Author: Rolfe Larson

Last week, I attended a celebration for B corps in Colorado. These are for-profit companies certified by a nonprofit called B Lab for achieving social and environmental goals along with business ones. What I noticed differently from other discussions among B Corps in the past, was a stronger focus not only on this vibrant community of like-minded business people — there are now more than 1000 B corps in the US, including Patagonia, Etsy, and Seventh Generation, and dozens in Colorado, including New Belgium Brewing, GoLite, and Teatulia.

I also noticed folks talking about the B corp community as an economic network. Continue reading “B Corp As A Competitive Edge?”

The corporate “glass ceiling” prevents many women from advancing above a certain level in Corporate America. For example, men hold the top position in 98% of Fortune 500 companies. So increasing numbers of ambitious female entrepreneurs have opted to increase their influence and impact by running their own company.

And in so doing, they bring unique strengths that deliver new vitality to their companies and to the world. One of those strengths is deep emotional commitment to their communities.

A recent report entitled Forget the Glass Ceiling: Build Your Business Without One, commissioned by Dell, identified four specific ways that women bring new value (and values) to the marketplace:

1. Social Responsibility is Built Into Their DNA

2. Giving and Volunteering Benefits Both Nonprofits and Your Business

3. Women Help Other Women Achieve

4. Business is More Than Just Making Profits to Women.

My observation has been that women entrepreneurs bring longer-term sustainability to their companies, and in time I believe there will be data to support that observation.

Good luck!

There is often a great deal of confusion about the difference between business plans and strategic plans. And, frankly, they are similar in many ways, and since each plan has to be tailored to the organization it is prepared for, one can easily blur into the other. In both cases, you begin with internal and external research (often called a “scan”) to get clarity on the best direction for the organization and where its best opportunities are to obtain the funds it needs to succeed. Continue reading “Business Plans vs. Strategic Plans”

One emerging trend we’re noticing in our work is the number of companies using meditation and mindfulness practices to increase individual and group productivity, improve well-being and health, and reduce stress in the business environment.

Moreover, recent neuroscience research demonstrates at the brain’s molecular level that meditation and mindfulness, even if practiced for just 20 minutes per day, can have dramatic effects on brain function as measured by brain scans and brain function testing. Continue reading “Mindfulness as a Competitive Strategy”

OK, you know this. You’re spending too much time answering emails. Getting interrupted by unimportant stuff. And worst of all, attending meetings, lots of meetings, sometime endless, pointless meetings. Continue reading “Caves and Campfires…”