Spring Time in Sports

April 30, 2012 Wade Keech 1 Comment

As the NHL and NBA playoffs heat up and MLB gets into full swing and the NFL completed their annual draft, it is very clear that sports sustainability is gaining momentum.  The Green Sports Alliance grew nearly 700% in the first year, partnering with the NRDC; who has developed a Greening Advisor. for sporting venues that outlines steps to take to become greener.  The Greening Advisor focuses on key areas where a real difference can be made.  

Even NASCAR is getting into the mix as evidenced by their recent release of a white paper outlining sustainability initiatives before the Earth Day race in Kansas.  

 

 

The business case for sustainability is a critical component of acceptance by any organization.  Major league and minor league facilities are eager to save money and to show the world that they are environmentally friendly.  It not only makes good business sense but also is a long term marketing strategy to build the brand image.  

Minor league franchises face several challenges in striving to become greener.  Minor league franchises are heavily supported by sponsorship and advertising.  Due to this, efforts need to be made to actively engage stakeholders in assisting with programs such as recycling or energy audits.  Minor league franchises depend on volunteers for much of the game day work to be completed.  Programs to motivate and incentivize volunteers to “do the right thing” need to be developed. 

The Perfect Game

April 23, 2012 Wade Keech 3 Comments

Yesterday Philip Humber threw a perfect game here in Seattle. 

In baseball; a perfect game is when a pitcher does not allow a single baserunner the entire game via a hit, a walk, or an error.  Imagine if a perfect stadium could be developed that would not allow any error and would totally regenerate all input of the game as an output.  

Stadiums around the world are working on sustainability.  View theZeros Waste at Ohio Stadium or the Wembley Stadium Sustainability guide and it is obvious that the major sports venues have taken note.  Does this same effort exist for minor league venues?  From a purely business perspective, the business case for sustainability should be more critical for minor league venues than major league franchises who have substantial resources. 

Minor league venues form the backbone of sports across the world.  Whether it is baseball or hockey in the US or soccer/football in Europe or Asia; minor league arenas have more attendance and higher visibility.  Many of the venues are located in smaller cities where sustainability may not be a focus.  Considering this fact, it would be very beneficial to the club and also to the surrounding community to raise awareness.  

I believe that minor league venues need assistance not only from the business case to become more efficient/more profitable but also from the perspective to spread the word regarding recycling/energy productivity/transportation efficiency, etc. 

Sustainable Development in Sports and Allied Industries

April 9, 2012 Wade Keech 3 Comments

Sports are a more than a game for me.  They evoke many emotional responses based on the outcome of a particular contest.  There is something about the unpredictability of a live sporting event that captivates me and many billions of others around the world.  Combine this with my passion for environmental and social change and you have my right livelihood.  

Minor league sports venues and arenas across the nation work on limited resources compared to the major league franchises.  I intend to work to change this and to aid minor league venues to improve there green initiatives.  Over the next several months I will examine and review ways in which to make this a reality.  

I will look at how the convergence of new technologies interacts with buildings, transportation, and energy to become more efficient.  Working with minor league sports franchises is also a potential approach to reaching hundreds of millions of people with a new message.  Utilizing this medium to encourage recycling programs, more efficient use of energy, viable social programs, etc. will be appraised. 

Creating Shared Value

March 5, 2012 Wade Keech 2 Comments

Michael Porter advocates for a shift from CSR to Creating Shared Value (CSV).  He believes that current CSR work is primarily philanthropy and about compliance with the rules.  He states that

“It’s not getting us there. It’s well meaning, it’s well intentioned, but ultimately it doesn’t have enough impact. It’s not focused on results, it’s not scalable, it’s not sustainable and therefore we actually have to see if we can move beyond that formulation of business’s role. In a sense that’s given business an easy role, it’s a cop out.”

I would like to examine this a little closer utilizing one of the companies he cites as creating shared value; Nestle.  One of the projects Nestle advocates as creating shared value for the company and the local population is a recent capacity addition to a cereal production plant in Ghana.  According to Local Sourcing and Environmental Improvements – Ghana

“A CHF 36.2 million investment in our Cerelac infant cereal production plant in Tema, Ghana, will double its production capacity and foster rural development by sourcing more locally produced rice, wheat, flour and sugar from local Ghanaian suppliers.”

