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  • Chief Shoe Giver, The Art of Business Giving

    Chief Shoe Giver, The Art of Business Giving

    “ ‘Chief Shoe Giver’. That is the job title Blake Mycoskie had at Tom’s Shoes from 2006 to 2019. Others would call him the founder and CEO [of TOMS shoes]” Thus begins a daily inspirational and motivation blog post by Harland Merriam, Nov 12 2023.

    TOMS is world renowned for giving away a pair of shoes for every pair sold. They moved 40% of their production to the countries where they were focusing their charitable giving. TOMS https://www.toms.com/us/impact.html

    Very cool discussion about the power of business giving. Business giving is rather tricky. TOMS (shoes) and Bombas (socks) seem to have very good intentions and have worked very hard to get it right. Giving out shoes (and socks) for every pair sold has potential to undercut the local economies and increase a sense of dependency.  

    Bombas cofounders David Heath (pictured) and Randy Goldberg pledged to donate a pair of socks for every pair sold. Bombas’s mission since day one has been to help those experiencing homelessness. That’s why for every item you purchase, we donate an item on your behalf. https://shop.bombas.com/pages/about-us

    I discuss the art of giving and the art of giving for businesses in my book on nonprofits & impactful donor giving (Hall, 2022). But the main thing for all donors is to be vigilant in looking for unintended consequence of donations.

    TOMS has gotten some criticism and has adapted to improved information about poverty and homelessness.

    Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toms_Shoes) provides a good overview of the history of the TOMS and its “one for one” give-back program.  In 2019, Amy Smith, TOMS’ Chief Giving Officer, announced in their 2019 Impact Report that the company would no longer be following the “One for One” business model that TOMS pioneered. “We made the decision to decouple our impact from the One for One model we pioneered, and to expand our giving portfolio to include impact grants. This way, we can support organizations working to address some of today’s most pressing issues.”

    Since 2019, TOMS has updated its impact model to donate 1/3 of its profits to grassroots for good. (See TOMS impact statement https://www.toms.com/us/impact.html ) TOMS’ mission is to use business to improve lives. This core value is embedded in everything we do.

    Both businesses were designed as part of their mission to do good deeds. Both companies are certified B Corps. Both companies have lots of challenges with the giving part of their mission.  TOMS, for example, has abandoned the sell-1-give-1 and is much more flexible in the way that they give 40% of their profits to charitable causes.  Bombas works through carefully monitored channels for charitable giving.

    Even the best intentions and the best plans need to be monitored and managed. That is, the supply chain for charitable giving also needs a lot of care and feeding. Kudos to TOMS (& Bombas) for doing good things to make the world a better place, and for being adaptable and willing to adjust to better ways.

    #Nonprofits #Charities #BCorp #ImpactfulGiving

  • The Mickey Mouse Protection Act

    The Mickey Mouse Protection Act

    When you hear The Mickey Mouse Protection act, you
    are probably thinking about how to keep the mouse’s tail out from under the heavy boots of the Florida State Governor. But the Law that is informally called the Mickey
    Mouse Protection Act of 1995 extended copyright protection for an additional 20
    years, giving Disney until November 2024 before the first copyrights on Mickey Mouse
    begin to roll off copyright protection.  This means that by Christmas of 2024 you can
    start to borrow and modify aspects of Steamboat Willie’s 1928 movie including
    the world-famous Mickey Mouse figure. HOWEVER, step softly around the mouse
    because Disney does have dozens of trademarks, so what comes into public domain
    on the one four-fingered hand, might still have intellectual property
    protection on the other. 

    The Copyright
    Term Extension Act of 1995     was sponsored by the late Sonny Bono of Sonny
    & Cher, so Sonny Bono’s name is part of the act. It is (derisively) called
    the Mickey Mouse Protection Act because Disney was one of the biggest and most
    conspicuous beneficiaries. Under the new law, corporations now have 95 years
    from first publication before their creative works go into the public domain.
    During that time the copyright owner(s) has exclusive rights to their creative
    works including sales and royalties. The intellectual property ownership of
    those rights can be assigned or sold. For an individual author/creator, the
    copyright lasts for 70 years after death. If multiple creators/authors, the
    copyright lasts for 70 years after the last author dies. (https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-duration.html)

    The cool thing about copyright (and trademark, for that
    matter) is that you simply put the cute copyright symbol © on creative works
    you want to designate as copyrighted and it magically becomes copyrighted.
    Cool. This is why you would want to indicate “copyright” on promotional
    materials, your books and your web site content. Books are often “registered”
    to strengthen copyright protection and to provide documentation if a lawsuit is
    needed to enforce your copyrights.

    What happens when a creative work loses its copyright
    protection? “After the copyright expires, the creative work falls into the
    public domain. Anyone can use a work in the public domain without permission or
    payment to the copyright holder. This includes making copies of the creative
    work and distributing transformative versions of it.” (https://MEKipLaw.com/the-mickey-mouse-copyright/)

    All types of intellectual property protection are discussed
    in the Patent Primer by Hall & Hinkelman.

