, and a healthfood consciousness has begun to be felt in the culture. A few examples–even Wonder offers packaged whole wheat tortillas…natural foods stores, though small, are easy to find…a few restaurants and cafes proclaim that they use organic ingredients.

However, there are some less attractive changes as well.

It seems that the strong local traditional culture is harder to find. Norteamericano fashion boutiques have replaced many of the traditional clothing vendors, and we saw almost no one wearing Mexican styles. And, like so many other parts of the world, some of the U.S.’s worst cultural exports have begun to crowd out local stores. We saw several Wal-Marts, McDonald’s, and–in picturesque downtown Guanajuato–even a Domino Pizza. And despite the wonderful varieties of Mexican soda and beer, Coke is enormously popular.

Worse, Coke owns at least a few of the brands of bottled water, and that could be a dangerous trend. I believe firmly that water rights and water privatization will be major focal points for the struggle for economic justice, increasing in intensity to the point that water may be the oil of 2020 and beyond. And it should not be yanked out from under the local populace by multinational corporations.

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By Posted on Posted in General Commentary, Politics, Shel's Personal Life, Uncategorized

It’s 5 p.m. on December 23, which means I have only 7 hours left in my 40s.

It’s been a magnificent decade. I feel very, very blessed.

In fact, since I was about 15, life continues to get better and better. 15-20 was better than what had come before, my 20s were very nice–getting married, and moving together to Western Massachusetts.

My 30s were even better, as I got to know my two amazing kids, born in 1987 and 1992, and as my writing and publishing career began to take really shape with the 1993 publication of Marketing Without Megabucks: How to Sell Anything on a Shoestring by Simon & Schuster, and then with my decision to buy back the remaining inventory two years later.

And my 40s? This was the decade where I began to make my mark on a wider world, not just my local community. I built strong communities in Cyberspace, transformed my home-based business into a global presence–and also had an impact in my own town, with the formation of Save the Mountain.

I founded STM to protect our much-loved local mountain from a very poorly conceived development plan. In all my years of organizing, this was the most amazing experience. I started the group when the first story in the local paper quoted a bunch of experts who said “this is terrible but there’s nothing we can do.”

I knew they were wrong. I figured we could gather a small group of activists and stop the project within five years or so. It astonished even me when we got hundreds of people to turn out at hearings, thousands to passively support us with petitions, bumper stickers, and so forth, a very diverse active core of 35, including scientists, legal liaisons, organizers, students, farmers, local landowners…it was the closest thing to a true consensus movement I’ve ever been involved with, bringing together people from all political views and even gaining support from town officials who had a reputation for opposing progressive change.

And we won…in just 13 months.

That experience was one of the forces that shaped my decision to make change on a more global level, and to institute the Business Ethics Pledge campaign. I’ve given that campaign 10 years to see if it can make a fundamental change in the world.

Meanwhile, I expect my 50s to be full of new books to write, new people to influence, new initiatives on sustainability and ethics, new countries to visit, plenty of fascinating client projects, land to preserve, speeches to give, and maybe even getting my office dug out of its clutter.

In short, I fully expect to have an awesome time and even surpass my amazing 40s.

I wish you, as well, an amazing 2007, and an amazing next ten years.

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By Posted on Posted in Uncategorized

The often-cynical newt Gingrich, rumored to be considering a run for President, had some shocking and radical things to say about the First Amendment recently, as reported in the conservative Manchester (NH Union-Leader

Gingrich cited last month’s ejection of six Muslim scholars from a plane in Minneapolis for suspicious behavior, which included reports they prayed before the flight and had sat in the same seats as the Sept. 11 hijackers.

“Those six people should have been arrested and prosecuted for pretending to be terrorists,” Gingrich said. “And the crew of the U.S. airplane should have been invited to the White House and congratulated for being correct in the protection of citizens.”

First of all, I’ve heard a rather different account of that incident from the horse’s mouth and I totally dismiss the idea that they sat in the same seats as the September 11th hijackers.

Second, their apparent “crime” was to engage in prayer during one of the mandatory five times per day that Islam requires, and to do so in the airport lounge rather than at a mosque.

The whole purpose of the First Amendment is to protect dissent. If you only protect the speech you agree with, Newt, you may as well not have the First Amendment. This is a fundamental building block of the American democracy, it’s what has made us special in the world of nations and imitated by many emerging democracies over the last two centuries.

Time for a little lesson from Pastor Martin Niemoller, who wrote the famous poem that begins
They came first for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

(Full poem, with variations and commentary, at Wikipedia)

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By Posted on Posted in Business Ethics, Ethics in Government, Uncategorized

The Justice Department this week agreed to ease its tough legal tactics against scandal-tainted corporations, requiring prosecutors to get approval from Washington before seeking confidential information between firms and their lawyers.

