Weekend Briefing No. 38
Welcome to the weekend! I’m just back from a few days at Cornell University. I had a blast speaking about Profit & Purpose with students there as evidenced by this group selfie. A big welcome to all my new subscribers from Cornell.
As you may have noticed, this week we are rolling out a rebrand of the Weekend Briefing. New look, but same great content. Feel free to send your feedback. I want to give a huge thanks to one of my best friends Sara Beth Turner for going above and beyond with the photography for this. She’s your go to photographer if you want family photo shoot.
WEEKEND BRIEFING //
The Venture. This week Chivas Regal just launched a $1,000,000 fund, an in-depth report, a bunch of content and videos all to support social entrepreneurship called The Venture. It’s a pretty bold move for a global whiskey brand. When I first heard about this, I thought it was going to come off kinda cheesy, but I’m actually pretty impressed.
Social entrepreneurship on iTunes. iTunesU is such a great way to learn. You can listen to a lecture form some of the foremost experts on a subject on the subway or in your car. A few years ago I did a lecture at Stanford Law on legal structures for social entrepreneurship, which you can watch that here. Here is a list of 7 iTunes courses on social entrepreneurship that are worth checking out.
Hollaback. This week a video from an anti-street harassment organization called Hollaback featured a woman walking through New York and receiving unwanted attention. The video went viral, garnering over 24 million views and sparking a funny parody video about walking through the streets as a privileged white male. Thanks to my sister Katharine Westaway for sending this to me.
A new measurement tool for sustainable products. Recently, the Roundtable for Product Social Metrics a group of European industry leaders including Ahold, AkzoNobel, BASF, BMW Group, DSM, L’Oréal, Marks & Spencer and sustainability consultants PRé Sustainability published theHandbook for Product Social Impact Assessment. The Handbook is the result of two years of close collaboration, and is the first practical methodology tested and accepted by a group of major businesses for assessing a product’s social impact throughout its lifecycle. Three key stakeholder groups are taken into consideration: workers, consumers and local communities.
A counterintuitive system for startup compensation. Molly Graham was an early Facebook employee and learned a lot about the chaos that not having a good compensation plan can create, so as head of Business Operations at Quip, she has put a clear system in place based on a few key principles such as: No one is ever happy with compensation, and compensation has never made any one happy. People always find out what other people are making. Read this detailed and smart compensation strategy here.
A THING I LIKE //
How we got to now. How We Got To Now with Steven Johnson is a six part documentary series that reveals the story behind the remarkable ideas that made modern life possible; the unsung heroes that brought them into the world – and the unexpected and bizarre consequences each of these innovations has triggered.
You are super smart, so I’m interested in your thoughts. If you have any story ideas, questions. If you have friends that would like the Weekend Briefing, please forward it along. They can sign up for free here. Follow me on twitter for updates throughout the week.
Have a restful & thoughtful weekend.