Archive for the 'Internet Social Resources' Category

Your Business and the Community – Improving Your Standing with Volunteer Work

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

The volunteers’ sense of companionship can strengthen the local community spirit, and as you’d expect it will fulfill the volunteers’ goal of helping those incapable of supporting themselves. But how do you schedule this? You’ll discover that it’s simpler to volunteer when an event is pre-planned. And volunteering is more fun with your colleagues getting involved right along with you.

This is a call for companies to take a cue from firms like Adaptive Marketing LLC. In addition to shopping and financial benefits programs such as SavingsAce designed for the benefit of consumers, Adaptive Marketing takes on the organizational necessities so that its employees have more time to help the community.

If you were asked for examples of company-backed volunteer work, you’d most likely talk in terms of giving blood, perhaps an annual call for donations, nothing more, but that’s simply no longer true. Athletic shoe recycling initiatives and more active work like tree planting days – these and other activities have been arranged for its staff by Adaptive Marketing. For events like these, the times, locations and dates of the events were announced, ensuring that staff knew what to expect, and how much time each event might actually require. There should always be a choice between activities. At Adaptive Marketing, the people who brought you SavingsAce, members of staff are presented with the chance to choose from a wide variety of programs. Volunteers may find themselves community projects in arts and culture, working with children and young adults, promoting environmental initiatives and so on. Adaptive Marketing’s staff members have so much to choose from that they’re certain to find something they enjoy to volunteer for, making their time enjoyable as well as useful.

A one-off event or a regular addition to their schedule – this is how a business tends to organize this kind of volunteer initiative, perhaps at a local school or the homeless shelter in town. Members of staff may well say – and really assume – that they have no time to give, but usually even they can often free up the hours to lend a hand with an event lasting just a single day. Turning their profit-making skills to help the community around them is a practice with a long pedigree at many businesses. The activities of the staff at business enterprises like Adaptive Marketing create good feeling around their home base. Helping around your home town makes you feel like a better person – just the sort of thing to motivate staff members in both their daily work and their volunteer activities. Organizing a drive to help employees to volunteer creates only benefits.

Ken Mehlman of Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. And the Environmental Defense Fund – Groundbreakers in Green Business

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was launched by Henry Kravis and his business partner George Roberts in 1976 with the assistance of the First Chicago Corporation. Lately, in a drive to make the companies they acquire have less of an ecological impact, KKR have set up a novel proposal which has fundamentally transformed the method by which businesses and environmental activists work.

When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged a year ago green issues suddenly became a mainstream concern. Key green matters like greenhouse gas emissions and disproportionate consumption of water resources are an all-important part of their corporate mission statement. Eco-efficiency (a term first endorsed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD) is the formula used to achieve these objectives, through using green policies such as increasing the durability of products, recycling programs and waste reduction. Although the project was a huge success, no-one understood how important the effects were until Ken Mehlman, the head of the Green Portfolio Project and global public affairs, carried out the first annual review. Only at that point did Ken find out that eco-efficiency wasn’t simply helping to conserve the environment, but it was also saving companies a considerable amount of money. Virtually all of the business organizations affiliated to Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman at present participate in the Green Portfolio Project. If you think about the fact that this portfolio of businesses has a net worth of 86 billion dollars, you can see what a feat this really is.

The Green Portfolio project now encompasses new and groundbreaking initiatives. The Climate Corps Program set up by the EDF is just one of these, it promotes financially sound, green practices to students studying for an MBA.

KKR and Ken Mehlman have been creating a package of metrics and other related systems that measure and administer various resources. These systems allow staff see how they are progressing and identify any problem areas. The business world has been transformed forever by the efforts of Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund. These innovations have set a benchmark for organizations in every sector and proved that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.

Some Thoughts about Volunteers and Their Employers

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

We all know that volunteer work is a great way to strengthen community bonds as well as helping the needy. Doing it yourself, however, making arrangements to be free to volunteer can consume time that could be put to better use elsewhere. And don’t you think that with your co-workers volunteering alongside you you’d all enjoy yourselves more? Thus, some companies are making themselves into points of organization helping their employees to work for the community through volunteer activities. A leader in this field is Adaptive Marketing LLC of Connecticut who developed shopping and financial benefits programs including Your Savings Club (MVQ*CLUBSAVE) to consumers. Company sponsoring volunteering is more than blood drives and once-a-year collections for charity. The employees of Adaptive Marketing are regularly provided with the opportunity to take part in community initiatives. In these cases, the locations, dates and times that had been arranged were posted, making it simple for staff to know what to expect, and how much of a time commitment was required.

