IT'S EASY BEING GREEN: HOW TO GET GREEN WHEN GOING GREEN (Originally published at Beyond the Pod Blog)

Even Sesame Street’s Kermit the Frog getting in on the action! He now says, “I guess it is easy being green.”

The market trend to assist companies and consumers to go green has only just emerged as the most dominant consumer market force on the planet.
On the heels of the “Live Earth Internet” that set a new record for streaming as “MSN says there were more than 9 million streams of the environmental advocacy concert” I wanted to track down some resources that a company might use to be come or turn “green.” Consumers want to go green and they want the businesses they buy from to be green as well. To some degree, consumers want the help of their local multi-national in turning green.
Consider the rock-star status of the CEO of BP. Gordon Brown has spoken about Britain becoming a pioneer in this revolutionary sector of “green.” In fact The Guardian Unlimited has taken the lead form Gordon Brown and dominate the press in the breadth of scope of their coverage. If you haven’t seen the coverage, you should. You’ll see nothing like it in the states—at least not at the same press “status.”
But you don’t have to be British Petroleum to go green — especially not in the high growth area of responsible consumerism particularly green purchasing of electronics. Consider Earth 911, and their recent piece on Green Purchasing and Leasing.
The next obvious step it seems to me is that businesses will sprout up designed to help other businesses capture the green marketplace. Consumers have clearly taken the higher ground on the environment and other green issues—go green and you get our wallet share.
Lo and behold, with little effort, I’ve found a handful of organizations focused on this particular “green me” marketplace. Consider these resources from CNNMoney of all places:
Friends of the Earth Scotland: Their Online Audit is designed to answer office-related environmental questions and whether certain strategies are affordable for your business.
California Waste Management Board: Learn where and how to recycle your goods.
Co-op America: Founded in 1982, this not-for-profit membership organization’s mission is to harness economic power to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.
The Green Office: This online retailer offers recycled, environmentally friendly, and sustainable business products, school supplies, and paper.
Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) : Dedicated to accelerating the development and use of technologies that radically improve the quality, durability, energy efficiency, environmental performance, and affordability of America’s housing.
But also consider broader based product designers and business consultancies entering this marketplace:
Carbon Consulting
Climate Care
Futerra
Forum for the Future
Carbon Trust
My list has an EMEA lean because I used the Guardian to track down these resources so I am sure I missed at least one or two U.S. companies.
Though low value and not very beneficial to the average consumer, for the altruistic here are the EPA Approved “lease”and “end-of-life” trade-in programs.
Furthermore, take a look at what Staples is up to.
Which at long last brings me to my non-obvious point: retailers and manufacturers of electronics have difficulty making sense of this green effort. They have had some success, as I have shown above, in the “junk” business. But that is a low visibility and high cost service to the consumer.
Consider how a retailer could “help” their consumer feel good about their next purchase. The retailer could offer to “re-productize” the consumer’s old electronic device. The consumer receives an extremely high value of store credit in exchange for their device. With The Drop Spot, the consumer puts the device back into the marketplace at a lower price point for others and they reduce their own carbon footprint. In terms of biomass the purchase of a new device can be offset by offering an existing device to the secondhand marketplace.
The retailer, by offering The Drop Spot services, gets to ride the green trend upward in the marketplace — getting out of the trash bin and into the front window display: “Get Green! We pay top dollar for you to recycle your iPod and Game System.”
For the nostalgic, here’s a youtube clip of the pre-commercialized Frog Anthem:

WHY NMFN IS "MY" LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY

..."During a period when the public's faith in business ethics has been rocked repeatedly by tales of greed, corruption, and outright thievery at the highest corporate levels, Northwestern Mutual has maintained the highest ratings from all four major rating agencies: Standard & Poor's, A.M. Best, Fitch Ratings, and Moody's. No wonder CEO Zore is pleased to point out, 'Everybody here is trying to do the right thing. We've got our moral compass in the right direction.'"
Loyalty Rules—Frederick F. Reichheld 2001

BUDDHA ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY

"Who ranks as the highest? One who does not harm anything. One who never retaliates. One who is always at peace regardless of the other person's disposition." Buddha

THE LOYALTY PROGRAM AT J&R MUSIC WORLD AND CONSUMER LOYALTY TO THE iPOD (Originally posted at BeyondthePod.com)

(Original post: http://blog.beyondthepod.com/2007/06/26/the-loyalty-program-at-jr-music-world-and-consumer-loyalty-to-the-ipod/)

So I was reading that back in 2006 J&R music was “testing a loyalty program developed with San Francisco-based services provider Loyalty Lab.” The full article is here.

