7gen Bloc

This past May, I wrote a post about Steven Greenhouse's book, "The Big Squeeze: Tough Times for the American Worker." I castigated FedEx, a company that I had held in pretty high regard. ...

“I have no sympathy for Madoff. But the fact is, his alleged Ponzi scheme was only slightly more outrageous than the ‘legal’ scheme that Wall Street was running, fueled by cheap credit, low standards and high greed. ...

Like most people, I feel good when I help others in small ways, so that they feel good. The smile you put on the face of a stranger is a thrill that never loses its luster. The simple act of chasing after a stranger who has dropped something or assisting someone who just can't seem to get a bag to fit in the overhead compartment of a plane -- small acts requiring only seconds of effort -- have cumulative and lasting effects. ...

Last month, Wal-Mart convened about 1,000 of its suppliers to announce stricter environmental and ethical standards, including requiring suppliers to certify compliance with local laws and regulations. Suppliers must sign agreements that prohibit child labor, forced labor, unpaid labor, and paying workers less than the local minimum wage. ...

I sometimes wonder, after I've spoken at a conference, whether I learn more from listeners than listeners learn from me. Take, for example, an email I recently received from Ruth Ann Barrett, a marketing executive who's previously worked for Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems. ...

General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt spoke at the recent Business for Social Responsibility conference -- the first time I've heard him. He was earnest, direct, self-critical. He never tried to sugar-coat his view that corporate responsibility won't succeed if it doesn't grow the business. ...

All over the world, millions of organizations and hundreds of millions of people are working to slow global warming, stop hunger, provide affordable health care, monitor human-rights abuses, protect endangered species, and work on tens of thousands of other projects to make the world a better place. ...

It's a hoary old adage, but it happens to be true: "those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." ...

"Why is it that some things are worth money and some things aren't? How is it that I can watch a sunset for free but I must pay to watch a movie? … We have convinced ourselves that what's valuable is what transacts for money. But very often what's valuable is other things like friendship and law and order and education and enjoyment of nature. We need to be a bit more holistic in the way we think about these things." ...

In 1985, a small band of idealists joined together to further the causes of human rights, women's rights, peace, and environmentalism. They bucked conventional wisdom when they launched their startup not as a do-gooding non-profit, but as a do-gooding for-profit -- specifically, a phone and credit-card company. ...