Fortunately, you can learn much of what you need to know about purpose-finding and marketing strategy from a 99 cent box of Trader Joe’s tissue.

Every Aspect of the Trader Joe’s Tissue Box is a Purpose and Marketing Role Model

If you don’t have a box of Trader Joe’s Tissues in front of you, click here for pictures of everything but the bottom panel.

Notice the quirky, fun design. Notice how you feel as you read each side panel message. “I’m here for you when you need to pick up icky things … you’re sick, …you’re sad … run out of toilet paper,” followed by Tissue’s signature, like “you’re welcome, Tissue.”

Notice the friendly reminder at the top of the box (like something Mama would have said when you still listened) not to leave Tissue in your pocket when you do the laundry.

Purposeful Marketing (Not Advertising) Makes Trader Joe’s a “Firm of Endearment”

“You know me better than most of my relatives do.  You care about what matters to me and the world we live in.”  That’s how I feel every time I walk into Trader Joe’s.  So many others concur and love spreading the word about how cool it is to shop there.

You can’t buy authentic endorsements like that.  But you can develop happy customers who are happy to spread your good word, according to the book Firms of Endearment, you start by caring not just about stockholder returns and CEO pay but also about all stakeholders.  Or as Firms of Endearment authors David B. Wolfe, Jagdish N. Sheth, Rajendra S. Sisodia call it , SPICE:  Society (including the earth), Partners, Investors, Customers, and Employees.

As a Firm of Endearment, you’ll undoubtedly pay your CEO’s and upper managers way less than the norm while paying employees and lower managers way more. You’ll spend little on advertising, lots on community and customer service. Not surprisingly, you’ll have astounding employee and vendor loyalty, so they’ll stick with you in hard times and help create much more profit than the norm.

Trader Joe Tissues Tips for Becoming a Firm (or Nonprofit Agency) of Endearment

Here are some tips my business planning clients and I have created:

1.    Enlist customers, donors, employees, future employees, and others to help you brainstorm all the ways you can truly say, “We’re here for you when…”

2.    Be authentic. My husband, who provides personal services for busy people, is there for you when you when you want to free up time for more important things … you want to be better organized … you want your animals cared for when you are away.

John’s also there for you when you want something translated into and out of Latin.  He doesn’t get many Latin gigs, but this service tells others that he’s intelligent, he’s willing to study things well, and he’s got a sense of humor.

3.    Be specific and focused. If we’re not careful, we overload a message with “this is how I do it” statements” or “this is the story of how I discovered this” or just too many sentences, all loaded with clause after clause after clause.  Boring!

4.     Know What Matters Most to People You Want to Serve. In business, it’s called marketing research.  Miss Manners might call it getting to know someone.  So, meet with current or potential clients.  Discover what matters to them, how they express what matters, where they hang out, and so on.  Listen at least 6 times as much as you speak.  Then listen some more.

5.      Walk your Values Talk; Talk the Values You Walk Without Proselytizing. On the bottom of the Trader Joe’s box (not pictured on the link above) an 1890′s woman tells her man how she can make him feel better by accepting her offer of a Trader Joe’s tissue.  The statement that the product is 100% recycled, and no chlorine bleach was use in making the tissues simply states values that are important to the Trader Joe’s crowd.

What Can You Learn from the Trader Joe’s Tissue Box?

Over the next few weeks, discover how some friends and colleagues are being inspired to clarify their purpose and do better marketing. Now, here’s a challenge:  how much more clear could your purpose be, how much more juicy and fun could your marketing be if you let the Trader Joe’s Tissue Box inspire you?

As always, many blessings, and please add your comments below,

Pat McHenry Sullivan

Today, the best most new businesses get from the bank is not a loan but the advice to start a business by bootstrapping.  But what if your bootstraps are kind of puny?  If just can’t get enough from your credit cards, your savings, your family, friends or any payout you got when you were laid off?