If the claim by Nestle of sourcing more local rice, wheat, flour, and sugar from Ghanaian suppliers is examined some major inconsistencies appear.  According to a 1998 report on The Derived Demand for Imported Wheat in Ghana over 90 percent of wheat is imported from the US and states: 

 “Although there is some local production, domestically produced wheat accounts for less than a tenth of a percent of total available supply.”

Consider rice, according to Rice and Politics in Ghana over 70% of rice is imported into Ghana and major improvements are required to change this. The article acknowledges that there is a significant quality gap between domestic and imported rice.

Consider sugar and the same is true. Ghana to have new sugar factory  discusses a new 100 million dollar sugar processing plant that will be built by Cargill and the main raw material, raw sugar in syrup form, will be imported and not produced locally. 

I am aware that this is the analysis of only one project and others may be different but it begs the question of how Nestle views this as creating shared value.  According to Porter CSV is different than CSR but this seems like the same old greenwashing to me.  I believe that the real issue is not whether it is called CSR or CSV or something else; it is the attitude of the company.  What do you think?

SocEnt Weekend – From Idea to Social Enterprise in just 50 Hours!

February 27, 2012 Wade Keech 2 Comments

The SocEnt weekend was kicked off on Friday evening by Mayor McGinn of Seattle challenging us with several ideas to make Seattle a better city; one of which was taken up by a team and formed into a viable social enterprise.  This was followed by about 35 participants making a one minute business pitch and then by a vote for the most inspiring projects to determine what exciting social enterprise concepts could be turned into reality.  Teams formed, work began, delving into business models for twelve business ideas. Work continued feverishly until midnight with thoughts, designs, creation and more.  

Saturday morning arrived with excited individuals showing up to continue the process and move forward.  Several teams arrive at the decision to disband due to the daunting task.  Others endure to push ahead into unknown territory.  Teams are forming and reforming, individuals are floating between teams providing insight, mentors are providing vision and advice creating a unique environment.  

Sunday arrived and people show up to the wonderful aroma of fresh made waffles being cooked by the event organization staff.  Work continues as teams try to arrive at a finished pitch for judges by 4 pm.  More coaching is provided; strategies, marketing, social impact and much more are discussed by individuals who all want to make the world a better place. 

At last final pitches are presented to the judges and the winners are announced.  The weekend has been successful from many aspects.  People are excited regarding the input provided and to get positive feedback on ideas and to move forward with concepts that for many have been in development for several years or more.  

Personally I enjoyed the weekend from the networking perspective and left with a good feeling and also with many questions.  How do we replicate this elsewhere?  Seattle and the Pacific Northwest are unique in this country as well as in the world.  How do we spread this innovative spirit around the world?  How do we create a desire to create shared value in small, medium, and large businesses across the globe?  More discussion on that in the next addition.

What does the future hold?

February 20, 2012 Wade Keech 1 Comment

The FutureScapes project by Sony has given me food for thought.  It is a collaborative project involving experts from many fields to think about and work together to a more sustainable future.  It is attempting to involve the public in envisioning what the world will look like in 2025.  What does this say about how corporations are viewing the public in regards to collaboration?  

Watch the following scenarios:

Sony and Forum for the Future have requested input from the public on what is envisioned for 2025.  This will allow them to gather data and insight into what there customers are thinking.  

On the other hand corporations such as Target are gathering data about consumers How Companies Learn Your Secrets  Reading many of the comments regarding this article, it is clear that many consumers are upset with the covert gathering of information for marketing strategies.  Would it not be more prudent to ask for collaboration in future products and marketing of times in a project like FutureScapes ?

Profit with Purpose

February 6, 2012 Wade Keech 1 Comment

Today the Super Bowl was contested.  According to published reports Super Bowl Ads cost 3.5 Million for each 30 second spot.  Super Bowl Ads Cost Average of 3.5 M

At the recent 2012 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum the 2011 millennial global survey conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DDTL) was released.  The study showed that a vast majority of organizations have a formal statement detailing its “societal purpose” but most feel that this purpose is not well known by customers and consumers.  Business Leaders and Millennial Agree – the Purpose of Business is More than just Profit

This suggests that most companies need to do a better job communicating the impact and contribution that is made to society.  Watch the following video of Barry Salzburg from DDTL:

Considering this information, why are companies spending 3.5 million for a 30 second advert.  Would the money be better spent educating consumers about the contribution made to society?  As the baby boomers move towards retirement and the millennial generation becomes more influential on business it will become increasingly important to convey this message effectively.  

