Received a note today that my book was #3 worldwide for “Sustainability Books” as determined by Gormand World Cookbook Awards. Nice!
10 Reasons to Read “The Battle To Do Good”
I posted this on LinkedIn today to reach out to those that might be interested in reading my book. Came up with 10 really good reasons to read it!
1. You’re interested in what really happens behind the closed doors of a huge, global, multi-national companies.
2. You’re intrigued if and how companies like McDonald’s balance profit and serving society.
3. You’re cynical about “corporate social responsibility.” (The Economist reviewed my book and said it’s a “must read, even for those most cynical about corporate social responsibility.”)
4. You’re in business and perplexed as to whether it’s possible to do good and still build the bottom line.
5. You’re a business student who wants to use the power of business to make a positive impact on the world.
6. You’re a teacher and are looking for a good book to use to teach students the real world intersection of business and society.
7. You’re a member of a book club looking for a non-fiction piece of unexpected, unusual and unvarnished truth about a mega-brand.
8. You like page-turners with drama, villains and heroes.
9. You are part of a non-profit group who wants to work with companies to help them make better decisions for a better world.
10. You’re simply curious and looking for a different book to read where you can learn something very new.
Heeding lessons from Sustainability Veterans
Enjoyed doing this piece with Kathrin Winkler because we worked with our informal vet group to solicit their advice on how to get ahead and be successful in a sustainability career. Their advice is awesome.
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/heeding-lessons-sustainability-vets
From Russia with Confusion
I’ve gone through the thrill of having my book published in Russia today to the angst of coming to learn the Russian publisher changed the title of my book to something that is NOT what my book is about, and changing the cover to violate key principles. I felt violated. I can’t tell how disorientating this is.
The new title is: “Between Hatred and Hype”–what a depressing surprise, and how wrong a title.
You can see the book cover (below) they sent me. Why did they change a perfectly good cover?
My publisher, Emerald, has been very responsive. They sold the rights but maintained the right to review the book before published, which was not done. The book has now been stopped because of all of this.
I hope it all gets cleared up and more Russians can read my book!
Sustainability as Opportunity–Not Fear
I spoke with at a Kuehne Nagel event for their management team and their key customers. In Detroit. At a bar. It all turned out great. Kuehne + Nagel is a very large logistics company.
https://www.kn-portal.com/about_us/corporate_social_responsibility/sustainability/
I spoke about sustainability as an opportunity. So many see it from a lens of fear and apprehension.
Selected for Top 5 Ted Talk
I was thrilled to see that my TED talk was picked and featured in Inc. magazine. Thank you Tanya Hall!
https://www.inc.com/tanya-hall/you-need-to-listen-to-these-top-5-ted-talks.html
Tanya wrote this about my talk:
Bob Langert, the former VP of Sustainability at McDonald’s, shares the transformative experience of working with his companies’ biggest critics. He talks about coming together with environmental agencies to improve the sustainability efforts of McDonald’s’ packaging, which was something environmental activists were heavily protesting at the time. Instead of ignoring the critics, Langert learned to embrace them, which lead to successful changes.
When it feels like everyone’s a critic, this mentality is key to promote productivity and innovation. Turning to the people who think you’re failing them to help find new solutions is an initiative all companies can adopt.
