On My Radar. Off My Radar.

This week, I decided  that I needed a better grasp of the world around me. I’m talking thousands of miles from home. <This does not mean that I’ll ignore the world on my doorstep!> Why? Well, the stories happening in every corner of the world offer perspective. Our perspective is part of our experience. I believe everyone is a product of their life experiences.

Responding to the requests of nations in the light of a Global Humanatarian crisis is an important part of my job; we’ve traditionally given fairly generous funds at times of need. I believe we will continue to do this and support corporations who believe this. As Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR or Corporate Citizenship becomes more aligned with business strategy (rightly so!), we can’t loose sight of our understanding of the crisis that need our attention even when they’re not part of the days’ main headlines. Thus, when deciding on how we want to have an impact, it is important to look beyond the ‘photo de jour’ of tragedy and instead look at the larger context for the ‘hot spots’, trends, needs and organizations that can and will have an impact.

Its been a week since I started subscribing to Reuters Alertnet (Thompson Reuters Net Foundation); granted it is not the most upbeat of alerts I receive or read on a daily basis but its very humbling.

Optimistic Picture of Whole Foods

After listening to Walter Robb, President of Whole Foods this morning at the Portland Business Journal Breakfast, I feel if any grocery retailer has got the right people, leadership, vision and determination to strike the balance of good business and making a difference in tackling nutrition, food and health issues AND be successful – this company does!  

I’m not a dedicated foodie but since Whole Foods moved into the Hollywood neighborhood this year I’ve taken a fancy to shopping at the store because I can walk there and it serves most of my needs in one location <I won’t go on about how I’ve always been baffled by the fact that no single store really ‘gets’ my grocery needs but this one comes close. I digress…>. I like Whole Foods because the food is fresh, healthy (AND still tastes good), displays are educational, I like their 365 brand, esp. the seasoned croutons J and the vibe in the store isn’t as stuffy and expensive as it used to be. The premium for healthy food feels affordable and shopping experience is fun!

So you may be wondering what did Walter say at the breakfast, to convince me that Whole Foods has the chemistry for success?

• WholeFoods’ Leadership Understands Its Success Hinges on Tackling Issues: When Walter was asked whether price is the biggest pain point for customers in purchasing organic and healthy food, he said yes, BUT closely behind, he stated that people don’t know how to cook! Secondly, if Walter talked about Healthcare once during the Q&A, he mentioned the topic a dozen times because the company believes that the Food Supply Chain and Nutrition is one of the root causes of the Healthcare debate that the Obama administration is currently tackling. Whether talking about industrial agriculture, subsidies, lack of cooking skills and education, it is evident that Whole Foods is built on an understanding of the issues and industries that surrounds its business.

p.s. Whole Foods position on healthcare is not news, especially for readers familiar with the op-ed Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare written by John Mackey in the Wall Street Journal last August which inspired a firestorm of debate, as well as calls for boycotts and a Facebook page dedicated to the boycott.

• Whole Foods Understands Its Competition and Importance of Collaboration: Robb spoke about the tenet of actively engaging and “behaving responsibly to all stakeholders” – this was very evident throughout the session. In acknowledging that healthy food is a lifestyle movement and matter of education and awareness, Robb credited some competitors such as Market Choice  for “good retailing”. He mentioned how powerful and influential Walmart is to the food industry. He stated how “Walmart makes a move and the industry needle moves” and underscored this by saying that in the future $1 in every $4 spent on food will be spent at Walmart. He didn’t talk about his relationship with Walmart however he led me to believe that they’re not a traditional competitor. Another example: a naturopathic physician from the School of Oriental Medicine in the audience publicly asked Robb about Whole Foods’ partnership with her profession to supply nutritional supplements and educate citizens. In front of the 300-person audience; a potential partnership blossomed when Robb agreed to a meeting between her and Regional President Bob Silverman, after the session.

 

• Ambition, Dedication and Unconventional Thinking: Robb talked about the only strategy in business is to evolve faster than competitors. This implies risk and thinking differently. He shared examples of how this translates into their business and operations. For example, Whole Foods hosts farmers markets in their parking lots,  when speaking about equality and fairness for employees, he stated that the management board has decided that no executive at Whole Foods will ever earn more than 19 times the salary of an average employee and this is calculated annually. Lastly, he spoke about the power of culture, (referred to as “the Petri dish where the business unfolds”) as a key component of the company and the value of tapping into employees’ creativity. The topic is clearly dear to him, he will be publishing a book on the topic soon.

And if you’re curious, the picture Robb painted was not all rosy. As with any company it is clear that they have made mistakes and business is not all plain sailing. For example, Walter spoke about the challenge they faced in 1997 when they strayed too far away from their values and became expensive and niche.

Plenty of food for thought.

The Reporter

I’m no movie critic but as I get ready to tune into the Oscars tonight I recall a movie I saw called the Reporter at the Portland International Film Festival and had some thoughts as it relates to the field of journalism and how we continue to develop our businesses; our relationships with developing countries.

If you’re not familiar, The Reporter is a feature documentary about Nick Kristof and his work in raising awareness about world crisis, particularly the issues in the Congo, he takes two lay-people on the trip with him to report and serve as storytellers back in the US (think of it as activating the influencers). Simultaneously, the documentary paints the truthful picture about the tumultuous state  of investigative journalism. Indeed, the dual agenda in the documentary was somewhat confusing.

