]]> http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2012/01/27/scientists-develop-non-eroding-surface-using-scorpion-for-study/feed/ 0 http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2012/01/13/harvest-power-provides-sustainable-solutions-from-organic-waste/ http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2012/01/13/harvest-power-provides-sustainable-solutions-from-organic-waste/#comments Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:00:03 +0000 Glenn http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/?p=187

]]> http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2012/01/13/harvest-power-provides-sustainable-solutions-from-organic-waste/feed/ 0 http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2012/01/11/182/ http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2012/01/11/182/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:53:16 +0000 Glenn http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/?p=182

]]> http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2012/01/11/182/feed/ 0 http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2011/05/18/a-speech-from-simon-sinek-on-why-people-lead/ http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/2011/05/18/a-speech-from-simon-sinek-on-why-people-lead/#comments Wed, 18 May 2011 21:01:53 +0000 Glenn http://www.glennrileymeyers.com/?p=178 I came across this 18:00 presentation from Simon Sinek on TED. It is very worth the time as it challenges what many consider to be the correct formulas for success.

Where there's no electricity put solar light bulbs to use, not kerosine: Photo: Nokero

A website has been launched that is worth page marking: ionINNOVATion

It reads as follows:

“There are some remarkable things taking place on this planet of ours, things that make the eyes open wide, make each of us more brilliant.

Welcome to this participatory community, a confluence of innovations, products, organizations, and people that contribute to the betterment of the planet and the life it hosts. Here we celebrate and share stories about solutions that rock, about energy that doesn’t make one cough, about sustainability and getting smart, about business models that slam the door on poverty, disease, and starvation.

Free subscription, voting rights on quarterly and annual Innovation awards. Each feature will measure the following rating system markers:

• Sustainability Mark
• Green Legacy
• Employment Creation
• Revenue Generation
• You-lead, We-follow Effect
• Inspiration/Innovation Factor

Each rating mark per category is 10 points; a top rating of 10 points in all categories = 60 points (extremely rare). Subscribers will then have the opportunity to submit their ratings and comments.

Initial Content: People, Products, Companies

• George Nez builds roofs first & habitats that help mend poverty
• Sunflower Lighting natural light that uses no power
• Tough Stuff generates low-cost power
• Bin’s Jute Mats put a Ghanaian village to work
• Nokero’s solar light bulb by Stephen Katsaros
• Eichelberger’s trash barns
• Aquaponics trout fishing
• SCIPs make great homes
• Solaqua disinfects water in sub-Saharan Africa
• Micromidas microbes make biodegradable plastic from organic waste, sans petroleum
• Weed removal by goat
• Cityscape Farms = rooftop gardens
• Tjernlund Products move air and heat where its needed
• Pedal-a-Watt makes homemade power

Take a look and see what you think. Your thought are most welcome. Once again, there is a lot of great work taking place out there needing to gain more notoriety!

From Justmeans: Top 1000 Global Companies Powered by SmartView Force Rankings

Justmeans Sustainability Top 1000 List

“Now entering its third decade, CSR is at last stepping into the spotlight. CSR has moved from the corporate cubicle to the board room, onto the curricula of the world’s most prestigious MBA programs, and the agendas of the most prominent global CEO gatherings. Not having embarrassed myself with my 2010 forecast, here are my thoughts about CSR in 2011.

“In 2011, it will become clearer that the most effective way to enlist companies in CSR is to demonstrate the benefits of CSR to companies as well as communities–the win-win. Telling companies that they should do something, especially on moral grounds, is not a highly effective way to motivate deeply committed action, especially when the moral case to spend shareholder money is debatable. Confession: I have always balked at the term “responsibility” in CSR, since many have seen the term responsibility as a should rather than the win-win. I have used and favor the term Leveraging Good Will.