    Visit the SBP Bookstore: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/SBPlan

    Hall, E. B. & Hinkelman, R. M. (2017). Perpetual
    innovation™: Patent Primer 4.0. Patents, the great equalizer of our time    .
    (Also, find on Amazon in e-Book format.)

    #Copyright #IntellectualProperty #PerpetualInnovation
    #IPCommercialization

  • Perpetual Innovation™: Club Management Workbook (Pi-C)

    Perpetual Innovation™: Club Management Workbook (Pi-C)

    Wouldn’t it be nice if service clubs had a simple set of tools that they could use for more efficient management – easy to use questionnaires for the board and members that will provide a benchmark and help identify initiatives that will advance the club each year. The new book is Perpetual Innovation™: Club Management Workbook, or Pi-C™ for short. The Pi-C workbook is the latest in the Perpetual Innovation™ series and it builds on the 2022 book on Nonprofit Planning & Impactful Donor Giving to provide tools specific to membership/service organizations, i.e., local clubs.

    Here is the overview on Amazon:
    This Club Management Workbook is a simplified set of tools for service clubs to internally manage their club and improve their impact within the community. This workbook builds on the Perpetual Innovation book for Nonprofit Planning and Impactful Donor Giving, but simplifies for easy utilization for service clubs and fraternal membership orders.
    The workbook starts — and ends — with a Service Club Self-Assessment which would be administered to the board along with a Membership Survey. Based on the results of the assessment, the club could launch initiatives for improvement.
    Clubs usually have fundraisers in which they (re)give money to other charities. A reviewing process for charities and events provides the club with excellent tools to identify the best causes and the best charities to support within those causes.
    The Pi-Club Workbook is customizable and offers suggestions for a club to build planning and standard operating procedures (SOPs). The aim of this workbook is to help clubs build an environment of Perpetual Innovation.
    Hall, E. B. (2023). Perpetual Innovation™: Club management workbook focusing on the most impactful giving. ISBN: 979-8859024810 Amazon.com/dp/B0CGXHB31Y
    Hard copy Color ISBN: 979-8860169227 ASIN: B0CH2H7NPZ Amazon.com/dp/B0CH2H7NPZ
    Also find the book on Nonprofit Planning & Impactful Donor Giving here:
    Hall, E. B. & Hinkelman, R. M. (2022). Perpetual Innovation™: Strategic planning for nonprofits and the art of impactful giving: the gift of giving, the art of caring.
    ISBN: ‎ 979-8842614615 Retrieved from: Amazon.com/dp/B0B7Q1J4G6/

    Cover for Club Management Workbook
    Club Management Workbook Cover Art

  • Samsung Takes over from IBM in the US Patents issued in 2022

    Samsung Electronics received the most US patents in 2022 for the first
    time since 1993. IBM, which had held the top spot for 29 consecutive
    years, came in second place.

    Rank Company Patents
    1 Samsung Electronics 6,248
    2 IBM 4,398
    3 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing 3,024
    4 Huawei Technologies 2,836
    5 Canon 2,694
    6 LG Electronics 2,641
    7 Qualcomm 2,625
    8 Intel 2,418
    9 Apple 2,285
    10 Toyota 2,214

     In terms of the total “assigned” patents, IBM has also lost #1 position to Samsung.

    See prior posts about the Patent King, IBM: https://perpetualinnovation.org/2021/03/15/the-patent-king-ibm-for-28-years/

  • The BARD on Earth Day. Shakespeare in Love (with AI)

    The BARD on Earth Day. Shakespeare in Love (with AI)

    I’ve been soliciting the sage advise and wise words of the BARD recently… 

    I got my new best buddy Bard (AI from Google)
    to help with two blogs: World
    Water Day 2023: Accelerating Change     on March 22 and Earth
    Day 2023: Invest in our Planet     on April 22. 

    But, William Shakespeare would be 459 years olde today (~23 April 1564 — 23 April 1616), so I wondered what “The Bard” would have to say? On the comings and goings of Earth Day?  The question asked:

    What would Shakespeare say about Earth Day?

    Shakespeare was
    a man of the natural world. He wrote about it often in his plays and poems, and
    he seemed to have a deep appreciation for its beauty and power. I think he
    would be proud of the way we have come together to celebrate Earth Day, and he
    would encourage us to continue to do everything we can to protect our planet.

    Here is a poem
    I wrote that imagines what Shakespeare might say about Earth Day:

    O Earth, thou
    art our mother,

    And we are thy
    children.

    We are grateful
    for thy bounty,

    And we vow to
    protect thee.

     

    We will not
    pollute thy waters,

    Nor foul thy
    air.

    We will not cut
    down thy forests,

    Nor kill thy
    animals.

     

    We will live in
    harmony with thee,

    And we will
    work to make thee a better place for all.

     

    For thou art
    our home,

    And we are thy
    caretakers.

    We will not
    fail thee.

    ** **

    I hope you like
    it.