The MPD Report

The problem with conferences is that they can go one of two ways.

The best-case scenario is that you meet a bunch of interesting people, learn from compelling speakers, and leave the event a bit more enlightened than when you arrived. The worst case is far grimmer: wasted time, obnoxious cohorts, and a boring lineup. For those of you who regularly attend conferences, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Earlier in the week, I spent a day at the GreenBiz Forum in New York City, and I’m happy to report that this was decidedly one of those best-case scenarios.

From C-level executives to industrious entrepreneurs, the GreenBiz Forum brought together an amalgamation of committed leaders and brands all focused on one common goal: to build, create, and promote sustainable business.

Once thought as only a trend, sustainability is becoming a cornerstone of many industries. As it turns out, the green bubble is no bubble at all, but a complex new molecule in our industrial DNA.

Collaborative consumption and mesh companies are becoming profitable models; retail giants like Wal-Mart are setting wildly ambitious goals; businesses are examining each part of their supply chain. Even a brand like Campbell’s Soup is getting on board by setting an ambitious goal to reduce the environmental footprint of their product portfolio by 50 percent. As GreenBiz Group Chairman and Executive Editor Joel Makower said, “Sustainability is becoming a fundamental part of business.”

What we know, and what the GreenBiz Forum echoed, is that we must build sustainability into all sectors. Government, business, and consumers must work together if we hope to move the needle. It’s a cyclical process that requires an investment from all parties.

The future of sustainable business isn’t about how one industry will behave. Rather, it’s about how the sector as a whole will work together to create a cleaner future while building a more prosperous economy. And that’s just good business.

Going live is never easy.

Yesterday on ecomagination.com we produced our second episode of Green Room Live—a video series where I interview a sustainable business expert. My guest for this episode was Micah Kotch, director of NYC ACRE, a cleantech incubator in New York City. While I love doing these segments, they are a continual reminder that “going live” is never easy.

Going live—in business or in broadcast—requires courage, trust, and good old fashion grit. It requires a deep understanding that nothing will or can be perfect. You will always wish you had another hour, another day, another week to prepare.

Getting something off the ground is usually a bumpy experience. But a bumpy takeoff is always better than no takeoff at all.

We all have projects and ideas that we’re waiting to act on. But what’s the point of waiting? There’s only one way to get something done and that’s by doing it. Forget the wait and just go live. Chances are you’re more prepared than you think.

What does it mean to own something? What does it mean to possess?

Like many baby boomers, my parents were raised in a society that touted the American Dream and praised ownership: a successful person owns a home, a car, perhaps a plot of land. Today, however, the importance of ownership is undergoing a dramatic reexamination.

The question isn’t about whether society will continue to consume—we always will. The question is: What will our relationship be to the goods and services we consume?

Does ownership matter? Is coveting important? Perhaps, but certainly not as much as it once was.

Physical books have been upstaged by e-books. CDs and DVDs are quickly being replaced by downloads and streaming. Even some of our major cultural mainstays are beginning to see a shift : Zipcar helps million share a vehicle; Airbnb provides a solution to traditional hotel chains; Rent the Runway brings high fashion to just about anyone.

In a society that’s growing increasingly digital and placing more emphasis on the “experience,” the need to own is dwindling. And as the population continues to grow and the world becomes even more urbanized, my guess is that this trend isn’t a trend at all.

It’s time we reevaluate what it means to own, how it feels to share, and what we gain from borrowing. It may just be that the business model of the future is less about “selling” and more about “sharing.”

I’m a great speaker. My writing skills are well above average. I know more than any living person should about marketing to Generation Y. I’m wickedly self-disciplined. I make a mean pancake.

But no coin is one-sided.

I can be harsh and severe without knowing it. I have a tendency to interrupt. I’ve been called an ideologue…more than once. Sometimes I’m hasty and blind to details. My handwriting is atrocious.

Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses can be the difference between infinite success and utter failure.

When you are confident enough to identify and articulate both your talents and imperfections you become a more honest and humble leader. You can build a well-rounded team; you can fine-tune your natural abilities; you can loosen up the reigns and empower others to succeed. Imperfection isn’t just acceptable, it’s human.

Let me tell you, this isn’t an easy thing to do: cataloging your assets and signing off on your liabilities. But it’s important, and there’s no use putting it off.

Combined, these two words are paramount to building your business and your life: core values.

In an age where business has become a reflection of self and brand is personal, establishing a set of core values is now more critical than ever before.

So what exactly is a core value? In short, a core value is a fundamental—a personal bylaw that determines how and why you do what you do. It’s larger than a statement and greater than a belief; it’s a truth.

Like the foundation of a house, core values will support your ideas and provide the structural boundaries you need to grow.

For entrepreneurs, core values will determine how your business develops, who you partner with, and how your ideas scale. For those in the job market, core values will ensure you align yourself with the right company.

What a core value is not is a generalization, a standard template of rights and wrongs. In order for core values to serve you, they must be your own.

Core values are so important that’s it’s worth pausing for a moment to really think them through. Get them on paper; write them up. A physical list of core values will be your most effective navigation tool, so make them bold and make them matter.

Need some inspiration? Companies like Whole Foods and LuluLemon have published their core values online. Zappos has gone a step further and created a video which explains how core values fuel their business and shape their culture. You can view it here. 