“I believe that in 2011 we will see more companies incorporating CSR business strategies because the win-win to business as well as the community will become more evident; there will be a continued move away from the should reason for involvement. This trend is part of larger social forces. These include, among others:

1. People have a greater appreciation of the power of markets. The Boomer generation that originally eschewed markets later participated in the largest economic boom and then the greatest economic debacle since the Great Depression. Market-oriented people are not should people; they have to be convinced by rational arguments.
2. The power of command and control ideologies has decreased over recent years, so people no longer give or volunteer because they are told to, but rather because they want to. Gone are the days of obligatory federated giving through the workplace. In are GlobalGiving, DonorsChoose, VolunteerMatch, and TapRoot, where people are directly involved in decisions about philanthropy, service, and conversations about making the world better. People like to be at companies where philanthropy and service are part of the conversation and the culture, and people can engage in a variety of ways.
3. With globalization and the media, the problems of the world are beamed into our homes, personal computers, and cell phones. We hold images of the victims of the Haiti earthquake right in our hands along with the means to help alleviate their starvation. We see the environmental and economic devastation caused by BP Deepwater Horizon. Everything is out in the open, and people care and vote with their consumer dollars.
4. The Millennials demand to participate in decision-making and improving their communities and the world. They expect to work in jobs that are meaningful and where their lifestyles are fulfilling. The best and the brightest are attracted to employers who are aligned with a similar world view.
5. People have greater respect for different cultures, their values, and their national autonomy. This is equalizing the give and take of trading relationships. Successful companies are those that recognize that they can be respectful partners with countries and individuals with whom they do business.
6. People have a growing awareness that every life matters, the future matters, and we all share the same Planet Earth. Shareholders are interested in dividend returns but also the world that their companies will leave for their children and grandchildren.

“The bottom line is that the world of empire, entitlement, and should is over. Going forward, more and more companies will engage in CSR–not because they should, but when it’s in the best interests of the company and its shareholders to invest in the environment so that the company has renewable resources to manufacture its goods in the future; foster economic development to ensure that workers and customers will thrive in robust communities; provide workplace safety, education, and health care to ensure that it has a capable and productive workforce; improve communities where the company has a presence in order to foster government and public relations; deal fairly with indigenous people in order to access natural and renewable resources that the company needs for its products; and build its reputation among customers and stakeholders by respecting society’s expectations with regard to the environment, human rights, and corporate ethics.

“As I have stressed in my CSR publications andconsulting in the past two decades, the fundamental beauty of CSR is that it is based on a win-win for the company and the community. As we move forward in 2011 and the coming decade, I predict that a) the case for CSR will become more and more focused on the benefits to companies as well as the community–the win-win; and b) companies will become more and more adept at leveraging good will as a core business strategy.”

What sounds good for any company engaged in social responsibility, sustainability or safety practices is not always easy to achieve in a cost-effective and timely manner. This is especially true in an era when when things undergo change so rapidly. How and when to do this are important considerations.

Today, this acronym — SENDS – provides some considerations when communicating information that is important :

• Short & sweet. Very few people today have the time to read tomes or watch lengthy video presentations, even if the content seems superb. The worst thing you can do is waste a person’s time
• Engage and Interest your audience. That includes how you say what you say, how you show what you show, and how you deliver your message.
• Newsworthiness. Any information you deliver must pride something that has news value, that will engage attention
• Distribution. How you reach your target audience in a dynamic way that doesn’t get lost in the shuffle is important, whether it’s simple SMS text, an email, mobile podcast, or something else.
• Straightforward & Transparent — read like a book without missing chapters.

SENDS — easy to remember and good to put into practice, whether training or communications outreach.

“Same-old, same-old” runs counter to the era; always keep in mind your browser’s ‘REFRESH’ button.

The video is available for review.Newmont Emergency Preparedness

I wish to commend the personnel at Newmont who oversaw this important safety preparedness training. Being prepared is always the best first step in any emergency situation.

A customizable training solution, presented by employment law attorney, Chuck Passaglia.