Strategy for Good: Inspiration and advice for young social entrepreneurs

The goal of the initiative, called “Strategy for Good”, is to make it easier to young social entrepreneurs to develop  a strategy and produce  an effective business plan, through a mentoring program, at no cost to all selected applicants.

The initiative that was  launched by the Costas Kataras Organisation ,  supports young social entrepreneurs - involved in the marriage of good business principles with the desire to solve social problems, improve the environment, and empower communities- that need advice and / or  mentoring in order to develop proper Strategy and/or Business Plans. Applicants could send email to: info@costaskataras.org

Shareholder value as an excuse to dodge taxes?

At first glance, you would think that the CEOs of taxophobic U.S. corporations and our less-than-stellar leaders in Washington have nothing in common. But you'd be wrong. What they share is a lack of shame and an excess of narrow thinking, says FORTUNE. Read more here.

Crafting powerful strategies, the McKinsey way

The essence of strategy is making wise choices about where and how to compete. In this series, McKinsey examines the dynamics of crafting powerful strategies and mobilizing resources to make them happen. The leading strategy consulting firm explains how strategic thought has evolved and where it is headed. Read the series at McKinsey.

What corporations like Unilever could learn from Darwin ?

In 2011, the Unilever CEO Paul Polman   launched the “Sustainable Living Plan” integrating every aspect of Unilever’s business. The plan called for Unilever to double its sales and halve its environmental impact within a decade; “It’s a realistic and difficult business model… but in a world where increasingly people feel that the system is unfair to them or where they feel excluded, where there is an enormous resource stress, companies that don’t more actively become part of the solution will become obsolete.”,  he said recently in the INSEAD Knowledge.

“We are increasingly more successful in what I call a VUCA environment – volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.” Polman  says. Perhaps that’s why he also understands that in today’s interconnected world, social media is a powerful tool in the hands of the people, and the consumer is not afraid to say what he wants. “In the digital age we’ve seen the power of the consumer coming up and I always tell our people here that if they can bring down a regime in Egypt in about 17 days they can bring down an irresponsible company in nanoseconds…The consumer is really the boss and there is no bigger power than the power of the wallet.” , he said.  A very pragmatic and Darwinian paradigm from a global firm and his forward looking CEO. You can see more  about  this new paradigm for sustainable growth here.

Towards the customer obsessed brand?

Welcome to the Age of the Customer and invest accordingly says Josh Bernoff  of Forrester Research , author of a new report titled "Competitive Strategy In The Age Of The Customer". According to the report, previous sources of dominance (ie  manufacturing, distribution, even information mastery ) are now just table stakes. This is the age of continuous disruption. Your relationship with customers is the only thing that enable you to survive that disruption. Companies must be more than customer focused, they must be customer obsessed. A customer obsessed company focuses its strategy, its energy, and its budget on processes that enhance knowledge of an engagement with customers, and prioritizes these over maintaining traditional competitive barriers. An interesting piece of work. Find more here.

Turn chaos into opportunity

EXPLOITING CHAOS by Jeremy Gutsche is an award-winning, bestselling, magazine-style book about 150 ways to spark innovation during times of change. Disney, CNN, MTV, Hyatt, Microsoft, Apple, Fortune, GE, and Hewlett-Packard. Each of these companies were created during periods of chaos. Their proven strategies will help your company to thrive in chaos, suggests Gutsche .

Action Plan for Corporate Social Responsibility, by the Danish Government

The action plan aims at promoting CSR and helping Danish businesses reap more benefits from being at the global vanguard of CSR. At the same time, the plan aims at strengthening the efforts to ensure that Denmark and Danish businesses are generally associated with responsible growth. The Government has a focus on business-driven CSR and internationally recognized principles - the UN Global Compact and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).
The action plan contains a total of 30 initiatives in four key areas. With such initiatives ( from 2008 but still so refreshing ), there is no wonder why the Danish corporations excelle in the world markets. You can find the Action Plan for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) here.

Sustainable solutions to significant business, economic, social and environmental challenges

No one needs to be reminded that we live in increasingly turbulent times. New and enduring economic, social and environmental challenges grow more visible and urgent by the day. New ideas and emerging technologies make it possible to do things that weren't possible before. The result is a new hope: opportunities for innovative leaders to develop and achieve breakthrough solutions to significant public problems. Our mission is to help these leaders to achieve sustainable solutions to significant social and environmental problems. We do this in two ways:
# We are part consulting firm (Strategic International), drawing on our talents of advising innovative leaders of organizations who have high aspirations for maximizing their impact.
# We are part think tank ( Costas Kataras Organisation), analyzing and anticipating important shifts in the rapidly changing context that leaders must navigate. In addition, we are a research driven entity. Learn more about our services. Download the brochures below (in PDF):# Marketing Communications Brochure ( Click here ) or/and # Corporate Brochure (Click here) . For more info, please contact Strategic International (London) at: 175 Scott Ellis Gardens Street, NW8 9RS, London (UK), Tel: (+ 44) 796 350659, Email:info@costaskataras.org

