Ethonomics Expert Blog

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How to Make Cool Roofing Cooler

When’s the last time you had a look up on your roof?  There’s a lot more going on up there than keeping out the rain.  A roof sitting in the summer sun can soak up heat like a sponge, heating up the building that the roof is supposed to protect.  Extra heat costs extra money that is spent needlessly on air conditioning.  The answer is cool roofing, coating the surface of a roof with material that reflects heat, keeping the roof and the building under it cool.  Innovative cool roofing solutions like EPOX-Z from AMCRG (the Advanced Materials & Composites Research Group) are helping buildings save energy and save money, and creating opportunities for those distributing, selling, and using cool roofing products like this. 

We waste billions of dollars every year on wasted energy, providing a business opportunity as big as the amount of money that is wasted.  Energy efficiency is such a big opportunity today because overall we’ve paid little attention to it up until now.  Buildings in the past were often constructed with little attention to the long term cost of operating them, resulting in high energy bills.  Energy secretary Steven Chu has noted that in addition to reducing energy costs, cool roofing can also help in the fight against climate change.

The savings with cool roofing are significant, reducing cooling bills by 20% to 70% in studies of buildings where it’s already been employed, providing one strong motivation for adopting cool roofing.  Savings like this ensure that the money spent on cool roofing is an investment that pays for itself, often quite quickly.  Rebates, tax credits and other incentives for energy efficiency provide further financial motivation.  Another motivation for cool roofing is that it is required in a growing number of states.  Increasingly stringent building codes like Title 24 in California require cool roofing for many commercial buildings; other states and cities including Georgia, Arizona, Chicago, and Florida are also moving to adopt similar measures.

Cool roofing products are generally a paint-like acrylic coating that is white, or close to it, bouncing light and heat away from the roof.  These products generally require multiple coats going on and the coating must be reapplied every few years to keep working.

AMCRG has developed an epoxy-based coating called EPOX-Z NRG, which uses one coat and lasts for a much longer time, saving time and money compared to other products that require multiple coats. As an epoxy, it lasts much longer than most other Acrylic-based products, but is flexible, and does not crack or shrink.  It can be applied to a wide range of surfaces using the same equipment used to apply other materials, making it easy to put on and with a 33% lower installed cost than other products like the acrylic-based elastomeric cool roof coatings.  EPOX-Z NRG also contains no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), unlike most products, and has been tested to meet or exceed Energy Star requirements and received provisional Energy Star Partner listing, and is ready for a roof near you.

 “EPOX-Z’s proprietary formulation produces a true chemical cure,” says Tony Camarota, one of the principals of AMCRG who has developed this innovative new product.  “This eliminates shrinkage, voids or pinholes and allows high build single coat application and promotes superior adhesion over the roof surface, while retaining the flexibility needed during the freeze/ thaw cycle.”

 In a field like cool roofing, there are opportunities for people involved in many different ways.

 For roofers, there is the opportunity to work with innovative products like AMCRG to lower costs and bring in new business. 

 For property managers and building owners, there is the opportunity to reduce operating costs by getting greener and more efficient.

 For green businesses and others concerned about sustainability, there is the opportunity to further green their brand.

 For distributors, sales people, and those in marketing, there is the opportunity to provide all aspects of the business needed to succeed.

 And for innovators, there is always the opportunity to provide new and even better solutions that help us to save energy, save money, and save the planet.

For more, see www.amcrg.com, or email info@amcrg.com 

Glenn Croston is the founder of StartingUpGreen.com, helping businesses to start and grow green. He is also the author of "75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference", and the author of "Starting Green", a nuts and bolts guide to starting and growing a successful green business.

12:11 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Biomimicry, the Zoo, and San Diego Too

The Biomimicry Symposium held October 1-2 in San Diego brought together engineers, designers, scientists and others turning to nature as a source of inspiration.  For cities, businesses, and entrepreneurs looking for the next great thing, the growing field of biomimicry is becoming a recognized research and development approach that can benefit both businesses and the natural world.  

There are an estimated 30 million species on earth, of which about 1.8 million have been described.  Each of these species is a rich resource, a lesson in the genius of nature’s engineering and design solutions.  The solutions that living things have evolved include strategies for saving water, protecting against impact, insulating against heat or cold, providing fire resistance, and almost any other challenge you can imagine.  These challenges are often surprisingly similar to the challenges facing human product designers and engineers.  While humans have been developing industrial solutions for a few hundred years though, the plants and animals we share the world with are the result of billions of years of problem solving to arrive at unique and often far better solutions than we have.  It should be no surprise that nature is so good at providing elegant and efficient solutions, while we are still catching up.

