If you’re interested in corporate social responsibility you need to watch Rethinking Capitalism. In this video,  Harvard Business School Professor Micheal E. Porter explains why business leaders should create products and services that benefit not only the company but also society. It’s an overview of Creating Shared Value, the subject of a recent article in...

"Join me in setting a new goal. By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.”  – President Barack Obama, State of the Union, January 25, 2011.

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Do your CSR messages differentiate you from your competitors? Do you tell your CSR story in a way that captures the attention and imagination of your customers and your employees? I thought it would be interesting to look at some real examples – in this case from the oil and gas industry. See what you think: 

“Making the most of energy resources is about more than oil and gas production — it is about...

It’s a New Year and a time for new beginnings… Each year we look back and see what we hoped to achieve and how far we have come—both personally and collectively.

2010 began with a painful economic recovery. We were told by official government sources that everything was getting better. Yet unemployment increased, banks closed, foreclosures continued, consumers defaulted and bankruptcies exploded. In the business world, millions of small, medium and big enterprises shut their doors. Credit was restricted and working America struggled to stay afloat....

It’s been a heck of a year for the Ladies. We have declared ourselves at war – with the status quo and with the state of our second-class citizenship in politics, business, finance, religion, social, sexual and civil rights.

When Hillary Clinton’s vibrant and powerful campaign for president ended twenty-eight months ago, we thought women had lost. We wondered whether we were pushed to the sidelines again. A mere two years later, Hillary is one of the most important players on the world stage and women by the millions are inspired to lead through her...

A State of the Economy Report in Four Parts

PART THREE: Federal Reserve’s Two Societies

The irony of the official monetary policy and its tragic turn is found in the words of the Fed Chairman. When asked about the absence of small business credit, Bernanke explained to Scott Pelley that small business is cut out of credit due to bailed-out banks unwillingness to lend. Why?...

Washington DC – Elizabeth Warren spoke candidly today about the “epic David & Goliath fight” she led with the help of two hundred plus consumer agencies, bloggers like me, and outraged citizens at town hall meetings around the nation. Ms. Warren has singlehandedly championed the idea of a consumer protection agency that will actually serve consumers— not pretense. She is the Ralph Nader of our time.

Warren speaks of herself and the hundreds of millions of American families as “David” versus the enormously powerful bank lobbying force that has become our...

From the Pickens Plan to the American Gas Association, the natural gas industry has invested a lot of money to promote "clean natural gas." But if you're going to advertise something as clean and green (without qualification), you need to make sure it's clean and green all the way through.

One method of extracting natural gas that has led some to dispute natural gas' clean image is hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking,' which has been said to have significant environmental and...

"After living a life of purpose, responsibility, and meaning, I suddenly was a nobody." When Brian Iglesias completed 13 years of active duty, he was a combat decorated, service disabled, U.S. Marine officer. In a private interview with Iglesias, he described to me how devastating it was to return to civilian life with bleak prospects of finding a new life of purpose.

Just a few years later, Iglesias is President and CEO of his own enterprise--...

“Purpose is now the fifth P of marketing. It’s a vital addition to the age-old marketing mix of product, price, place, and promotion,” said Mitch Markson, chief creative officer, Edelman, and the founder of Edelman goodpurpose.

Last week, Edelman released the 2010 Goodpurpose Study. The study conducted in 13...

Sure, Americans love their mobile phones and use them handily, but there’s still stunted confidence for mobile financial transactions, whether it’s a payment or a donation. Part of the reticence comes from the clumsiness of many mobile commerce and mobile giving sites and part of it’s a lack of incentives.

Benevity Social Ventures and Obopay recently launched a text-to-donate ...

The kerfuffle over Chevron’s ad campaign and the accompanying spoof ad campaign (see my Inspired Economist post) reminded me that I hadn’t posted anything here about my first contribution to the Public Relations The Strategist. Titled Handling a Fake Twitter Account: @BPGlobalPR Leaves Lasting Impression on Crisis Communications, the article talks about the fake Twitter account...

A Call to Action

We did not fix the banking system, Columbia University economics professor Joseph Stiglitz told the well-heeled audience at the World Business Forum this week.

The Feds pulled the big banks back from the brink of oblivion, but left everyone else up a creek without a paddle. You know who the fortunate few are – Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Capital One, and American Express among others.

To remind you of the facts, these banks were rescued through three...