I actually enjoy reading the solicitation letters that flood in from nonprofits in December. The reads are often good, sometimes dreadful. Very occasionally, they are just plain awesome. One solicitation really stood out this year. The mailing came from City Blossoms, a small nonprofit in DC that focuses on growing community gardens to build strong neighborhoods. […]
Corporate social responsibility: Biceps versus toupee
August 15, 2011 by
Michael Porter is a man of big ideas. His latest is particularly intriguing. It’s the idea that companies can move beyond corporate social responsibility — often perceived as do-gooder revenue drain or window-dressing, depending on where you stand — to something that puts solving public problems on the same platform with other revenue-generating parts of […]
Who’s next in line?
February 22, 2010 by
The Wall Street Journal had a good story on how Frontier Communications set up a succession plan. A few years ago, the CEO matched her key lieutenants with board members for coaching and development. Word is that the system, while not perfect, is working. If CEO Maggie Wilderotter went off to sail the world for […]
Opening the nation’s farmers’ market
September 17, 2009 by
Today, FreshFarm Markets here in D.C. opened their fifth farmers’ market in the city. Great, you say. No, REALLY great, I say: The new market is two blocks from the White House, and Michelle Obama came and spoke at the opening. Talk about great positioning. The First Lady talked about how getting farmers into cities […]