Positive Power of Principled Profit
Volume 4, Number 1—September, 2006

Positive Power Spotlight: Eco-Artware

I've always had a special fondness for companies whose entire mission is about keeping stuff out of the waste stream, and who do it with style and flair--with attention to aesthetics. And there are probably thousands of companies like that.

I became aware of this month's featured business, Eco-Artware, because the owner, Reena Kazmaan, came to me several years ago for some marketing assistance. Everything Reena sells is recycled from something else that might have otherwise ended up in the landfill--and much of it is stunningly beautiful. http://www.eco-artware.com

There are plenty of similar businesses doing recycled products. My friend Susanna Opper sent me a story she wrote about one in my own bioregion, Crispina Designs in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. But my personal aesthetic is more aligned with what I see on Reena's website.

A few particularly charming examples:

• Bicycle chain bottle openers and jewelry
• Anasazi-style woven bowls from reclaimed telephone wire
• Luggage tags, clocks, and moneyclips made from old printed circuit boards
• Liquid detergent jugs reborn as a toy serpent

Another Recommended Book: "The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor & Achieve Your Life's Dreams" by Tim Sanders

Three years ago, I launched this book review column, and this newsletter, with a review of Love Is the Killer App by Yahoo executive Tim Sanders--a book that I continue to recommend very strongly. He and I have corresponded a bit since that review, and I can tell you he's every bit as likeable over e-mail as he is within the pages of his book. Tim recently released another book, and even though it's a little bit outside my normal "beat", I wanted to share my thoughts about it in this space. The book, The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor & Achieve Your Life's Dreams, is not, strictly speaking, a business book. It certainly applies very much to business, and uses many business-world examples--but Tim's central point is that becoming a person that others like helps you succeed in every aspect of life. Business and career, certainly--but also, personal relationships, dealing with product complaints, even getting well after serious injury or illness. In all of these situations and countless others, if you are well-liked, your chances of meeting your goals climb dramatically. This is not just empty "feel-good" stuff. It's carefully substantiated. Sanders has spent several years immersing himself in social science research in this area, as well as documenting the results of his own seminar attendees. And we're also not talking about "likeability" as personified by the stereotypical salesman. it's got to be believable, and it's got to be trusted. If your radar goes up and you don't feel you can trust someone, the L-factor goes down, even if on the surface that person seems to be really fun to be around. The book begins by showing how likeable people are better placed to get more out of life, then outlines four key elements of likeability, then devotes the final 70 pages or so to showing, step by step, how to increase your quotient of each of those four qualities.

Order from Amazon: http://snipurl.com/wf30

Order from a BookSense independent bookseller:
http://www.booksense.com/index.jsp?affiliateId=FrugalFun