Out of Oakland and Berkeley, CA come some powerful insights from one of the best bakeries anywhere and from a local law firm that focuses on sustainable, socially responsible businesses.

Arezmindi Bakery:  How It Launched with Minimal Capital a Few Years Ago and Last Year Increased Profits in a Down Economy

Arizmendi has an unusual business structure.  In this worker co-op, everyone makes the same income (currently almost $20/hour), depending on profitability, plus a share of last year’s profits (which could add $3-10 more per hour) plus great benefits.  Because everyone is responsible to make the business work, and  all voices are heard, the quality of the goods are superb.  So is customer service.

Arizmendi was inspired by the popular Berkeley, CA business, the Cheese Board, which helped launch Arizemendi.  Cheeseboard staff trained the first Arizmendi staff, shared recipes, and even passed on used equipment. That, plus a lot of old-fashioned elbow grease, helped them get off the ground in the cooperative model, which bankers don’t understand or appreciate.

For a full article on the Arizmendi success story, see /www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/running-a-business-with-26-ceos/Content?oid=1577035.

Are Investors Your Best Small Business Finance Model?

If you’re careful and creative, you might generate plenty of money for your small Main Street business by seeking investors.  But before you imitate Wall Street, Oakland attorney Jenny Kassan of the Katovich Law Group  suggests you be very careful to avoid inadvertently running afoul of state or national securities laws. Contrary to popular belief, securities laws can apply even if someone lends you money for your business, even a small group of local investors who want you to succeed.

Katovich suggests four options for raising funds that don’t require extensive, expensive securities-compliance work.

• Form a cooperative.
• Get donations.
• Sell memberships.
• Pre-sell a product.

For more about funding pitfalls, plus tips and examples of the four options above, see Kassan’s article, “How to Raise Money But Not Break the Bank.”

How to Tap More Creative Ideas from Oakland and the Rest of the East Bay

Oakland, CA and the rest of the cities on the east side of the San Francisco Bay are a hotbed of creative innovation, with a focus on green and socially responsible businesses.

A local free weekly, the East Bay Express,  just launched a new monthly small business issue containing the two great articles mentioned above.  (Full disclosure — I’m one of many small business owners in the area to advertise here.)

Stick with this blog as we explore more about the socially responsible and green businesses.  If you just can’t wait, check out three more of my favorite East Bay resources:

Sustainable Business Alliance: a great model for getting together with fellow green wizards in your area.

East Bay Green Tours, a mind-blowing experience of what can happen when businesses, local government, entrepreneurs and social organizations unite to create a thriving “Green Corridor.”

The Hub Bay Area, a recent addition to a fast-growing international network of gathering places where people with ideas gather to make those ideas happen — and have fun!

As always, many best wishes for your successful, creative work.

Pat McHenry Sullivan

“Can you give me more tips and resources for how to put more of my values into my business?” asked a participant in a class I taught on business planning at the San Francisco Small Business Administration www.sba.gov/localresources/index.html). That led to the following list, which I’ll use in tomorrow night’s class.  Links are kept visible, in case you want to print out the list and share it.

1.  Be very clear about what matters most to you:  what and who you care about, how you’re called to serve and use your talents.  Focus a vision around your values, then build your business plan around your vision and values.  Resource: “Finding Visions for Work and Life” at www.workwithmeaningandjoy.com/html/your_work_vision.html

2.  Read biographies of people who do business profitably in a way that excites you. Take a walk and imagine your role model giving you practical advice and inspiration.  This process can be magical.  Just ask any kid who becomes more courageous by imagining she is more like her hero. Business consultant C.J. Hayden‘s (www.cjhayden.com) public service website (http://www.howtobecomeahero.com) is loaded with tips.