I wonder how that worked out? When I think about such loyalty programs they seem to lack real punch. I mean J&R needs to drive customers to their specific online e-commerce site when most consumers drift to what J&R calls “aggregator” sites.

The interesting problem is that most consumer loyalty is to a brand such as the iPod. The consumer’s loyalty is not necessarily connected to J&R. How can J&R capitalize on the consumer’s loyalty to the iPod and drive consumers to their specific web site?

The loyalty program they ran at J&R looks like it spiffed the consumer gift card by 2% or so for navigating directly to their consumer site. The reward is just not significant. I’m sure on the corporate books the reward looks monumental to the VP of Finance — digging a massive gouge into the margin. But the actuarial perception of the incentive is exactly the opposite of the perception of the consumer.

The consumer’s perception of a 2% spiff is actually creating a negative impact in the marketplace. The consumer thinks, “Is that it?” or “Is that all that a supposedly great store like J&R con do for me?” Such a small incentive actually damages customer loyalty rather than growing it. This is the risk of low impact offers.

Now what if J&R offered a J&R gift card for a used iPod of used Gaming Console the consumer previously purchased at J&R (or anywhere else for that matter). Consider how many more purchasers of new iPods would go to J&R specifically if the knew they could get a near premium price in J&R store credit for their old iPod to put towards their new iPod.

GET IT TO ME BETTER, FASTER, AND CHEAPER: A DISCUSSION OF "REPRODUCTIZATION" (Originally posted at the BeyondthePod.com Blog)

(Original post: http://blog.beyondthepod.com/2007/06/07/get-it-to-me-better-faster-and-cheaper-a-discussion-of-reproductization/)

Consider the business of cars. Consider the business of houses. Each in their own way have created reproductization economies around their manufacture, sale, lease, and re-purchase.

In many ways as the “usage period” of a product drops and the endurance of its materials persist beyond their usage and as maintenance and repairs are made easy and accessible—any product can become part of a “reproductization” cycle.

In fact, the faster a “usage period” for the purchasing consumer passes, the more likely the longer term viability of reproductizing a consumer good.

I find the “lease” of a car, instead of a purchase, an interesting economic model. Also, I like the idea of a business that helps me accelerate my ability to get into my next car quickly and easily.

For example, I would gladly pay $1000 a month to drive a different car every month—or if I chose to—the same car (but with the option at anytime to get into a different car).

I don’t mind if the car isn’t 100% new. For if it is “nearly new” or at least this years model that’s good enough.

The problem with treating cars in this fashion is that they lack “efficient transfer” models. When I’m done with my red Porsche in Riverside how does Jane in Eureka get it quickly and efficiently a few days after putting in her request?

While this model may not work for cars, wouldn’t it be cool to be able to move into different models of MP3 players each month?

Or wouldn’t it be cool to “lease” a PS3 and then, after a few months, send in the console and the games and get a Wii with a set of games. Perhaps a month or two later, I could revert to GameCube and its games! And then on to xbox 360, and the next generation of game consoles yet to be announced.

I can imagine all this easily viable for the price of about 15% of the cost of any one console. Why wouldn’t I pay 15% of the cost of a console and its games to “lease” it per month?

In this way reproductization is rapidly accelerated. Such a system, I contend, would reduce e-waste castoffs, increase the total number of consoles manufacturers would sell, and increase the rate at which new items could be brought to market.

