1. In the most sweeping legislation passed since Medicare in 1965, and on an issue that has eluded American presidents for about 100 years, the health care reform bill was signed into law this week by President Obama.

    Now whether you are for or against the bill, let’s examine how this was achieved. The following five principles are at the core of what it takes to achieve UnReasonable results:

    1. Crystal Clear Vision: before his presidency, Obama did not push health reform hard.  After he got clear on what the impact on our country could be, he created a clear vision:  health care for all.  Note the simplicity and power of this vision.

    2. Intense Determination: Obama really put everything at stake in the success of this bill passing.  He put the legacy of his presidency at stake.  Not too much more than that he could have put at stake.  He and Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, understood it would take his unwavering commitment to health care reform to generate enough confidence from those he needed on his side.

    3. Smart Strategy: Yes, there was a lot of luck.  Yes, timing was good.  Yes the Republican party was not successful in their overall campaign to block the bill.  But in the end, it was the Obama strategy, crafted with others, of having open debates with Republicans, campaign-style outreach across the country and a date set to the vote on the bill.  These are some of the things that made it successful.

    4. System to Deal With Obstacles: For example, when Ed Kennedy’s seat was lost to a little-known Republican and the Democrats lost super-majority control in the Senate, the Administration quickly went into campaign mode to recover.   They had their own pollsters keeping tabs on the American opinions and strategists to help determine how to convert concerned Democrats in the House to vote “yes” on the bill.

    5. Powerful Support Team: Many credit Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (to a lesser degree), and an inner-circle of advisors and senior Congressmen/women as well as legions of experts in health care and finance reform as well as Legislative Office law involved to move forward Obama’s aggressive agenda.   This team followed and worked with him mainly because they believed in his crystal clear vision and intense determination.

    Again, whether you are for or against the health care bill, it is fare to say this was an UnReasonable achievement.

    Now just imagine what you could accomplish in business when operating at this level using these five principles!

    Action Steps for the Week:

    These five principles, which my company has been teaching, coaching and training entrepreneurs on for 7 years now, are exactly what you need to put together to achieve UnReasonable results.

    Examine each one carefully in your business:

    • Do you have a crystal clear vision where you are taking your business?  Otherwise you will flounder.  You will also struggle building your following.
    • Do you have intense determination?  If not, you must find the purpose and passion behind what you want to achieve.  Still not coming?  Then the vision needs adjusting.
    • Do you have a smart strategy?  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Create specific and measurable results you can manage.
    • Do you have a system to deal with obstacles?  If not, work through scenarios that may come up and how you will manage them.
    • Do you have a powerful support team? People that listen to you for your greatness?  They will support you to move mountains!  If not, find a mastermind group, coach, or join one of our programs.

    Once you have your systems in place, it will amaze you how focused you will stay, how unstoppable you will feel, and how exciting things will get.

    And the results will most likely quickly follow.

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  2. NYC Green Finance Interns … for Free!

    The New York City Economic Development Corp. and SUNY’s Levin Institute are launching another round of their successful JumpStartNYC program.  This successful program is bringing terrific, “hit-the-ground-running” talent from the Financial Services industry into entrepreneurial firms like yours – and it’s making a real difference!

    A key part of the program matches participants with firms such as yours for a ten-week “action learning” project.  The project enables participants to develop new skills, while enabling you to leverage talent and gain insights from an extremely experienced pool of talent – at no cost to you.  JumpStart host firms have reported great results from having the experience, wisdom, and energy of the JumpStart consultants during the ten week project period.

    This latest offering of JumpStart NYC is going Green! The next JumpStart bootcamp begins on April 12, and then a second week of bootcamp will focus on “green finance”, including carbon trading, project finance and socially responsible investing.  In addition to our normal broad range of projects we seek from entrepreneurial firms (eg: business planning, marketing plans, financing assistance, strategic planning, business development to name a few), we are also seeking projects related to any of the following: carbon trading, small or large project finance, green venture investing, green building development or socially responsible investing.  These projects will begin during the third or fourth week in April, and we invite you to submit a project proposal (or two) for the program.  It’s a unique opportunity for you to obtain experienced, high-level talent for a project that’s important to you – all for free.  Past company participants have raved about it.

    If you are interested, please fill out the attached project application and submit it by April 7th. .  The sooner we hear from you, the sooner we can register your project.

    We have attached an “FAQ” document to help answer your questions.  Additionally, information for companies, and applications, can also be found at http://www.levininstitute.org/jumpstartnyc/for_companies.cfm .  Projects will commence during the third or fourth week of April depending on the participant availability, and are due to run for approximately 10 weeks, on a part-time basis.  To the extent possible, the matching of projects and participants is mutually agreed upon.

