Business Sustainability

SAP presents a series on Business Sustainability featuring many of today's top business leaders and thinkers on how companies can thrive and survive in the current economic climate.

Part 1 of 15

In a Downturn, Don’t De-Motivate

Jim Collins

Business Consultant / Author

Author Jim Collins thinks the best employees need no motivation; leaders trip up when they destroy that drive.

In Business & Economics

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Hanes
November 19, 2009 — 10:11 AM

Men’s Underwear Shows Us the Economy is Rebounding

Tal Pinchevsky

When it comes to gauging exactly how the economy is faring, the long-held method has been to look towards the bare necessities. Turns out they don’t get much more bare than underwear. A theory first expressed in the spring when the economy was truly spiraling, the recent expansion of the men’s underwear industry could be telling us that the economy is on its way back. Read more

Trend World

Buffalo_chicken
November 15, 2009 — 1:40 PM

Can Buffalo Chicken Save the City that Bears its Name?

Tal Pinchevsky

You’ve probably tasted it. You may have even liked it. And if you did, you weren’t alone. But as Buffalo Chicken becomes one of America’s favorite snacks, the city for which it was named has been experiencing dire economic times. Can a troubled region slow to see any traction from the government’s fiscal stimulus harness the awesome power of Buffalo chicken wings? Read more

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Latest Ideas

Goldcross2

A Fundamental Shift

Jeff Sharlet

What is “Biblical capitalism,” and how is it changing the American right wing? Jeff Sharlet charts the rise of a juggernaut. Read More

November 19, 2009

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Why the Best Managers Act like Interns

Russell Simmons

Hip hop mogul Russell Simmons on why he won’t run scared from the economy, and why the best hires love getting everyone’s coffee. Read More

November 16, 2009

College

How Would You Fix School?

Big Think Editors

For centuries, the dominant image of college in America has been that of a secluded campus, full of 18-22 year-olds educating themselves for the future. Yet, as Big Think’s recent guest Gerald Chertavian explains, this notion is not only wrong, it is entirely contradictory to the needs of the new, knowledge-based economy. Currently, only about 29% of Americans obtain a college degree, a mere 8% of which do so by the age of 22, while the truly typical college student completes their post-secondary education at the age of 27—while working an average of 25 hours a week. Clearly, if America is going to stay competitive in an age where refined skills need be to spread amongst entire populations, a different model of education must take hold. Read More

November 15, 2009

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Making Non-Profits Work

Gerald Chertavian

If the social entrepreneurship movement is going to be successful, an entirely new social contract will need to be forged between the private and public sectors. As the work of Gerald Chertavian demonstrates, these innovative partnerships may eventually solve some of our oldest problems. Read More

November 15, 2009

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How Would You Change School?

Gerald Chertavian

For the founder of Year Up, asking this question of his students has yielded three concrete principles that are proving to work. Read More

November 15, 2009

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Getting Over College

Gerald Chertavian

The price of 4 year universities has been increasing by an average of 5 percent per year, a trend that is both unsustainable and contrary to the needs of a knowledge-based economy. As the founder of Year Up explains, if we’re going to survive the looming education crisis, we’ll need to adopt a radically different vision of higher learning. Read More

November 15, 2009

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Adam Smith’s Non-Profit

Gerald Chertavian

Though the father of modern capitalism is generally associated with the virtues of self-interest, he also possessed a deep moral concern for our responsibility to help others. According to the founder of Year Up, this second aspect of the free market system is finally taking hold, and its effects on society will be momentous. Read More

November 15, 2009

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A Guide to Building a Business That Matters

Gerald Chertavian

Returning to America after 10 years abroad, the founder of Year Up found himself alone and with nothing but a big idea. Here he explains how he turned this situation into one of the most renowned non-profits around today, sharing his strategies on everything from fund-raising to ensuring employee satisfaction. Read More

November 15, 2009

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