One of the tricks of electronics is that great new products can’t meaningfully overlap because the market has to have time to saturate. Imagine a system of flowing new products into and out of the hands of consumers that massively increases the rate at which saturation for any one product and has built in efficiencies to flow “great new products” into the hands of consumers.

Today I might have a Zune and a Wii. Two days from now I could have an iPod and a GameCube…a month or so from now I could cycle into an iPhone and a PS3. All for $37.99 a month! Just a thought…

While not exact analogs for the model of reproductization I discussed, the following businesses are interesting in how they fit into the “reproductization” market:

Bag Borrow and Steal
Get a designer purse, get bored with it, send it back in and receive a different one of your choosing.

TicketsNow / StubHub
Sell your old tickets. Buy cut rate tickets for the latest shows.

Hewlett Packard
Trade in your old HP elctronics.

SUNFLOWERS FROM APPLES (Originally posted at the BeyondthePod.com Blog)

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(Original post: http://blog.beyondthepod.com/2007/06/01/sunflowers-from-apples/)

From CNN:

Materials company Pvaxx Research & Development, at the request of U.S.-based mobile phone maker Motorola (MOT.N), has come up with a polymer that looks like any other plastic, but which degrades into soil when discarded.

Researchers at the University of Warwick in Britain then helped to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed, which will feed on the nitrates that are formed when the polyvinylalcohol polymer cover turns to waste.

As a consumer, I have begun to amass piles of secondhand electronics, my immediate reaction to this is denial. I don’t see the 10 cell phones in the shoebox in the garage. I ignore the three different game stations in the attic’s busted up cardboard boxes. I pretend I don’t have that third iPod in the basket on my bookshelf. I don’t acknowledge the problem until I am overwhelmed by the problem Until my secondhand electronics seem to be crawling out of the woodwork like ants—I will do nothing.

Well, my seams are at a breaking point and I am beginning to admit I am powerless over my own desires. I want the new iPhone, I want the Wii and I want to get rid of my old iPod and my GameCube. But because I am lazy, I will probably think of my existing iPod and GameCube as barriers to my purchase of the iPhone. But only so long as I can stand it. Then I will break down and buy a Wii and an iPhone. Probably on the same day.

To be honest I wish my iPod and GameCube had one of those Sunflower seeds in it as documented by CNN. CNN documented a cell phone case manufacturer that builds covers that bio-degrade and sprout into a sunflower. If I knew a sunflower would grow—I’d open my sliding glass door and bury my Game Cube in a big pot and hope for the best.

But, because my GameCube won’t grow a sunflower or even a dandelion for that matter, I’d like to do something with my GameCube other than pass along my personal garbage to the local landfill. What I’d like to do is have a small box from BFI or Waste Management that I could drop an item or two into. I want Waste Management to pick up my iPod or GameCube and then tell me they have given me $25 in credit toward my trash bill. Then I will feel good on 2 accounts: 1) I believe that they are “recycling” the device & 2) I like getting $25 for my conscientious act.

Am I dreaming? Maybe. But I see a near future where most “hot” electronics are re-productized and sold into the second hand marketplace to “first-time” buyers. I can see a future where a preponderance of first time buyers of Apple’s iPhone are buying one secondhand. I can see a world where the trade-in of the iPhone is as simple as dropping it in a locked recycle bin so it can be circulated back into the marketplace. I can imagine a market where a first-time buyer of an iPod is buying the re-furbed iPod with a bio-degradable cover (that will sprout into a sunflower or, hell, a green bean plant or a stalk of corn).

Around Northern California the trend toward “green” initiatives” has penetrated all walks of life and if this region is a barometer for the rest of the country then look out for the next 1000 Prius’ coming to your community soon. Speaking of cars: we accept that we can re-purpose cars, vend them in as an upgrade path, and that more efficient/greener cars are on our horizon. I believe a similar trend will overtake the electronics marketplace. For a starting point check out the guerilla marketers over at http://greenmyapple.com or http://www.greenpeace.org/apple/ !!!

