Saving the World at Work

August 4, 2008
The “Responsibility Revolution” is underway, and it's challenging the importance of the bottom line, argues Sanders (Love Is the Killer App),
former CSO of Yahoo. Both consumers and employers have turned away from price consciousness to demand that companies make a difference to society through their products, manufacturing methods, environmental efforts and community outreach. According to the author, casual consumers now represent the minority; mindful consumers have brought in a new value system, paying as much attention to a company's environmental and social policies as to its pricing structures. Companies that do not clean up their acts will be left in the dust, losing customers who want their money to go toward good causes and employees who place more importance on green factors and job satisfaction than pay scale. Through success stories like Horst Rechelbacher, the brains behind the ecologically sound cosmetics company Aveda, and Lee Scott's greening of Wal-Mart in 2004, Sanders makes a compelling argument for the necessity for businesses to appeal to their customers' hearts as well as their wallets.

September 1, 2008
Sanders was the chief solutions officer at Yahoo! In his previous book, Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (2003), he described how to have a more fulfilling career by focusing on how to help others rather than just getting ahead. Now he is on a mission to get out the word on the responsibility revolution. With the instant access to information that the Internet provides, customers, social groups, and investors are paying close attention to the way corporations are dealing with issues such as the environment and fair treatment of employees. Corporations such as General Electric, Wal-Mart and Dell have made drastic changes to their energy and recycling policies, at first because they were shamed into it, and later because the changes saved them money. Sanders says that social responsibility is becoming the most important issue for the next generation of consumers, and any company that does not join the revolution will be left in the dust. His tips will help any company to reduce its footprint and become what he calls a Soldier Saver.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)