Healthy food is good for the environment, finds major think tank study

 A healthy diet also benefits the environment, according to a scientific study presented in Brussels today by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN). The study ‘Double Pyramid: Healthy Food for people, sustainable food for the planet’ indicates that foods with higher recommended consumption levels are also those with lower environmental impact. Contrarily, those foods with lower recommended consumption levels are also those with higher environmental impact. The “Double Pyramid” model combines the well-known food pyramid with the environmental pyramid, based on an estimation of the environmental impact of each foodstuff in terms of generation of greenhouse gases (Carbon Footprint), consumption of water resources (Water Footprint) and use of territory (Ecological Footprint). The study was presented during open debate at the European Parliament, organised by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) and hosted by Paolo De Castro, Member of the European Parliament (Socialists & Democrats, Italy). A large number of participants from the institutions, trade associations, businesses, and civil society gathered to discuss the topic of ‘Healthy Food, Healthy Planet’.

A CSR Toolbox for European Companies

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is of crucial importance for competitiveness in Europe, says the latest European Competitiveness Report published by the European Commission. The annual report analyses productivity and competitiveness issues in the EU. In that context the so called CSR Toolbox was launched. CSR Europe's Toolbox includes information, ideas and advice designed to help companies and their stakeholders address socio-economic and environmental challenges and integrate corporate social responsibility (CSR) into mainstream business practice. The Toolbox is based on the first results of the CSR Laboratories, cross-sectoral business-stakeholder cooperation projects under the umbrella of the European Alliance for CSR. (Photo:Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission )

The “Nice Way” business advantage, now in a series of lectures

A number of new research findings, recently published bestseller books (ie The Brand Bubble, John Gertzema, Chief Insights Officer, Young & Rubicam / WPP Group, November 2008 and The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, 2009) and the winning business strategies of a new species of Nice Brands / Corporations that is now emerging (ie Patagonia ) as predicted in the book Nice Capitalism by Costas Kataras , are all confirming the advantage of the Nice Way strategy and Costas’ unique foresight ability to foresee the shape of things to come in the new corporate world. The Nice Way initiative of The Costas Kataras Organization includes information, ideas and advice equipping organizations for a competitive advantage in times of turbulence, delivered through a number of tools, including: lectures, presentations, seminars, workshops, strategic foresight, scenario planning, studies, market intelligence, consulting, counselling, networking tools and others, based on Costas Kataras’ fascinating book Nice Capitalism. Lecture topics include: A New Paradigm: The Application of “Chaos Thinking” to Strategy, The European Effect: Is Corporate Europe Beginning to Surpass America? , Restoring Confidence in the Corporation: Rethinking the Business of...Business, The Uncertain Future of Brands: The Next Colossal Corporate Challenge?, The Economics of Happiness: Mastering the New Competitive Advantage ,The Revenge of the Psych: Is Consumers’ Dominance Over Corporations Near?, Rethinking Marketing: Surviving in a New, Polarized, World. More info and a short description of the Nice Way series of lectures, is now availiable.

Trends That Will Drive Consumer Thinking in 2009

JWT, one of the world's largest advertising agencies, has released its fourth annual year-end forecast of key trends that will drive or significantly impact consumer behavior in the year ahead.

According to JWT, major trends for 2009 include the energy race, which will heat up as nations, corporations and research institutions compete to find cheaper, renewable and more eco-friendly energy sources; simple pleasures, which cash-strapped consumers will favor over extravagant indulgences; and a new "we over me" attitude toward addressing social problems.
Other key trends cited in the report "10 Trends for 2009" include:

• Redistribution of Power: 2009 and beyond will see widespread power-structure shifts in the political, economic and social spheres.
• The Mobile Device as the Everything Hub: As the availability of wireless broadband expands and the cost of advanced phones drops, the mobile device will become the preferred hub for digital communications.
• The Small Movement: Everything is getting smaller, from stores to cars to mobile technology to packaged goods.

Economic Crisis 2009:Mapping decline and recovery in your sector

Different sectors enter and emerge from downturns at dufferent times. A look at past recessions suggests how some industries may fare. A recent January 2009 analysis by McKinsey provides useful insights to business leaders on how to cope with the current economic crisis.
The report suggests that in an ideal world, every company would enter a recession lead by a team of grizzled executives who could draw on their experiences of past downturns to guide it through the current one.Many companies don't , however, and even those that do so, it can be difficult to rise above the crisis to ponder the lessons of history.