Tomorrows business leaders will need to place more importance on “societal purpose” and combine marketing and strategy with expressing the corporate involvement to the public.  When corporations can deliver a message of corporate strategy of societal purpose and gain a competitive advantage it will permit more credibility.  This message will need to be conveyed internally as well as externally.

Market Strategy and Implications

January 30, 2012 Wade Keech 1 Comment

Marketing strategies are utilized by organizations to allow efficient use of resources to increase sales and gain a competitive advantage.  

What happens when the marketing strategy being used is no longer effective and needs to be changed.  For instance take the recent example of J. C. Penney, J.C. Penney gets rid of hundreds of sales

After decades of being in business, JCP is changing their strategy to attempt to remain competitive and gain an advantage over rivals.  Time will tell whether the strategy will work or not.  It is very difficult to change a consumer’s mindset on how they purchase something.  Once a consumer has been conditioned to buy items on sale it may be challenging to change that behavior.

What happens when the marketing strategy employed is affected by outside forces beyond the organizations control?  For instance consider the issue PZ Cussons faces in Nigeria; Nigeria Crisis hurts soapmaker PZ Cussons

The marketing strategy that was developed and employed has not been effective due to internal conflicts in Nigeria and consequently profit has suffered.  A new strategy will need to be created to consider the turmoil.

Consider a final example of the Bayern Munich football club in Germany; Bayern Munich apologizes for hoax

With an increased focus on social media, the football club attempted to engage its fan base but it backfired.  Attempting to utilize new market strategies can not only be ineffective they can backfire as this example points out.  

Developing a marketing strategy is important but having a feel for your core customer base and knowing what they want can be very useful. 

Market Segmentation

January 23, 2012 Wade Keech 2 Comments

Typically markets are classified based on the following distinct segments:

Geographic segmentation

Demographic segmentation

Psychographic segmentation

Behavioral segmentation

Segmenting populations of society for marketing purposes has many advantages and also some disadvantages.  Utilizing marketing strategies based on segmentation may enable companies to more effectively reach consumers but may not ensure the retention of the consumer.  

I would like to focus on psychographic and behavioral segmentation.  Many individuals may waver between many of the market segments depending on conditions.  Behavior and personality may change based on different conditions.  Factors such as employment, relationship with a significant other, stress levels and other factors can lead to alternative buying habits.  

Segmentation in developing countries may be less reliable due to similar reasons.  If a person is more concerned about food for the family, proper medical care, or paying for school fees for the children, behavior will change depending on the situation.  

Continuous analysis of market segments may be required as the behavior of consumers changes over time.  What a consumer in a market segment does today may not be the same as what the same consumer will do tomorrow.  This constant analysis can be very expensive and prohibitive to small and medium size enterprises. 

Market segmentation is very valuable but has its limitations. 

Local Government and BGI Education

January 9, 2012 Wade Keech 1 Comment

Last week I attended a local governmental meeting that was very enlightening.  Many of the issues raised and discussed allowed me the opportunity to see how useful the education I am receiving at BGI is relevant and useful.

One of the first discussion of the evening pertained to a local hotel/restaurant that was having difficulty meeting the BOD requirement for the grey water produced by the facility.  It has been an ongoing concern for the past 6 months.  An engineering firm had been contracted to attempt to resolve the issue but had not been successful.  The solutions that had been tried were discussed and I realized how useful systems thinking would aid in working with this issue.  I wanted to start drawing a CLD during the meeting but restrained myself. 

The next issue involved retaining the office manager for the township who also happened to be the head of the three person supervisory board.  When a nomination to retain her was made the second supervisor refused to second it which lead to much confusion and frustration.  His only reply was that he did not believe a full time office manager was required.  He would provide no plan, would not explain his opinion or discuss how the office would operate the following day when the employees would not have access to the facility.  The audience was flabbergasted and frustrated.

I could not help but think about facilitation skills to help resolve this issue, speaking with ongoing regard, polarity management and other potential techniques.  

The next issue involved a local citizen who wanted to serve on the financial committee and assist the township. The current situation had three members, one of whom did not attend many meetings.  The concerned citizen was told he could be an alternate but had no voting right which was not acceptable to him.  Discussion ensued and no resolution was achieved.  I thought about the possibilities to have a passionate citizen and how to enable him to work with the township to achieve better results. How would I handle the situation?  What could I do differently?  How is my LPD learning enabling me to better assess and work with situations such as this?