It’s hardly volunteering if there’s no opportunity to select activities, naturally. Companies involved in this like Adaptive Marketing, (who offer to the public programs like Your Savings Club (MVQ*CLUBSAVE)) present their employees with a diverse list of initiatives in their community. Earlier projects have seen improvements made in areas as diverse as aid and assistance for children and young adults, green awareness activities, and events supporting arts and culture. Often, the more they enjoy it, the more productive they are, so by offering such a variety of activities Adaptive Marketing ensure that progress will be made in a great many areas. Commonly a company-sponsored volunteer project — fundraising with a homeless shelter or helping out at a local school — is either done on a regular schedule or as a one-off event. There may be people who assert they don’t have the time, but even they can arrange the public library’s sale of used books.

It’s common practice for firms to help to support the people of their hometown. Like many other companies, Adaptive Marketing maintains volunteer initiatives to help others and to spread positive feeling through its home community as a result of the efforts of its staffers. The fact is, one of the benefits of helping others is a sense of generosity and accomplishment — an upbeat feeling that leaves not just the worker but the whole business in a better mood. Organizing a drive to help employees become volunteers creates only benefits.

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. And the Environmental Defense Fund – Trendsetters in Business and Ecology

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

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Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was set up by Henry Kravis and George Roberts in the 70’s with support from the First Chicago Corporation. But only last year they have set up a unique enterprise which concentrates not merely on how profitable a corporate entity is, but likewise on the environmental impact of the companies they buy.

Environmentally aware business processes became major topic last year when Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together. Their mission is to offer encouragement to companies to tackle environmental threats such as deforestation not to forget any absurd consumption of water resources. Eco-efficiency (a term originally advocated by the WBCSD) has shaped the framework for their mission, utilizing green techniques like waste reduction, improving fuel economy through vehicle fleet maintenance and reducing the waste of resources. Irrespective of the fact that the project was a colossal success, managment just did not recognize how incredible the results were until Ken Mehlman, the person in charge of the program, carried out the first annual review.

Outmatching everyone’s expectations, Ken found that this program not only helped in preserving the local environment, but was increasing the profits from each business as well. Just about all of the companies associated with KKR and Ken Mehlman now are involved in the program. Considering that this group of business organizations is worth 86,000,000,000 dollars, you can see what an achievement this actually is. KKR with the EDF alongside Ken Mehlman are further developing the original program. For instance, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co linked up with the EDF’s Climate Corps Program an enterprise which teaches students taking a Master’s degree in Business Administration how to put together and introduce financially sound, green practices. KKR and Ken Mehlman have taken the time to create a package of analytical tools that quantify and manage resources. This type of info is invaluable as companies can measure each of their day to day activities and identify where they can improve while at the same time tracking their progress.

Henry Kravis, the KKR, and the Environmental Defense Fund are true visionaries when it comes environmentally sound business techniques. Their developments have made going green less problematic for companies in any sector and proved that running a profitable business need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.

Eco-Efficiency — Saving Money and Our Ecology

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was established in the 70’s and back then their specialization was in leveraged buyouts. However, in the pursuit of making their portfolio companies and acquisitions greener, they have set up an extraordinary proposal that has dramatically transformed the method by which businesses and environmental groups work.

Environmentally sound business practices went mainstream a year ago when Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co’s Henry Kravis and the the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) got together. Their objectives include encouraging their affiliated companies in avoiding procedures which may threaten the environment like water pollution as well as any inflated consumption of water resources.

