Ecosystems = Everybody's Business

[Source: WBCSD on YouTube]

Emphasizes the need to find the right balance!

The Business Logic of Sustainability

Ray Anderson, founder and CEO of Interface - the company that makes FLOR carpet tiles, talks about how reading Paul Hawken's book "The Ecology of Commerce - A Declaration of Sustainability" brought about an epiphany that led him to transform his enterprise towards sustainability.

[source: TED]

Social Media and Social Responsibility

Great post on the subject by @MelissaRowley at Mashable.

Drawing on the insights offered by participants in the Justmeans Social Media for Sustainability conference in San Francisco last month, the post identifies 3 key areas at the intersection of social media and CSR:

1. Getting to Know Your Constituents
2. Influencing Customers as Citizens
3. Getting Your Good Work Out There

A video clip of interviews with industry professionals responsible for CSR and sustainability in corporations like Nike and Intel, and other examples illustrated through extracts from twitter and facebook highlight the perspectives of businesses leading the charge in this area.

A must read for anyone working in either domain - social media or social responsibility / sustainability.

A Scientist, a Musician and a Writer Walked into a Blog

[source: TED]

Here're a few great talks I came across recently:

Venice, Italy is sinking. To save it, TED Fellow Rachel Armstrong says we need to outgrow architecture made of inert materials and, well, make architecture that grows itself. She proposes a not-quite-alive material that does its own repairs and sequesters carbon, too. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009, Oxford, UK.)

An orchestra conductor faces the ultimate leadership challenge: creating perfect harmony without saying a word. In this charming talk, Itay Talgam demonstrates the unique styles of six great 20th-century conductors, illustrating crucial lessons for all leaders.

Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

The State of Philanthropy

[Source: McKinsey Quarterly March 2009]

A conversation with Acumen Fund’s CEO - Jacqueline Novogratz discusses the challenges that divide and unite today’s philanthropic community.

New Rules of Business Sustainability

[Source: bigthink.com]

Dean of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University Blair Sheppard talks about how sustainability became embedded into global business plans and where to search for the next big opportunities.

WTF is Social Media?

Tells you the way it is!

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

Designing For Social Traction

Great slide deck on web-site design ..

Designing For Social Traction

View more documents from Joshua Porter.

Debunking Myths about Sustainability

Common myths about Sustainability

1. Sustainability is based on charity: No, it is not. It is based on social relevance, in conjunction with environmental responsiveness and economic viability. Sustainability focuses on the Common Good as a transcendental form of Self-interest.

2. Sustainability is all about going Green: No, it is not. It is about environmental responsiveness, in conjunction with social relevance and economic viability. Green initiatives prioritize environmental issues over other issues. Sustainability takes a holistic approach.

3. Sustainability programs result in poor financial performance: No they do not. Sustainability focuses on economic viability, in conjunction with social relevance and environmental responsiveness. Its goal is long term wealth creation for its shareholders through the overall prosperity of the ecosystem and host society. In that sense, sustainability redefines the meaning of financial performance.

4. Sustainability is a fad: To some people in some organizations it may well be, but to those who are aware and who care about issues that threaten the long-term prosperity of mankind as a whole, it is very serious stuff.

5. 'Sustainable competitive advantage' is forever: No it is not. It promises to provide an edge over competition in the medium term. Finally, competition catches up and in some cases overtakes as well.

India Online - Trends

Another slideshare presentation - this one's on online trends in India.

Trendsspotting Handbook of Online India

View more documents from Taly Weiss.

Netflix Culture

Came across this excellent slide deck from Netflix ... such ideas deserve to be shared freely with as wide an audience as possible.

Culture

View more presentations from Reed Hastings.