By studying the form of living things, how they work, and the processes they use, we can adapt the solutions they have evolved for innovations like faster trains, more efficient cars, cleaner paints, and stronger ceramics.  A wide range of businesses are already engaged in the application of biomimicry, often inspired by the work of pioneers like Janine Benyus and Jay Harman who spoke at the meeting about the current state of the field and where it’s headed. 

While the field has encountered skepticism from the corporate world over the years, a growing list of success stories are changing this.  Swimsuits modeled after shark skin worked so well in the Chinese Olympics that they have been claimed to provide an unfair advantage.  Paint from StoCorp modeled after the lotus leaf keeps surfaces clean like these leaves, and has now been applied to hundreds of millions of square feet.  Biomimicry may be reaching the tipping point where it goes from a curiosity with pretty pictures to a standard approach to innovation.  Thousands of people are working with engineers and designers to develop biomimicry-based innovations, with universities around the world joining in the effort as well. 

For me, biomimicry has it all.  As a biologist, I love the insights it provides into the living world, and the respect and care for living things it inspires.  As someone working in the green business world, I’m excited by the huge repository of innovative solutions that nature provides for cleaner, greener, and better ways of doing business.

San Diego is hoping to position itself as a hub for Biomimicry-related enterprises in San Diego, stimulating the growth of local businesses and jobs.  As the home of the San Diego Zoo, the city has a head start.  The San Diego Zoo (along with the Wild Animal Park) is a world famous tourist destination, but their collection of over 5000 species has far greater value than this.  The organisms at the zoo are also inspiring the next generation of biomimicry-based businesses. 

In a tour of the Zoo featured as part of the Symposium, staff members talked about the animals they work with every day, and how these inspire new innovations.  The same mechanisms that allow geckos to climb vertically on glass are being studied to design new types of adhesive materials.  Hippos produce a secretion called “blood sweat” that isn’t blood or sweat, but does block UV radiation and bacteria, protecting hippos against both the sun and infection.  Flamingo bills can inspire new types of more efficient filtration devices.  By working with these animals daily, and studying their in and outs, zoo staff are ambassadors to the living world for business innovators. 

San Diego also has world class research institutions that can help a biomimicry hub develop, and strong biotech and high-tech communities that provide a ready supply of entrepreneurs eager for new opportunities.  The San Diego city government sponsored the event to help create future prosperity.  “For entrepreneurs, there’s money to be made in this,” said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders at the Symposium, and the city’s program manager for their cleantech initiative, Jacques Chirazi, noted several ways that government can help biomimicry-based businesses grow. 

One of the key speakers at the event was Janine Benyus, author of the book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature and co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute non-profit and the Biomimicry Guild consultancy.  Benyus was one of the first to really appreciate the value of solutions from the natural world.  Today her years of work are paying off, big time.  “There’s a shift in science and design from learning about nature to learning from nature,” said Benyus.  When they study the solutions that industry has developed (measured in patents) compared to the solutions that nature has developed, there is only 12% overlap where nature and industry have used similar strategies.  “That means that 88% of the time we are surprised,” said Benyus. 

Qualcomm, a telecomm company based in San Diego, has developed a novel display for phones called mirasol that produces images in the same way that butterfly wings produce color, by reflecting light rather than producing light like current LCD screens.  As a result mirasol displays work much better in direct sunlight, and mirasol displays also consume much less power.  “Doing business nature’s way is just good business,” said Cheryl Goodman, director marketing of Qualcomm. 

Another San Diego business using biomimicry is Biomatrica, providing a better way to store biological materials.  Typically drug companies, universities, and others storing biological materials like DNA, RNA, and cells store them in power-hungry freezers held at -80C.  Hundreds of these freezers line the halls of universities, sucking up power, costing money, and taking up space.  To find an alternative, scientists at Biomatrica studied tiny animals called tardigrades, or water bears, that can survive for a decade with practically all of the water removed from their body.  Studying how these creatures accomplish this feat, Biomatrica found they could produce their own version that allows biological samples to be dried and stored at room temperature rather than -80C, avoiding the need for so many freezers.  The universities and businesses using Biomatrica’s products are saving money on energy, and reducing their carbon footprint, a big component of sustainability efforts everywhere.

Businesses around the world are developing biomimicry-based products.  The cement industry accounts for 6-8% of global carbon dioxide production.  To find a better way to make cement, Calera Corporation (www.calera.com) studied how corals build reefs, and is developing coral-inspired cement that takes carbon out of the air rather than into it.  QinetiQ is studying the Namib desert beetle to find new ways to gather water out of air.  Baleen Filters is producing filtration systems for water based on the same methods that whales use.  Columbia Forest Products is making PureBond plywood products that are formaldehyde free, using a soy-based adhesive that works in the same way that mussels attach themselves on rocks with waterproof adhesive.  The list goes on and on.