3.  Think quadruple bottom line:  profits, people, planet and purpose. Research the conscious capitalism and socially responsible business movements; find meetings and gatherings.  Resources:  Fast Company Magazine and its Ethonomics online channel (http://www.fastcompany.com), Heart of Business (www.heartofbusiness.com), Ode Magazine (www.odemagazine.com), consciouscapitalism.com, www.livingeconomies.org and quite possibly your local business school.

4.  Go green! The Sustainable Business Alliance (www.sustainablebiz.org) is a membership organization for companies committed to greater environmental and socially responsible business practices. This San Francisco East Bay, CA group is a role model for any sustainable, socially responsible member group.  Gil Friend’s book and talk on The Truth about Green Business are outstanding.  See www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKB20j4sWAE  Also see his free newsletters at http://www.natlogic.com/approach/new-bottom-line/.

5.  Make integrity your bottom line. (http://spiritworkandmoney.com/creating-a-culture-of-integrity-for-work-and-money/).\   Using your mental inner compass, North Start, gyroscope, or carpenter’s level and plumb line, note how to measure when you are on true with your deepest self and on the level with others.  Then stick to your principles.  Elizabeth Doty’s new book:  The Compromise Trap, How to Thrive at Work without Selling Your Soul, is totally practical.  (See www.worklore.com/CompromiseTrap and  spiritworkandmoney.com/how-to-thrive-at-work-without-selling-your-soul.

6.  Turn every business task into an opportunity to implement your deepest values. For more than thirty years, a growing spirituality and work (also called “faith and work” or “spirituality and business” or “workplace spirituality”) movement has sought to heal the split between work and what matters most:  integrity, purpose, joy, time to pet the cat and be with people we love, etc.  For an overview of this movement and many resources, see www.spiritandworkresourcecenter.com.

7.  Be absolutely respectful in implementing your values at work. The wisdom of our diverse faiths needs to be practiced, not preached.   (spiritworkandmoney.com/all-faiths-are-rich-in-wisdom-for-money-and-work-part-1/  Etiquette for spirituality and work is thankfully a growing field (www.workforce.com/archive/feature/25/96/27/index.php?ht=)  When in doubt, be kind.  http://spiritworkandmoney.com/kindness-the-best-workplace-spirituality-practice-ever/

So how do you do this in a world where fraud, waste or abuse seem to be the norm?  Where it seems that, in order to earn your paycheck or have a thriving business, you’ve got to give up your need for a life, your values, your sense of purpose or your integrity.

What You Compromise is a Key to Soulful Work that Helps Your Thrive

Compromise is a fact of life, writes Elizabeth Doty in her new book, The Compromise Trap: how to thrive at work without selling your soul. When compromise is healthy, we give up something lesser for something of higher value.  We cooperate to share resources and meet goals that matter.  Examples of healthy compromises:  sharing costs, adapting to others’ personalities, or giving up old ways to learn new ones.

When compromise is unhealthy, we give up our principles. Some examples of what we give up, according to Elizabeth, are our honesty, adherence to laws or regulations, professional standards, promises or commitments, a desire to do good work, our values, our objectivity, our character, purpose or mission.

A common pattern goes something like this:  without thinking about whether we really want it, we sacrifice time with self and family for more time at work in order to impress others into promoting us into positions we don’t really want in order to buy more stuff.

With Unhealthy Compromise, We are Out of Alignment with Ourselves and Others

Every time I speak at workplaces about spirituality and work, I’m horrified by stories such as the nurse who says the only time she has to herself is in the bathroom.

Obviously, the nurse cares about her children and her work. But when she sacrifices her own objectivity, health and perhaps other things, how can she be in alignment with her true self?  Being out of true with herself, how can she be aligned with the true needs of others, including her family and all who are impacted by her work?

It takes courage to take time for self, just as it takes courage to stand up to a workplace bully or the kind or insanity that has driven the economy into a mess these past few years.  As Elizabeth so eloquently puts it, there are healthy pressures, such as a cultural norm that enforces accountability or a company directive to build business with integrity and by creating more customer trust.

