Some people go through life trying to find out what the
world hold for them only to
find out it's what they bring
to the world that really counts.
~Lucy Maud Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables
Of Note: Big business is finally getting the message that the world is changing and changing fast. The status quo will no longer do. Two examples of cutting edge corporate hookups leaped from the pages of the Wall Street Journal this week. The first was Enterprise Holdings, which owns Enterprise rental cars, contracting with Nissan Motors to buy 500 electric cars due out in December. The rental company wants to be the first in the nation to carry the $33,000 Nissan Leaf, and customers are already asking for them. Difficulties may arise in finding locations to charge the vehicles at first but Enterprise plans to install charging stations at their locations. This is different from those who buy the cars from a dealership where home charging stations will be sold.
The second was Wal-Mart and Seventh Generation Inc, which sells environmentally friendly household products. The Seventh Generation co-founder, Jeffrey Hollender, originally said that "hell would freeze over" before he marketed his company's products through the largest retailer on the planet. Apparently, he feels differently now and next month the company's products will start gracing Wal-Mart's shelves. The change came when Hollender reached out to Wal-Mart after hearing the CEO was reading his book. Soon, he was working on the behemoth's first sustainability report, and the rest is history. According to Hollender: "At his point, we now believe that we can have a bigger impact by partnering with Wal-Mart then by shunning it." More and more companies will come to understand that cooperation with unlikely partners will benefit not only their bottom line but the world as well.
Today's Weather Report: It was partly cloudy today with a few sprinkles in the late afternoon. And I mean a few. Spitting in the wind would have created more moisture. After the last storm earlier in the week, my computer went down again and was returned to the shop. I just got it back this evening and am overjoyed. Amazing how we have come to depend on these devices. The painting around the place continued this week in between showers. It seems that the grass is taking a little break much to my relief. Today at the hardware store, the salesman asked if I was buying more paint. I replied, "No, plumbing parts today and a magnet to pick up the two nails I dropped and can't find." The store did not have the plumbing part I needed, but it did have the large magnet which quickly located the offending nails. Better on the magnet than in tires--car, truck or tractor.
The second was Wal-Mart and Seventh Generation Inc, which sells environmentally friendly household products. The Seventh Generation co-founder, Jeffrey Hollender, originally said that "hell would freeze over" before he marketed his company's products through the largest retailer on the planet. Apparently, he feels differently now and next month the company's products will start gracing Wal-Mart's shelves. The change came when Hollender reached out to Wal-Mart after hearing the CEO was reading his book. Soon, he was working on the behemoth's first sustainability report, and the rest is history. According to Hollender: "At his point, we now believe that we can have a bigger impact by partnering with Wal-Mart then by shunning it." More and more companies will come to understand that cooperation with unlikely partners will benefit not only their bottom line but the world as well.
Today's Weather Report: It was partly cloudy today with a few sprinkles in the late afternoon. And I mean a few. Spitting in the wind would have created more moisture. After the last storm earlier in the week, my computer went down again and was returned to the shop. I just got it back this evening and am overjoyed. Amazing how we have come to depend on these devices. The painting around the place continued this week in between showers. It seems that the grass is taking a little break much to my relief. Today at the hardware store, the salesman asked if I was buying more paint. I replied, "No, plumbing parts today and a magnet to pick up the two nails I dropped and can't find." The store did not have the plumbing part I needed, but it did have the large magnet which quickly located the offending nails. Better on the magnet than in tires--car, truck or tractor.