To accomplish this, they deploy eco-efficiency; this uses concepts like fuel economy, reducing the intensity of materials, and maximum use of renewable resources. The Green Portfolio Project was well received, nevertheless the management did not even understand the range of the benefits of the project until Ken Mehlman, the head of the project and global public affairs, assessed the project when it had been in operation for a year. Ken Mehlman who practiced environmental law for Akin Gump Stauss Hauer & Feld from 1991 to 1996, has served as field director for George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign, managed the 2004 re-election campaign for President Bush, is, furthermore, a trustee of the Strong American Schools Foundation and Franklin & Marshall College and serves as a member of the Senior Advisory Committee of the Harvard University Institute of Politics, the executive leadership cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation, and the board of directors at the National Endowment for Democracy, found that utilizing eco-efficiency wasn’t solely helping the environment, but it was also helping to save firms a substantial amount of money. These days, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co and Ken Mehlman have managed to get nearly every company in their portfolio involved in eco-efficiency. When you look at the fact that this portfolio of companies is valued at $86 billion, you can imagine what a feat this really was. The initial program has developed beyond its original remit and at present encompasses new ventures. For instance, Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co linked up with the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Program which teaches MBA interns how to encourage cost-effective, green techniques. Furthermore, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with KKR to produce a variety of analytic tools and other relevant systems that firms can employ to quantify resources. These metrics permit a company see how they are progressing and discover any problem areas. Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund have encouraged all sorts of businesses to become more environmentally friendly. In summary, the work of these organizations has made green business techniques not only viable, but commercially desirable, and their revolutionary ideas are setting a new standard in the business world of today.

Using Social Media to Improve Your Brand

Monday, October 12th, 2009
As the saying goes, image is everything. That statement is especially true during difficult economic times. As Rich Tehrani of TMCNet states in a recent article, people looking to make purchases want a company they can count on, and outward appearance is the key to creating an image of stability. Is he saying you should lie about the state of your company just to get sales? Absolutely not. What he’s saying is that you should play up the positive news to boost your image:
“… all companies need to over saturate the markets they serve with the best news they can create. This is regardless of how well they are doing. If sales are generally good now, it makes even more sense to focus on putting a halo around your brand to protect it from bad times which may or may not be ahead. Customer wins, new product launches, a new green data center, a widget that does something useful.”
Social media sites represent an interesting opportunity for businesses that are interested in establishing a real relationship with their customers. That last phrase is of great importance – social media marketing will not work if you don’t get dug in. Using it as another advertising channel will yield zero results.
What does that mean? You can’t just create a Facebook page and leave it at that. You need to become a part of the community that exists on the social media site, whether it be Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
You need to analyze which sites are best for your type of business, and determine what kind of content will register with the people in these various online communities.

Some Enlightening Facts about the Enterprising Philosophy of Naveen Jain: Dedicated Philanthropy at Its Best

Monday, September 14th, 2009

It’s most likely that you may have encountered Mr. Naveen Jain as being the co-founder & CEO of Intelius, Inc. the predictive intelligence market leader. Well beyond having made the Forbes 400 Richest in America list 2000, this prosperous business leader has collected several coveted awards, foremost the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the WSA Industry Achievement Award, and the Albert Einstein Technology Medal. However things absolutely develop further from there. For Jain and his kin are by the same token as ardent about philanthropy and will strive to give aid whenever possible.

All our hopes for the future are held in our young generation. This enterprising man views young people as a central core of his charitable dealings and he takes advantage of each and every occasion available to assist them. This, too, is the primary reason why he is always intensely taking advantage of every chance he can to assist them, if even remotely feasible. Therefore, Naveen Jain, his family and those at Intelius, Inc. donate plenty of time to charities such as the Rotary Club, TreeHouse, and the University Preparatory Academy. Expectably, they will hand out significant monetary support, but most importantly they commit their time and energies to the most needy and risk prone children. Mr. Jain also donates to the Children’s Hospital, dedicated to advancing children’s health, too.

Seeing that Naveen Jain is an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and the Indian Institute of Technology, it comes as no wonder that teaching holds an exceedingly high priority within his benevolent worldview. This includes campaigns and aid organizations that are local, state, and nationwide. Therefore Intelius and its CEO are assisting support agencies and humanitarian associations such as the Children’s Hospital, the Vedic Cultural Center and the University of Washington.

Getting sustenance over to the hungry of the world is another great goal for Jain and those around him and it is of no concern in the least to him whether it is a kid in Israel or Vancouver, or an elderly woman in Ottawa or Uganda requiring help. While Naveen is quite cognizant that the goal of feeding every destitute mouth in the world can seem like an insurmountable task, he also believes that the impossible can really come to be realizable if the whole world works together. If this entrepreneur actually gets his way, the final curtain will is certain to come down on starvation and squalor in the world one day. As an observer one might well be pardoned for believing that being the headman of a very successful market leading enterprise as well as being a committed husband and family man would provide him with hardly any room for volunteering and support. But Naveen makes certain that all of his beneficent undertakings is given all the aid he can feasibly donate. This visionary businessman is undoubtedly much more than just a business trailblazer. He is, moreover, a perfectly wonderful personality and a true community champion.