    We will be holding an information session for JumpStart host companies on April 6th at 4pm, and cordially invite you to visit Levin to learn more.   Click here to register for the information session, and enter event id 2542.

    Questions? Contact Helene Rude (helene.rude@levininstitute.org or 212-317-3568)or Mike DiGiacomo (michael.digiacomo@levininstitute.org or 212-317-3520).

    Thanks!

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  3. Recently I’ve met with a couple of green businesses, at opposite ends of the spectrum.

    The first one is a manufacturing company making all-natural chemical cleaning products for commercial use.  For the past several years they have had an annual sales growth of over 100%.  This year it looks like they will far surpass that number.

    They drive a delivery van fueled for free from their restaurant customer’s grease that is filtered into bio fuel, which saves their customers from having to pay to send it to a landfill.

    The other company just closed their doors after about five years.  They were a local green retail store here in Brooklyn.  They offered all-natural products for the home in a general store setting.  Giftware, baby products, housewares and so on.  As a service to the community, they collected used batteries for recycling.

    The last time I went in to speak with one of the owners, there were piles of used batteries around and not too much inventory. She was exhausted and seemed almost resigned to the fact she would not make it.

    And I’ve seen that look before.  In me.Twelve years earlier when I tried and failed at a similar concept in a much larger scale.

    After having been working in and with green businesses for over 20 years, this iswhat I see as theirpros and cons:

    Pros of Being Green:

    • Green is Hot—Is it a fad or is it here to stay? The answer is “yes”.  It is a fad and it will stay.  Mostly because it must stay.  These days everyone wants to be seen as being green. If you have something thatpeople need that is superior to non-green alternatives, you can do well in certain situations.
    • Solid Business Opportunities—if you have a product or service in the energy, clean tech or green tech sectors, or are dealing with everyday challenges people face AND are competitive in your product/service, you are in a good place.
    • Marketability  Factor—since the media is still hot for green, businesses can definitely find unique ways to milk this one.  Just make sure you do it authentically, otherwise you risk getting busted for greenwashing—claiming you are greener than you really are.
    • Easier to Compete—as long as your product is just as good as or better than non-green alternatives out there you’re in good shape.  Even if you cannot compete on price, there are solid strategies to position your product/service to be quite desirable.
    • Strong Feel Good Component—if your product / service really makes a difference for the planet and society, you can certainly leverage this in your branding and marketing.  People like knowing what they purchase is going to help more than just themselves, with everything else being relatively equal.
    • · More Stable—businesses that build not only a profitable business but one that integrates the social and environmental components that surround it, usually do better than their “non-green” competitors.  See Sustainability a Better Brand of Business?byGary Langenwalter.

    Cons to Being Green

    • Green is Hot… Right Now—those green businesses that market, position and brand themselves as “green” as the main message will struggle when the green wave subsides.  Knowing how to stay hot without relying on “green” as the key differentiator is crucial.
    • Keeping Up—since green business is here to stay (not to be confused with the “buzz” or fad of being green), keeping ahead of the competition in new green technologies and strategies can be quite challenging at times.  For example, it is so ‘90’s to say, “We’re green because we use recycled paper and soy based inks in our materials….”
    • Complex Business Model—it’s hard enough to focus on one bottom line:  profits.  Try focusing on three! True green businesses not only focus on being profitable, they also take responsibility of the impact their business has on people and the planet (known as the triple-bottom-line or the three p’s.)
    • Juggling Hats­—most green business owners I know are traditional business people OR environmentalists, but rarely both.  To thrive as a green business owner, you must be great at both!
    • Play By the Same Rules… For Now—many green business owners expect people will come flocking to their product or service because of how green it is.  They usually are in for a rude awakening.  If it does not compete on the traditional business components of: functionality, quality, fashion, and/or price it will not succeed.  Guaranteed.  This may change, but not yet.

    And while we’re light-years ahead from where we were 20 years ago, the green business model is quite new and we’re still ironing out the kinks.

    Green businesses, just like traditional businesses, must still pay rent, make payroll, figure out marketing and branding strategies and so on.

    But there is one major difference.  When a green business is done really well, you will see the positive social and environmental impact it has… while making a solid profit.

    And when that happens, it really doesn’t get any better than that.

    Action Steps for the Week:

    So you want to be green, huh?  Or perhaps you already are?  Cool.  Take a look at all three bottom lines:

    • Profits – how are you going to make money (or how are you making it already)?  What is your business model, price-points, competition and market analysis?
    • People – how will your product/service impact your stakeholders (anyone impacted by your business:  community, customers, vendors, employees, investors, etc.)  What plan do you have to make sure you are making a positive difference for them?
    • Planet – what do you do that will not only be gentle on the planet, but even reverse the damage we have been doing to it?

    Once you answer these three in a powerful, positive and interesting way you will have a business model that is solid, strong, and truly sustainable.

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