The president and CEO of Pax Scientific, Jay Herman spoke at the Biomimicry Symposium about a pattern that he kept finding over and over again in nature, the spiral.  It’s in seashells, hurricanes, draining bath water, and spiral galaxies.  Harman isn’t the first to note this recurring pattern; cultures back to the dawn of civilization have used the spiral as a symbol of fertility and creation.  There’s a reason why the spiral is so ubiquitous in nature.  “This shape is the path of least resistance,” says Harman.  “To use less energy, follow this path.”  The industrial applications of this observation are enormous, including fans in computers, propeller blades, water pumps, motors, and appliances that use nature’s geometry to be more efficient. 

“Nature sips energy, while humans guzzle it,” said Harman.  As one example, he talked about water storage tanks used for municipal water supplies.  Millions of gallons are stored in large tanks sitting in the sun, and treated with chlorine to reduce algal growth.  Mixing can reduce growth, but takes a great deal of energy.  Installing one of his small simple mixing blades shaped like a vortex several inches in length can mix these tanks, saving 80% of the energy and 85% of the chemicals that were previously used. 

Harman also described some of the challenges that the next generation of biomimicry entrepreneurs will face.  As an innovative field biomimicry needs patient capital, and would benefit from new sources of seed funding, Harman suggested.  He also recommends having a clear focus for product development, and going after niche markets with whole products rather than just offering technologies or patents to license as sub-components.  Finally, he recommends networking with fellow biomimics. 

What’s next for Biomimicry?  The answer could be important for all of us. 

“We are moving from nature as model to nature as measure, setting the bar for success,” said Benyus.  By looking at ecosystems, we can see how they build soil, store water, and store carbon, and architects, designers and others can work to do as well as nature, if not better.  The Biomimicry Guild and HOK, one of the world’s largest architectural firms, are working together to move beyond developing individual biomimicry-based products.  They are working to include biomimicry in the design of buildings, communities and even cities, producing whole systems working at the same high standards as nature. 

How can you look into biomimicry yourself?  If you have a business and are looking for an innovative solution to a challenge you face, investigate asknature.org, a database of nature’s solutions.  For more help, talk to the biomimics at the Biomimicry Guild, the biologists at the design table. 

With so many successes coming so quickly, biomimicry seems sure to attract much more attention in the years ahead.  San Diego will have competition for its role as a center of the business of biomimicry, but that’s okay.  The more cities and businesses that pursue strategies like this, the more that we all win with a stronger economy and a cleaner environment.

For more info about the biomimicry program at the zoo: www.sandiegozoo.com/biomimicry

Glenn Croston is the founder of StartingUpGreen.com, helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to start and grow greener businesses, and the author of "75 Green Businesses You Can Start to Make Money and Make a Difference", and "Starting Green" (Entrepreneur Press, 2009).

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06:14 pm | 0 recommendations | 1 comment

Philanthropy and Service: Getting the Best Return on Your Investment

One year ago, I wrote a post here on "Building Your Nonprofit Investment Portfolio: Leveraging Your Impact." In the post, I recommended how to decide where to make your personal contributions in order to make a difference on the issues that matter to you most.

Given the economic challenges of the past year, I looked back on that post to see what I would update. Surprisingly, nothing, in terms of how to choose where to invest. What I would like to do, however, is emphasize the value of contributing your time and expertise as well as your dollars.

Many Fast Company readers are business people and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds. Many of you have such valuable skills, experience, and perspectives that you can help nonprofit executives to achieve new levels of success in tackling issues from economic revitalization in our communities, to global poverty, social justice, and environmental sustainability, just to name a few.

For example, last summer, I observed a two-week process during which a bright 25 year old management consultant volunteered to help a brilliant nonprofit CEO/entrepreneur as they worked together to articulate the CEO's new five-year global strategy. The freshly minted and measurable goal was so compelling that it has helped this organization to access powerful new sources of funding.

Management consulting, technology, marketing, public relations, organizational development, finance, accounting, investments, and law--just to name a few--are areas of expertise that many nonprofits seek for skilled volunteering and board membership. Knowledge or networks related to an organization's current or potential funding sources are also useful; these might include corporations, foundations, philanthropists, government sources, or multilateral/development funding institutions. Expertise related to global communities where the organization will be expanding can also be valuable.

