Midtown Wednesdays

LIVE BLOG: Global Sustainable Business Practice

Question: how can I-Open leverage the social network mapping to idetnify resources and capabilities for initiatives and entrepreneurial activity occuring in Midtown? How can others access the social network maps in a dynamic way?

Michael Salkin: talking about the implications of building sustainable business in a challenging global market.

NEO is an attractive location for global businesses desiring to set up business in a US market. Two items bring people together: economics and defense. Cities aggregated and eventually expanded to cities and city states. Countries as an entity are only about a couple of hundred years old. The same things that drove people together as a unit are now driving us together as a global society. It is nearly implossible to defend countries in this global state.

Offshoring is not a disaster and is part of the economic evolution happening across the globe. For every dollar outsourced, the US economy gains $1.19 and the developing country economy gains $0.33. Profits should be re-invested in upskill of employees. The $.33 profit has a significant value in the developing country and is capable of creating new demands and economies.

What is the predominant opportunity?

What is the intelligent response for leaders and politicians reagrding the global market? What is the government's role? The significant role is in the private enterprise. Government can help the private enterprise.

Energy: the US has the cheapest prices in the world. For the past thirty years we have known of the energy crisis.

LED lights use 60% less energy and the bulbs last 100,000 hours. There are many more people realizing - espeically in corporations - that the dollar, mangement and technology resources exisit to redirect activities in a more sustainable manner. Great technology and management opportunities are available for those ready to grasp them.

Environmental stress: global warming. Challenge: is to address how we maintain quality of life.

Widespread poverty: this is the largest market opportunity

Nine Sigma: The Internet has delivered 150%. Business can be created and taken to market without even meeting individuals. Look at the proiblem itself: this is a great time - software is available, Internet high speed broadband. language is not a problem: the communication just needs to be in the software code and architecture. IP issues is a big issue: in the US the company that pays for the work owns it. Everyone needs to think diversely and globally.

Reaching to the Base of the Pyramid: volume makes up for a lower level of individual wealth. This is an opportunity and a new challenge that will drive affordable technologies. 80% of the world's population makes $2.00 per day. This is a great market opportunity - however, the wealthy (companies) are proficient at producing products for the wealthy socieities.

Need technology, organization, managment to be able to create the new opportunities.

We should be investing in places where there is high public value. (reference: Ed Morrison)

Lever Shakti Video: 12% of the world's population live in rural Indian places. Shakti has taken on the challenge to network self help groups. People pool resources to invest in a larger business investment. This is a model for large corporations to reach down to provide self help (especially to women) to the masses. The goal is to encourage self improvement.

This is not something WalMart will be able to do. Cell phones and internet access by the minute is purchased allowing window access to say...the daily farmer's market. Another example of this is single use package of product - more profitable than in larger quantities. This is similar to the Shaklee, Avon type of marketing approaches.

Only a handful of companies are practicing this new approach.

If you are looking for a future role in this: Environmental Impact - Population X Affluence X Technology

The Private Sector will lead societal innovation

1) R & D

2) Education

3) Sustianability

What is the role of the governmennt and the private sector? Years ago innovation was driven by government; this has flipped and is now lead by private interests. Industry spends more than any other entity on education. Life long learning is the most important value. In the future: we need to recognize that education is the responsibiltiy of society.

Sustainability - most companies are talking about the triple bottome line - financials and human resources. A good example is LTV. ISG bought the company and had Bill Brig lead the company. Bill was trained in some of the new thinking, ie., we are in this together and need to collaborate. Part of sustainability - and the most important part - is the human part. As a result of these efforts the company excelled. Brigs talks about spending most of his time changing the culture in business.

In summary: there are many opportunties for new work - technololgy

We need to fix education. The private sector needs to play a larger role in this. Companies need to be more conscious of the role education plays in the changing of employees. The real bottom line: first religion - then state government entities - and now today the greatest opportunity lies in business.

While working in Connecticut, Michael started a correspondence network to think about the technological opportutnities in developing corporations to innovate solutions through intelligent exchange of knowledge. Many times the solutions are less expensive and ideally, environmentally aware.

Question: should there be a standardization of regulations state, federal level?

Government is being driven by private interests: ie., in Deli the high level of smog was addressed by the private sector. The people sued the government for cleaner air and won. The improvements in society will be driven by the base of the pyramid.

posted by Unknown @ 5/31/2006