The movie was informative, interesting from the perspective of how Nick covers stories, the lengths he goes to tap into the local communities etc., the risks he takes and how he has developed a thick skin in dealing with emotional topics of corruption, rape and murder etc. It is evident from the documentary that he has a deep understanding of the complexity in helping developing countries flourish, the challenge of  corruption and security. 

From my professional perspective, the documentary felt quite self-promotional (the way he and his ‘fans’ e.g. Mia Farrow talked about how he single-handedly puts crisis on the world map, Darfur and other places – this was hard to believe).

It was also surprising to me that the story in the documentary did not follow traditional journalistic formulas e.g. I felt it would have been a lot more credible for Nick, if someone like Ban Ki-Moon could have spoken about the impact of his writings in the regions or on policy.

While the documentary lacked some dimension and lacked, in my point of view, a fair and holistic picture of the intricacies of partnerships for engaging with the developing world – the documentary was informative and is worth watching. Truthfully, I know the documentary was about advancing a very specific agenda. As far as Kristof is concerned, the man’s influence, intellect and passion remains undisputed in my mind. That said, I left the theater cautious and curious about how he works with other stakeholders (outside of journalism) in advancing the causes he is passionate about and also how he sees his role as a facilitator of dialogue and democracy within an ecosystem of influence. Also, I recognize that he is a journalist with an agenda, but in the developing world, I walked away questioning the role of US journalists in the developing world (how do they work with local reporters? Does their role differ to that of their local counterparts?). The following scene was a trigger for these question: There is a scene in the documentary where Kristof drives into a village, where genocide has apparently been reported and he is looking for the story of a raped victim – he arrives in a UN vehicle, greeted with joy, laughter, clapping and waving. He finds the victim, ends up helping her although I don’t think the village expected this, I had the impression that they thought he was bringing hope or food. In his eyes, he viewed the fact that he was going to tell their story, as a way to bring hope whereas, in the moment, this was irrelevant to the people. Thought-provoking.

Getting Out and About in 2010

I’m excited. I’ll be attending the World Innovation Forum, New York City in June 2010, I have my ticket and took advantage of the 50% discount this month. I’m thrilled that I’ll see VG, Clayton Christensen, Fred Krupp, CK Prahalad, Paul Saffo among others. I hope to be inspired. I’m very curious about the state of the economy and any disruptions that will happen before June.

Chaos vs. Change

Feel like I’ve read plenty about thriving in chaos, now looking into exploiting chaos with some inspiration from Jeremy Gutsche’s book. Looks like a super easy read. I’m wondering before I start, should chaos simply be replaced with change? Aren’t they one of the same? Maybe the first implies more organized than the other. Maybe ‘change’ is too boring given the kahuna of change being touted today. All said, simplicity speaks volume. I’ll report back after I’ve dug in.

Business Model Generation book

Twitter peeps are touting it as a must have for entrepeneurs who think out of the box. Sounds a bit cliche, think it is an addition to the reading list vs. ‘must buy’ I’d confidently say that Alex Ostenwalder is one of the better versed on business models specifically.

does your job title really reflect what you do?

I’m trying to figure some things out with regards my current professional role. In an effort to figure this out, Linked In has been pretty much offered the easiest and most effortless way to get perspective on people with innovation in their job title. I’ve wondered more than once, so what does that mean? Do titles even matter?

Some of the job descriptions that I’ve come across imply they’re the only person in their company who is doing new stuff based on all the highfalutin adjectives.  I don’t undervalue or underestimate the importance of innovation but now the new normal in business is something different (continuous operational cost reductions and increased productivity etc), I’m seriously thinking about the need to retire the word innovation in job titles I think we need to get down to what the impact of innovation means i.e. creating ‘new growth opportunities’ My quest continues to explore this  …

Technology and Innovation are like two peas in a pod

While I don’t agree that innovation is only about technology, technology is undoubtedly synonymouswith innovation. There isn’t a shortage of claims about the word innovation being overused, lacking meaning etc. What is technology?

• Design is central to every technology whether the technology is consumer facing or not. Technology is often and input to an innovation or business strategy  and not always the output — as arguably most companies see it.
• Technology shapes society as much as society innovates technology. Look at what cars did to create urban and how people live that life.

Meaning Driven Business

I’ve been tracking the Meaning Driven inititiave over at frog Design, an inspirational company!!! Tim Lebrecht’s post this weekend on anti-matter indicates that the effort is culminating in something exciting at TED in September. I’m fascinated with how the social innovation or Corporate Social Responsibility debate has been elevated and is part of the more intellectual discussions about the reinvention of capitalism, bred by the uncertainty, lack of trust fueled by endless examples of scandals and corporate misbehavior, and the economic downturn. Something to watch …

Disruptive Challenge in Textbooks

There are efforts underway via Portland State University professors to help students manage the ridiculous cost of text books. I was pleased to hear this after I was reading earlier in the month about a book published by An Nguyen, a professor at Stirling University (where I graduated) and I really want to check out, but it costs 150GBP with no simple way to check it out first before making this huge investment. Shame.

Anyway, several industry veterans have started flatworldknowledge.com and Prof. Talya Bauer and Berrin Erdogan are writing one of the first online text books about organizational behaviour. Students will be able to read the text online for free or order black and white printed copt for $30 or so, ancillaries like flash cards are available separately. This is good for learning, the wallet and the environment and the future although I still love the feeling of holding and reading a book … and some underlining in the margins when I have the urge.