With Courage and Creativity, We Don’t have to Be Caught in the Compromise Trap

Unhealthy pressures reward lower values while penalizing higher ones.  Examples from Elizabeth’s book:  “expectations that salespeople will lie to customers, a directive to cut costs for appearance’s sake, or a cultural norm that enforces posturing.”

Faced with such reward of lower values, many people at work fall into what Elizabeth calls the “Compromise Trap,” which slowly erodes one’s principles.  Using my favorite definition of integrity in all its meanings, that means that we can compromise away our ability to be honest, true to self, whole, authentic, or ethical.  Without personal integrity, we can’t be on the level with others.  There’s no resonance between our inner values and outer actions. After a while, we can’t even see our own principles, but we may feel some gnawing manifestation from that part of us that knows we’re off base.

Elizabeth notes that too many people focus on a narrow view of self-protection and just play along with the game as they see it.  In the long run, this means others, who may be less principled, define our options and terms of engagement.

A better choice is to choose a higher level of engagement, oriented around a bigger win for more people.  “Generally, trying to act as a positive force to help the right thing happen, for oneself and others.”

How Can You Redefine Your Work and Money Game So It Better Meets Your Vision and Values?

Elizabeth, a brilliant storyteller and expert in organizational learning, offers over 50 stories of corporate compromise versus corporate courage.  She also lays out numerous exercises that are valuable to any individual (even those like me who are corporate-avoiders) who wants to clarify and live by their values.

This book is going up on my list of top books for spirituality and work, conscious capitalism, or whatever name you use for work that’s more meaningful, purposeful and satisfying.

Full disclosure: I have known Elizabeth for close to ten years, and have grown to respect her highly as a colleague.  Though I consider her a cherished friend even when our lives are too busy to hang out much together, I gain nothing from recommending this book other than helping you discover it … and hopefully helping to create a more ethical, thriving economy that serves all of us better.

As always, many blessings,

Pat McHenry Sullivan

Just What is Conscious Capitalism and Why Is It So Beneficial to Us All?

The conveners of last summer’s conference on conscious capitalism at Bentley University offered these three key elements of conscious capitalism:

• companies have a purpose that transcends profit maximization;
• companies are managed for the benefit of all stakeholders in their ecosystem, not just shareholders; and
• companies are led by spiritually evolved, self-effacing servant leaders.

Companies that practice conscious capitalism embody the idea that profit and prosperity go hand in hand with social justice and environmental stewardship. They operate with a systems view, recognizing and benefiting from the connectedness and interdependence of all stakeholders. They tap into deeper sources of positive energy and create greater value for all stakeholders. They utilize creative business models that are both transformational and inspirational, and can help solve the world’s many social and environmental problems.

Over Half the Fortune 500 Companies Are Already Profiting by Embracing At Least One Aspect of Conscious Capitalism

That’s the view of Patricia Aburdene, author of Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism (Hampton Roads 2005).  As she recently reported,  whereas the unconscious form of profit-worshiping, short-term profits mentality has led to economic meltdown, conscious capitalists are profiting now while creating a sustainable economy that “responsibly embraces all of its stakeholders- – investors, customers, communities, employees, and the environment.”

In her groundbreaking Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, Aburdene reported seven powerful trends (backed up by statistics and compelling stories from many Fortune 500 companies) that are at the core of conscious capitalism:

• The Power of Spirituality – From Personal to Organizational;
• The Dawn of Conscious Capitalism;
• Leading from the Middle;
• Spirituality in Business;
• The Values-Driven Consumer;
• The Wave of Conscious Solutions;
• The Socially Responsible Investment Boom

Missed the Bentley Conference on Conscious Capitalism? See it Free and Online.

