I majored in economics in college, where I learned all about the beauty of free markets. As a management consultant for the past decade, I’ve had the opportunity to work with small companies as they apply those lessons. Companies compete, grow, and evolve. Sometimes the growth comes at a (non-economic) cost but seemingly things improve. The mantra is always pure – let the company serve the shareholders, so they in turn can take care of the employees, the community, and the world around. It generally works, kind of, sort of. Productive employees (usually) benefit and capital moves throughout the economy. Read the full story

Why do some companies boom while others fizzle? The short answer is companies will fizzle if they aren’t attracting new customers while retaining their current clients. In a recent Wall Street Journal article “Restaurants Burned by Deep Discounts” companies learned that innovation beat out discounts, because discounts aren’t enough to entice customers that weren’t interested in visiting the business in the first place. Read the full story

As businesses continue to develop with the help of advancing technologies, there’s one thing many think they need to leave behind in order to keep expanding: the quest for sustainability. However, what many small companies don’t realize is that becoming environmentally friendly does not detract from their ability to compete in a difficult market. In fact, those organizations using sustainability as a lens for innovation may even have a leg-up on their competition. Read the full story

Nau, an eco-friendly retailer of high-end outdoor clothing has softly launched Changing Room, a layaway plan for the internet age. Changing Room enables customers to pay half of an item’s full retail price on the spot, while completing  the remainder of the purchase after 30 days. This is not necessarily a sustainable practice but it appears to be an innovative way to reach new markets and that is why we thought it was worth highlighting. Read the full story

Can you get support within your business for sustainability initiatives? Tough going.

Can you get support for innovation efforts? Much easier.

Would it be easier to get support for your sustainability efforts if you told your manager that one of the leading business gurus said, in the most prestigious business journal, that “smart companies now treat sustainability as innovation’s new frontier”? Read the full story