Hmmmm. Seems like the Bush Administration is once again drawing back and letting the foxes stand guard at the chicken coop.

Now, I confess–I haven’t looked into this in detail, checked a couple of news stories–the above from the insurance industry’s point of view, and Democracy Now’s, which I heard on the radio but can’t locate in the archives. Perhaps the government has been going overboard on this. But I am skeptical.

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By Posted on Posted in General Commentary, Shel's Personal Life, Uncategorized

For the past 15 months, I’ve been doing “Principled Profit: The Good Business Radio Show” on a local community radio station.

I am a very experienced radio guest as well as a host, and I also have done a fair bit of public speaking to live audiences. But last night’s show was the first without a guest, and let me tell you–it was hard!

With a guest, I can easily fill my hour. and in front of a live audience, I can talk and talk. But last night, with no one in front of me, I realized how much I rely on audience feedback when I’m speaking.

15 minutes into the show, I started to panic and worry that I’d run out of things to say. I put on my first song to give myself some thinking time (and the audience a break from my voice) and when the song was over, I was fine. I normally play three songs during my show, and did so last night as well.

The show actually went very well–but I was completely drained afterwards. And my throat was tired.

And I have a lot more respect for radio personalities who are their entire show. It’s tough! I grew up listening to people like Lynn Samuels and Steve Post on Pacifica’s WBAI-FM (New York). They could carry a solo monologue for two or three hours, with just a few music breaks. All I can do is tip my hat and say, Wow!

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By Posted on Posted in Business Ethics, Ethics in Government, Media Ethics, Uncategorized

One of the things investigative journalists learn very quickly is “follow the money.” And that can mean both a direct trail of funding as well as who stands to benefit from policy changes a particular group is recommending.

Given the naked self-interest of certain large corporations in the watering down of the Sarbanes-Oxley–or at least what they perceive to be their self-interest–it’s not a big surprise that the group advocating to weaken that bill turns out to be funded by the very people who see themselves as benefiting by pulling back the watchdogs.

The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, which argues that U.S. markets are suffering under overzealous enforcement and unwieldy rules, said it received $500,000 in financial support from the C.V. Starr Foundation. The charity has longstanding ties to Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg, the former American International Group chief who was ousted from his post last year and is contesting civil charges filed by the New York attorney general.

Two committee members, Wilbur L. Ross Jr., a private investor, and Citadel Investment Group manager Kenneth C. Griffin, contributed “a few hundred thousand dollars” more, Ross said in an interview. The panel was formed this year with support from Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., a former chairman of the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs.

The email version (thanks, Nancy Smith, for sending it) connects a few more dots:

The
report was funded by the Starr Foundation, which is controlled by Former AIG
Insurance chief Maurice Greenberg. Greenberg was forced to resign last year
after then-NY Attorney General Elliot Spitzer revealed major accounting
manipulations and misrepresentations at his insurance company.

The irony is, as I point out repeatedly in my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, that high standards of ethics are actually good for the business bottom line.

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By Posted on Posted in Media Ethics, Uncategorized

Apparently some students got the wording of their two essay questions some days before they were supposed to. However, it was an open exam, with 90 minutes to compelte the test an time during a 36-hour period.

I am both amused and saddened by some of the comments made on Jeff Bercovici’s blog about it.

This unfortunately is the future of journalism, the creme de la creme.

Meanwhile, William Powers takes the media to task for its endless reporting on itself, at the expense perhaps of more urgent news. And also wonders if the ability to comment publicly is such a good thing.

Well, there, I disagree with him. I think the much larger voice of public comment than the few letters that see print is a very positive thing.

Both of these stories courtesy of my occasional look at Romesnko, the journalism blog.

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By Posted on Posted in Abundance and Prosperity, Business Ethics, Politics, Uncategorized

Most American investors think that socially responsible mutual funds contribute to better corporate behavior, according to a new major investor survey conducted by Calvert [https://www.calvert.com]. Knowing that a company is rated higher in terms of their social performance would make 71 percent of Americans more likely to invest in that company and 77 percent would purchase more of their products and services.

Going through email that was not a priority when it arrived, I found the above tidbit in David Batstone’s WAG newsletter (from last April, I confess).

Those are remarkable statistics. Over 2/3 use social responsibility as an investment screen, and over 3/4 as a factor in making a purchase.

So why do we still have so much unresponsive, focused-only-on-financial-bottom-line, and downright nasty corporate behavior? Because people don’t realize that good corporate behavior is a direct path to better profitability. If you’d like to educate a corporate friend on this, I recommend my award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First–it outlines exactly how and why companies succeed better by doing the right thing.

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By Posted on Posted in Ethics in Government, Politics, Uncategorized

(I am sending this letter by postal mail, with copies to my own Congressman and Senators). If enough people write similar letters, maybe they’ll actually do some of this stuff)

Dear Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Reid:

It is thrilling to be able to write to both of you congratulating you on the Democrats’ election victories and on your new positions in majority leadership.