The conference featured a who’s who of leaders in the field of conscious business and spirituality in the workplace. Among the themes the conference covered are:

1.   The Need for a New Approach to Business
2.   Business and Higher Purpose
3.   Stakeholder Management and Alignment
4.   Feminization of the Culture
5.   Work as Calling
6.   Conscious Marketing
7.   Measures That Matter
8.   Contemplative Practices in Management
9.   Reforming Business Education

To view the various topics, click here, and scroll down the list of topics and presenters. Click on a program you’d like to view, and you’ll be privy to the wisdom of people like John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, or Judith Neal, the founder of the Association for Spirit and Work and now director of the Tyson Center for Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace.

Needed: a Way To Better Way to Measure Value

One thing that’s holding the growth of conscious business back is the shyness of many prominent business leaders to speak openly about such matters as spirit and work, out of the fear that such thoughts will be considered flaky or unprofessional. Another is the lack of solid, respected ways to measure the impact of consciousness to the bottom line. This blog recently covered that topic and will cover it often in the future.

What are your thoughts on how conscious capitalism could benefit you and your world?

How do you measure what matters most to you?

As always, many blessings, Pat McHenry Sullivan

If love is one of the most powerful forces for good in the universe, then loving money must also be a powerful force for good.

Consider just the loving aspects of patience and kindness. Loving a child with patience and kindness includes nurturing not just his creative spirit and self worth, but also her respect for the boundaries of others. Loving a friend or spouse means accepting their imperfections and helping to meet their needs with joy, but not allowing abuse from them.

When I truly love money, I can’t do un-loving things to it, like put it on a pedestal or demand that it make me feel better about myself. Nor can I allow it to hold me or my values in bondage.

Having patience with money means no more investments or credit cards where I’m too busy to understand the terms. It means foregoing the heady excitement and sense of entitlement like I had in the 90′s when I watched my 401 (k)’s “worth” grow so fast, than I became enraged when it dropped to less than a 15% return, then lost money.

Loving money also means discerning the impact of my earning and spending, even when it costs more to support fair trade than to buy cheap stuff from companies that exploit the land or people. It means giving up the illusion that I am somehow more spiritual than those who have more money and admitting that underneath this illusion are some pretty unspiritual things like arrogance or fear. It means taking on more of the scary tasks of money-making, particularly marketing and selling, with patience and kindness.

And it means being patience and kind with all the parts of me that are not patient or kind around money, work and everything else– like the parts of me that are in a hurry to get this post done and the parts of me that resist doing it and the parts that are so into perfection that I can never get anything done.

Imagine loving money with patience and kindness as a personal and corporate strategy.

That’s actually happening way more than is reported, even when the words “patience” or “kindness” aren’t used. Many examples can be found in the spirit and work movement, the trends towards socially responsible businesses and investing, and the slow money movement.

Money itself is experiencing an extreme makeover through the conscious capitalism movement. Patricia Aburdene, author of Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism reported in the most recent edition of Enlighten Next Magazine  that half the Fortune 500 companies actually already practice at least a little conscious capitalism. She reports how these companies have turned away from “the worship of profits while ignoring the long-term costs of earning them” to business that “embraces all its stakeholders – investors, customers, communities, employees, and the environment.”

Profit is alive and well in conscious capitalism, and the bottom line of conscious capitalists benefit greatly from increased customer and employee loyalties. One of the things that’s needed for the benefits of conscious capitalism to become more popular is for it to be reported more and for a new standard helps us assess the material value of such values as compassion and long-term thinking.

That’s a subject we touched on here several months ago, in a call to let go our obsession with the latest burps of the Dow and instead focus on a more long-term Tao (meaning way or path to wisdom, among other things) that takes care of the immediate needs and the future, while leaving plenty of good things for generations to come.

What’s your vision for how your relationship with money could be transformed with patience and kindness?

What thoughts stir about the true love of money when you read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 13?

What other sacred texts from any faith, poetry or quotes inspire true love of money for you?

What practices help you truly love any aspect of your relationship to money?

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome. Many blessings, Pat McHenry Sullivan