7gen Bloc

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. ...

Recently, I came across a book that advises marketers to push past their demographic research and trends analyses, and start focusing on how best to create solutions to customers' real-world problems. ...

Downsizing is a game that consumer packaged-goods companies have been playing on shoppers for decades. One day you go to the grocery store and that roll of bathroom tissue you bought last week -- the one that had 400 sheets -- now has just 380 sheets. Next year, it will be slimmed down to 320 sheets. At some point, there are so few sheets on the roll they discontinue the item and start all over again, hoping no one notices. ...

A few weeks ago, Seventh Generation celebrated its 20th anniversary. I'd like to share a few things I've learned over the past two decades. The mission matters. ...

A few weeks ago, our entire company took two days away from the office to retreat, reflect, design, explore, and hang out. In Vermont’s Mad River Valley, at the base of the Sugarbush Resort, we spent two exhilarating and tough days designing Seventh Generation’s future. ...