The Democrats have been given a window to make real change. I’m writing to ask that we not squander it. It is time for meaningful change on order of FDR’s First 100 Days–before the window slams shut and the American people once again have the sad image of a spineless do-nothing Congress, only this time with the Democrats in charge.

The biggest issue facing the US is foreign policy. President Bush managed to squander a huge international reservoir of good will toward the US in the aftermath of 911, along with the entire Clinton budget surplus, and the Democrats must work to rebuild our standing not as a rogue state but as a leader among nations in the campaign for world peace and prosperity. Specifically…

  • Get us out of Iraq NOW! That troubled country will face a civil war regardless of how long we stay. The longer we stay, the longer and more bloody that war is likely to be. As in Vietnam, let’s get out and let them get it over with. Less blood will be shed than by staying. The only possibility I see for avoiding civil war is to divide the country among Sunni, Shi’a, and Kurdish factions—but that strategy hasn’t worked well elsewhere in the world (e.g., India/Pakistan, Serbia/Albania, Ireland/Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine). Demand from the Bush administration an immediate timetable for phased withdrawal within 90 days.
  • Bring North Korea and Iran to the bargaining table. Use diplomacy to avoid additional wars.
  • Play a peacemaker role in the Israel/Palestine/Lebanon conflict–through which, if real progress can be made, it might actually influence Iraq toward peace.
  • Change the dynamics of the US role in Latin America. Right now, we’re seen as “the neighborhood bully.” It is time to form working coalitions with the promising new governments in that region, to identify and work toward mutual objectives.

    Another “elephant in the room” is energy policy. It is time for a Marshall Plan-style campaign for true energy independence, based on renewable and nonpolluting technologies such as solar, wind, and small-scale hydro. We need to see our rooftops as an energy (and possibly food) resource, and the government needs to put programs into place to make these systems affordable to those who can’t come up with the large capital investment necessary to eliminate oil dependence and reduce carbon emissions/global warming in the long run. These could even be loans paid back directly out of energy savings. Large-scale involvement would bring down the price, make it affordable to every homeowner, reduce or eliminate dependence on foreign oil and uranium, reduce CO2 buildup and thus global warming. I live in a 1743 New England farmhouse and even in this somewhat challenging environment, solar systems provide nearly all our hot water and a portion of our electricity.

    A third major concern is fair elections. For starters every American needs to know that if they are registered to vote, they will be allowed to vote, and that their vote will be counted accurately. This requires a Federal law mandating voter-verifiable paper ballots, hand-counted in open and supervised public session. But beyond this basic and fundamental right, we need to be looking at other electoral reforms. Top of my list is Instant Runoff, which would take 3rd parties out of the role of “spoiler” and into the same kind of meaningful force and alternate voice that they provide in other democracies around the world.

    Fourth, the role of Congress. In the last few years, Congress has not fulfilled its responsibilities to the American people. Highly dubious, extremist Presidential appointments are approved with little debate. Massive bills are shoved at members at the last minute, with no time for adequate review. And the Legislative branch has been largely afraid to challenge the continuous power-grabs on the part of the Executive branch. The American people elected you to be part of the checks and balances, and I trust you will help your colleagues rise to their responsibility.

    And finally, there’s the question of what to do about the many high crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush administration. Rep. Pelosi, I understand why you would not want to engage in the divisive and all-consuming process of impeachment–but at the same time, we should not give these people a free ride for the serious crimes they have committed–for establishing a culture of greed, corruption, abuse of power, negation of the Legislative branch, corporate favoritism, unnecessary and unjustified curtailment of liberty, an international role as a pariah who has created space for terrorists that never existed before…and the unnecessary death and injury of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in a move that only strengthened the hand of our terrorist enemies. Perhaps the appropriate response is something like South Africa’s Commission on truth and Reconciliation, that holds the perpetrators accountable but does not divide the country.

    In short, there’s a big agenda, you have the support of the American people, and that support can be strengthened by an assertive program of action. I wish you the best of luck.

    Sincerely,

    Shel Horowitz

    cc: Hon. Richard Neal, Sen. Edward Kennedy, Sen. John Kerry

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    By Posted on Posted in Business Ethics, Marketing Trends/News, Uncategorized

    The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) has in the last couple of months taken several steps to build ethics consciousness among its members.

    This, of course, is something I applaud. It’s quite necessary, as word-of-mouth marketers include those who have (in the past) paid people to act as shills without disclosing their relationship.

    I put a link up to WOMMA’s overall code of ethics some time back. Now, the group has released draft standards for marketers communicating with bloggers. (All of its ethics programs can be accessed from a single link–which, commendably, is a main link from the home page.

    This is good. And Dell Computer has already become the first major company to sign on to WOMMA’s Ethics Adoption Toolkit.

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