Jennifer Rice

Proving values-based business is the most fruitful

I was recently interviewed for Gennefer Snowfield's Philanthropy In 5 series at TriplePundit.com on the subject of values-based business and aligning philanthropy with strategy. You can read my responses on my business blog. 

"First car I've considered crashing into a tree"

This has to be the funniest and -- sadly for Honda -- worst review I have ever seen in print. It's a review of Honda's new Insight 1.3 IMA SE Hybrid.

And the sound is worse. The Honda’s petrol engine is a much-shaved, built-for-economy, low-friction 1.3 that, at full chat, makes a noise worse than someone else’s crying baby on an airliner. It’s worse than the sound of your parachute failing to open. Really, to get an idea of how awful it is, you’d have to sit a dog on a ham slicer.
So you’re sitting there with the engine screaming its head off, and your ears bleeding, and you’re doing only 23mph because that’s about the top speed, and you’re thinking things can’t get any worse, and then they do because you run over a small piece of grit...

Definitely worth a read.

Three types of meetings

Great summary of the different types of meetings from Rands in Repose:

Alignment meetings sound like this: “It’s red, are we all in agreement it’s red? Ok, swell. Wait, Phil thinks it’s blue. Phil, here are the 18 compelling reasons it’s red. Convinced? Done now?”

Creation meetings sound like this: “We need more blue. How are we going to do that? Phil, you’re our blue man. What should we do here?”

There are other meetings out there, but you will learn to avoid them. One being the therapy meeting. They sound like this: “Show of hands, who likes to talk about blue? Or red? I don’t care. Let’s explore our color feelings for the next 60 minutes.”

Very true.

If you own brand reputation, you need to be @ SB09

I'm looking forward to attending Sustainable Brands '09 on May 31 in Monterrey CA. This conference sits at the intersection of brands and ethical business, an area that is essential for marketers but can dominated by CSR departments in many companies. If building a values-based brand reputation is on your to-do list, I hope to see you there. Here's the current attendee list; pretty impressive.

Don't cut CSR spending; reallocate to build your brand

As consumer expectations rise and trust in corporations decline, the need for ethical business practices is greater than ever. Yet in a recession, companies seeking to cut costs will likely postpone important CSR initiatives or cut spending in favor of core business initiatives.

But it doesn’t have to be either-or. Companies that consider social and environmental initiatives as potential innovation platforms and brand builders — not expenses — will come out ahead...

For prioritization frameworks and retail industry example, continue reading on my business blog.

Five strategies for building your ethical brand

There's been a lot of discussion about elevating corporate responsibility to become a strategic driver of your business. Most companies would like to benefit from their ethical efforts in the form of increased customer attraction and loyalty, yet few have figured out how to do it successfully. When marketing and PR are relied on, it can often backfire in accusations of greenwashing. The secret is to apply brand strategy principles to build your ethical reputation.

Continue reading on my business blog.

Strategic CSR in Hospitality

Just wrote a new post on Building the Ethical Reputation: Strategic CSR in Hospitality on my business blog... it includes an Opportunity Audit comparing initiatives for Fairmont Hotels, Marriott and IHG and mapping how well they support the brand strategy. Come visit and contribute your thoughts.