President and CEO, BSR
At the start of 2009, trust in business plummeted from the year before, found the Edelman Trust Barometer. By July, trust levels recovered slightly — but it is far too early to declare victory, says Aron Cramer, president and CEO of BSR. Business now has a chance to write a new chapter and align its interests with those of the public so, together, we can confront the challenges ahead.
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Lots of explanations have been put forward for the financial meltdown, but in a blog posting at Harvard Business Publishing, management expert Tom Davenport offers up his own explanation: too many jerks in the wrong places, making bad decisions. I believe that collaboration can not only prevent bad decisions but become an engine of growth and innovation, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.
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HOW Online contributor
Imagine an airline people actually like to fly. A low-fare carrier that provides friendly service as well as numerous amenities. That’s JetBlue. JetBlue also makes money. That alone makes it an anomaly in the dismal airline business. The company does this by following a simple philosophy: Treat your people well and they’ll treat your customers well, says HOW contributor Marc Gunther.
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HOW Online contributor
HOW contributor Mats Lederhausen sat down with Anthony Tjan, founder of Cue Ball, to talk about Lederhausen’s philosophy of "a purpose bigger than your product." As Lederhausen said: “To regain trust, you must simply make sure that all your products … your people and the totality of your touchpoints with consumers sing from the same hymn — and that hymn is what I call purpose.”
More »A story about the “honor system” adopted by golf courses in Scotland caught my eye, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. The courses allow golfers to pay green fees by dropping payment into an unmonitored box. The policy reflects the core traditions and values of golf: the qualities of honesty and integrity that have shaped the sport. And companies can learn a lot from the honor system.
More »Each week, Jack Welch and his wife, Suzy Welch, answer reader questions and share their views about “winning” on the back page of BusinessWeek. With Jack and Suzy off this week, the publication invited me to submit a column. It is meaningful for me to sit in, and I have taken the opportunity to talk about the role of trust and, specifically, how to extend trust as a business strategy.
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HOW Online contributor
The aspiration to create "green jobs" should be seen as shorthand for two public priorities — immediate job creation and long-term transformation of the economy for sustainability and prosperity — and both goals can be addressed simultaneously, says HOW contributor Andrew Shapiro. What we need to ask is: How can we make every industry a green industry and every job a green job?
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HOW Online contributor
At first glance, the recent Green Brand 2009 survey appears to tell us what we already know: that it is hard to know much about the “mythical” green consumer. Reading between the lines, however, there are interesting insights to draw from the work. And the results have interesting implications for companies that want to sell “green” products, says HOW contributor Stephen Linaweaver.
More »Here’s an innovative idea: A handful of European towns are getting rid of their traffic signals and parking meters. I believe that there is a lesson here that is relevant to all of us, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. It’s relevant to discussions on ways we can become more self-governing. The big idea: You don't need rules to generate good behavior.
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HOW Online contributor
Christopher Lasch had it right: We live in a culture of narcissism. Decades after the publication of his landmark social criticism “The Culture of Narcissism,” Americans are more self-absorbed than ever. Consider, if you doubt it, Twitter and Facebook. This way of moving through the world stands squarely in the way of progress toward sustainability, says HOW contributor Marc Gunther.
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