Positive Power of Principled Profit
Volume 2, Number 8 - April, 2005

Positive Power Spotlight: Organic Bouquet

What's the thread that connects these seemingly random factoids?

* For the first time in history, 2005 will mark the first time that more than half the world's population lives in cities.

* Flowers are often among the least environmentally-friendly crops; commercial growers typically apply massive amounts of chemicals

* June 5, 2005 will be the first time that the United Nations' World Environmental Day is held in North America since its founding in 1972.

You'd only know the common thread if you happened to receive a press release from Organic Bouquet (www.organicbouquet.com): the company is spearheading "an organic floral extravaganza" in San Francisco, as part of five days of WED activities--whose theme, this year, in keeping with the first of those three factoids, is "Green Cities: Where the Future Lives." Activities, all open to the public, will include programs on recycling, renewable energy, conserving resources, environmental justice, public health--and the floral festivities, dubbed "Flower Power Day," and including both an international symposium on eco-friendly horticulture and an organic flower parade through the streets of San Francisco. (The official conference website took some digging to locate: http://www.wed2005.org/0.0.php>

The company is working closely with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's office, and hopes to inspire similar initiatives in cities around the world.

I find the choice of location particularly exciting, because on my most recent trip to San Francisco, I was struck by how little greenery one finds in the downtown brownstone neighborhoods. Yes, it has its parks, its magnificent architecture, and its wonderful oceanfront, but the neighborhoods have few trees and flowers compared to Los Angeles, or even New York.

Inspired by the press release, which I found on a sustainability newswire called csrwire.com, I went to Organic Bouquet's website--where I found a page called "Why Buy Organic" This listed 9 environmental, aesthetic/spiritual, and economic reasons to buy organic flowers specifically, and 10 additional reasons to support organic products in general.

The company, established in 2001, is a retailer and wholesaler for several different organic horticulturists, fruit growers, and artisan gift makers. It has a number of lofty goals:

* Establish a national market for organic flowers

* Increase farmworker safety

* Inform the trade and the general public about the importance of organic horticulture and agriculture

* "Become the premier online source for socially and environmentally responsible gifts...it is our responsibility to demonstrate that business social, and environmental interests can be successfully aligned. Our hope is to be a shining example of how the confluence of these interests can work to build a better and more sustainable future for all living beings of this beautiful planet."

Organic Bouquet also donates to several environmental and animal-related charities.

Side note: This demonstrates the power of a well-constructed, well-targeted press release. I was completely unfamiliar with this company before seeing the press release (dated February 28, 2005 and apparently no longer at the csrwire website). And not only did I read the press release, I wrote an article that will reach over 1000 people directly. If you'd like to know more about press release success strategies, you may find my book, Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World, extremely helpful. It has a huge chapter, including many creative and successful examples.

Another Recommended Book: "Decent People, Decent Company: How to Lead with Character at Work and in Life" by Robert L. Turknett and Carolyn N. Turknett (Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing, 2005)

Here's a book that approaches integrity in business not from the marketing side, but from management and human resources. And one that will almost surely build your personal communication skills, and thus the effectiveness of yourself, your reports, your supervisor, and your company.

I recommend reading Andra Media's "Conflict Unraveled" (see Positive Power Spotlight, August, 2004 http://www.principledprofits.com/pp1-11.html) first, as it provides a nice framework to better understand and appreciate the information in this newer work.

It takes a while to get into the somewhat stiff writing style, but it's worth the effort. Focused as it is on character principles as management tools, it's an excellent counterpart to my book, Principled Pro fit: Mark eting that Puts People First, and a strong reminder that the success and empowerment of our own employees not only our responsibility as ethical leaders, but also crucial to our own success. And yet, DPDC is also willing to step well outside the business world for the perfect example: such as the quiet heroism of Miep Gies, the Dutch secretary who sheltered Anne Frank and her family, and who saved Anne's diary after the Nazis raided the hidden dwelling.

Some of the specific goodies I found:

* Change agents within an organization are most successful when they start by publicly acknowledging what people are doing right--to catch and report their success just as so many of us are quick to catch and announce what's wrong.

* People rise to our expectations; if we express the attitude that they are fully capable of the task they've taken on, they will succeed.

* Integrity is a balance of the twin principles of respect and responsibility, which the Turknetts see as the fundamental elements, the Yin and Yang, of human interaction. Under the category of respect, the authors group empathy, emotional mastery, lack of blame, and humility (each with its own chapter); the responsibility attributes include accountability, courage, self-confidence and integrity or wholeness.

* Managers can learn a great deal by implementing "skip-level reports," where an employee communicates directly with the supervisor's supervisor.

* It's vital to understand the difference between inquiry--probing to learn what others think, what approaches they might use--and advocacy for your own position.

* Blame is "a poisonous response" and isn't ever productive.

* Keep your promises!

* Perhaps most important, it's never too late to implement changes in the relationships at a company.

On that last point, the book is filled with stories of executives and managers who were perceived as arrogant, not listening, needing to be protected from hurtful (but necessary) information, and driving forward their own agenda without meaningful input from others. Yet, in every case cited, once the manager became aware of the problem and took responsibility for it, change occurred very rapidly--usually within even a week or two. Once direct reports started feeling that they were being heard and their advice was sought and implemented, major barriers crumbled quickly.

In the last section, the authors note that sometimes doing the right thing is not obvious. We all know not to steal, but when forced between betraying a confidential information or allowing a friend to make a disastrous decision, the choice is not easy. Yet, the authors cite a study of CEOs by the Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics; 99 percent felt that high ethical standards strengthen a company's competitive position. To conclude, the Turknetts offer six tools to build personal integrity, and five to strengthen the integrity of a company.

If you'd like to buy this book, please follow this link to buy from a BookSense independent bookseller:
http://www.booksense.com/index.jsp?affiliateId=FrugalFun