FROM "LEADERSHIP AND SELF-DECEPTION: GETTING OUT OF THE BOX; COLLUSION"

"Self Betrayal"
1. An act contrary to what I feel I should do for another is called an act of "self-betrayal."
2. When I betray myself, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies my self-betrayal.
3. When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted.
4. So--when I betray myself, I enter the box.
5. So over time, certain boxes become characteristic of me, and I carry them with me.
6. By being in the box, I provoke others to be in the box.
7. In the box, we invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in giving each other reason to stay in the box.
...

"When having a problem, I don't think I have one. I think other people are responsible." He paused for a moment, then said, "So here's the question: So what?"

...

As I find myself involved with more and more businesses and business opportunities--as the number of businesses I am contracted to help has grown--I repeatedly see a single fundamental difference between the companies that are capable of help from me (or anyone else for that matter) and those that are not.

The Arbinger Institute's explanation of the function of self-deception in leadership
is entertaining and an easy read...I read the entire 175 page book in but a few hours. But brevity is an art...and this book sticks to its charge and delivers.

Fundamentally we know when people are full of shit and when they are not. One o the reasons academics get such a bad rap in the business world is that there is an exceptional number of them that are dripping with the behaviors of self-betrayal: the way they speak, the way they self-justify, the way they rationalize. It all "sounds" good but astute business minds quickly boil down these perambulations to something like "Is this person full of shit or not?"

In many ways the book, Leadership and Self-Deception, might be the first ever business book about what fundamentally differentiates one leader from another, one business from another, one business deal from another. To what extent are the individuals involved willing to participate in self-deception.

I am thinking in particular about a recent business deal I was working on with Commercial Property Consultants (CPC). The basic premise of our Bay Area arm of CPC is that we can accelerate cash flow for commercial property owners. We do this through techniques that accelerates depreciation. We accelerate depreciation by producing a report for business owners and their CPAs called "engineering based cost segregation." Our CPC group has done 6000 of these studies...the benefits for property owners has been unbelievable. From Golf Courses, to Apartment Complexes, to Hotels, to Restaurants, to Supermarkets, to Office Buildings and Office Parks, CPC has benfitted owners from all walks.

Anyways, I was meeting with an influencer of a very large property management company. He'd expressed interest in a free estimate of his benefit (which we offer) but as we boiled it down and made clear we would need at least one depreciation schedule to provide the free estimate, the influencer began to back away from the opportunity. Dozens of reasons came flying across the table..." I don't get it." "Wait a second, the ROI is over the course off a year? I thought I'd get it all right away." "Pay for the service? Can't you just take it when we get the ROI?" "Look inside our buildings? That can't be arranged..." And so forth.

But what was really emerging was his inability to produce the depreciation schedules required. The truth was that he was afraid to ask his boss, the property owner, for the depreciation schedule. Fear was causing him to create problems where there were none. He was full of shit. So I went and visited the property owner myself. I never mentioned the influencer. I have no reason to discredit this person--if anything when the opportunity presents itself I would like to find a way to compensate and commend the individual influencer.

I explained what we do in as direct a fashion as I could as quickly as I could. I was very clear on the massive benefit to the property owner. But I was not full of shit and when I was done, I told him he could have his "free money" if he wanted it and if he didn't no problem. And I meant it. I was congruent. He opened up his cell phone and he called his CPA to get me a Depreciation Schedule for one of his buildings. Done.

I don't know if he will move forward with our services or not. We'll present a value to him and if thinks it worth his time he will follow through. If not, he won't. But that is not the point of this story. The point here is that the influencer is not the same type of business person as the property owner. I would even go so far as to say they are not the same type of people all together. The influencer lives inside the box. The property owner lives outside the box. Success in life between being an office clerk and office owner--it appears to me--might be just this very slight difference in a way of being.

This is way of moving through business engagements I am constantly trying to maintain--and rarely succeeding in doing. The constant vigilance required to look at every interaction as a function of how I can be of service to the human being I am looking at and speaking with is a tall order. My interaction with the property owner was a great learning opportunity for me to understand how and why success is directly correlated to living in a world focused on things as they truly are.