Bill wasn’t going to hire me. I was sure of it from the moment we sat down at what I would soon learn was Table #7.

When you’re 15-years-old and applying for a server position, you know the deck is pretty much stacked against you. But still, I was convinced that I could beat the house. You see, although this was my first real job interview, I’d had three other paying jobs and brought along the references to prove it.

But references or not, Bill wasn’t going to take it easy on me.

“Michael, I’ll be honest. You’re 15, which means I can barely give you any hours, and you’ll have to take more breaks than anyone else. Why do you think I should hire you?”

Well, I’ve always been the type of person who starts talking long before he knows what he’s about to say, so I just shot right back.

“Well, Bill, I’ll tell ya why you should hire me. You should hire me because I don’t need this job.”

Bill didn’t say anything, so I just kept talking.

“And because I don’t need this job you’ll know that when I’m here it’s because I want to be here. And the other employees will know it, and the customers will know it, and that’ll make me a better server.”

I guess Bill liked my answer. Not only did I get the job, but I worked there every weekend through high school and full-time each summer when I returned home from college.

Because I never actually “needed” the job (and therefore had no fear of being fired), I felt free to contribute, speak up, and take risks that others avoided. I fought for employees that I felt were wronged. I went behind “the line” and asked the cooks to teach me a thing or two.

Businesses (Corporate America, in particular) are plagued with employees who are terrified of being fired—the kind of people who think about losing their job more than they think about doing their job. It’s an epidemic—a kind of filthy rust that corrodes an organization from the inside out. In fact, some of the best decisions don’t get executed, or even heard, because of this debilitating paranoia.

Fearing termination is the fastest way to get undervalued. Sure, you’ll cause less trouble, but you’ll also cause less everything. Sooner or later your lack of desire to be recognized will get you recognized. And not in a good way.

If you want to find the gold you better get okay with a pan full of gravel every now and then. Don’t worry about what your boss thinks. If your leadership is any good, they’ll see that you’re digging and appreciate your tenacity.

If you really want to make a difference in an organization, if you really want to do something, imagine that tenured and start shaking things up. If you’re gonna get fired at least make sure you earn it.

Repeat after me: I am a content provider.

No matter what business you’re in, no matter what industry you represent, you are now a content provider. Or you will be. Or you should be.

Whether you’re tweeting on Twitter, friending on Facebook, or blogging on your own site, creating original content has become the responsibility of just about everyone. And it isn’t going away anytime soon.

For the entrepreneur, creating a regular stream of quality content can be the difference between rapid success and total anonymity. My friend Amber Rae has built a budding enterprise based on this principle. It makes sense. Sharing yourself and your business with a community  is naturally compelling. It just is.

Big business has also learned that becoming a content provider can be tremendously valuable. Louis Vuitton has created NOWNESS, Kodak produces A Thousand Words, even Google is getting in the game with Think Quarterly. [Full disclosure: I'm the Managing Editor of ecomagination.com—GE's branded site that produces original editorial content.]

We are living in the age of the share, the rise of social, the renaissance of new media. A brand’s “voice” and digital presence matters now more than ever.  And creating original content is one of the most powerful and direct ways to exercise that voice.

Technology has leveled the playing field, and there’s no reason why we all shouldn’t be playing ball.

Repeat after me: I am a content provider.

Achievement, success, money, fulfillment, happiness. Those are all nouns. You don’t just get nouns; you earn them.

What’s the only way to earn a noun? Invest in a verb. And not just any verb, an action verb.

Do, create, start, finish—these are the kinds of verbs that win nouns—make, go, build, work.

Accomplishing something difficult is simple (it’s not easy, but it is simple). In fact, throughout all of time there has only ever been one way to get something done: by doing it.

List out your nouns and work backwards. What verb will it take to get you there?

The subhead of The MPD Report logo reads,”Business, Marketing, and the New Generation of Meaningful Work.”

Obviously, you know what business and marketing is, but what’s with this “new generation of meaningful work” thing?

Well, without sounding overdramatic, it’s about the future.

No longer are people looking for job that will last a lifetime. In fact, it’s rare that anybody has the same position at the same company for more than five or six years. It just doesn’t happen that way anymore. Nor, in my opinion, should it. We’re evolving creatures designed to live evolving lives and have evolving careers.

This career evolution is dictated partially by an ever-changing market and a tempestuous economy but also by the rise of the “enlightened worker.”

A job is no longer only about making money. A job is now about self-expression, creativity, personal fulfillment. Henry Ford invented the assembly line and we’re tearing it down piece by piece, and quickly. This is a scary thing for many businesses—especially big business. But it doesn’t have to be.

The company that understands that culture, personal development, and mission-based work matters to an employee is the same company that will win the best talent, turn out the best product, and ultimately secure the best customers. The company that embraces the fact that business is now, whether you like it or not, personal will be the company that comes out on top.

Cubicles suck—metaphorically and figuratively. It’s time to break down the walls and see what you’re really working with.

“There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was many things, but at his core he was a leader. Today, as we celebrate his life, we owe it to all the great leaders of the past to renew our values, revisit our commitments, and reinvest in our future.

No matter what business you’re in, never be in the business of settling.