So for the best return on your investment, I encourage you to consider how you can contribute time and expertise as well as money. You might be surprised how much you can help an organization to accomplish, and how great you feel about that.

03:40 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Getting the Most From a Conference

As most of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota celebrates the Minnesota Vikings victory last night; I am in my hotel room preparing to speak on the second day of a travel conference to a group of travel agents at the St. Paul River Centre.

To so many, a conference means endless hours of travel, crammed airplanes, confusing rental cars and GPS directions, sessions on things we already know and, let’s not forget, chicken and rice and/or beef tips and asparagus.

However, a conference should mean learning new things, meeting new people and opening many more doors to success.  Here are a few things you can do to take advantage of the conference experience and continue to build a stage for success in anything you do:

• Utilize social media and all it has to offer.  Prior to leaving for your conference, join Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Get familiar with all three.  And find out if the conference has a Twitter hashtag associated with this particular event.  Learn what that means and how it works.  You don’t want to miss any chance to network in business.  You’ll also appear forward thinking instead of totally out of touch.
  
  
• Take plenty of business cards.  This is not the time to leave them at home or back in your hotel room.  And remember, don’t force that card on people but have it available if a connection is made with someone and both of you would like to keep in touch to share information.  Have that card readily available so you’re not digging in the “goodie bag,” through your purse or in your pockets.  Nice, neat business cards – nothing bent and crammed into a pocket.  *If you can have something a little different as a business card, all the better.  I use a guitar pick – definitely gets attention.  Peter Shankman uses a poker chip.  Houston clothing designer Bob Stover uses a card with pop-out collar stays.
  
  
• Traveling to the conference?  Take that time to pick up a magazine or newspaper at the newsstand while waiting for your flight or train – but pick up a periodical on something you know nothing about or could care less about.  For me that would be NASCAR.  No offense guys, but I just don’t get the whole car sport thing.  However, NASCAR does brand better than any business, anywhere, hands down.  I picked up some great marketing ideas from a NASCAR publication.  Reading something you don’t know anything about opens up your mind in new ways and will make you more open to new ideas and ways of doing things.
  
  
• Sign up for at least one session that is totally out of your field, which has nothing to do with your expertise.  You just may find a new expertise to add to your resume.  Never stop learning.  Never stop trying new things.  This is the place to do it.  You are here, you have the time and the experts are here with the information.
  
  
• Sit with strangers at lunch.  Don’t gravitate to the people you already know.  This is not high school, this is an excellent opportunity to meet and network with others in your field of business and form new relationships.  And, by the way, relationships are EVERYTHING.
  
  
• This is not the time to be shy.  During sessions, in the hall, at lunch, at the cocktail party.  Again, relationships are everything.  You are here to learn AND to network.  As someone once told me, “you’ll never get a date sitting on the couch at home.”  Or in your hotel room watchingFriends reruns.
  
  
• Do your homework and find out as much as you can about the conference before and during the event.  Look over the event website before you go and read everything in the conference giveaway bag when you get there.  Most of it you probably already know and really don’t need, but you won’t know that until you look at all of it.  Familiarize yourself with who is at the conference, the facilitators and speakers, and all the sessions.  Something just may catch your eye.  The worst thing you can do is wait to read it all when you get back on the plane and realize you missed a great opportunity to see a speaker or attend a session.
  
  
• Last but not least, don’t forget the follow-up.  Take those cards you have gathered and send a brief note saying “it was nice to meet you” and “hope we can work together in the future” or, even better, “let me know if there is anything I can do for you in the future.”  Emails, a Facebook post, a tweet on Twitter, a message on LinkedIn – all are good ways to follow-up.  The best way though?  A handwritten note.  That will make the biggest impression.

Despite the travel hassles and the same food across the country at the lunch and/or dinner, a conference is still one of the best ways to keep up with your industry, network with like-minded individuals and form relationships and, open your mind to new ideas and new ways of doing things.  You are away from home and loved ones.  Make it worth the sacrifice and make that stage for success even more secure!

*Originally posted at www.daynasteele.com

07:50 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

World Business Forum live - Day 1

It's a gorgeous morning in NYC - upper 50s, sunny & clear. Radio City Music Hall is alive with activity as thousands assemble for the World Business Forum, bringing together some of the leading thinkers of our time to debate and share their views on global issues.

Sponsors from 54 countries are bringing together leaders that include:

• Paul Krugman - 2008 Nobel prize winner in economic sciences: International Trade and Economic Geography, for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity
• Gary Hamel - One of the world's leading experts on business strategy. His latest book is The Future of Management. Read the exclusive interview on the WBF website.
• President Bill Clinton - 42nd President of the United States and Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation that focuses on bringing together leading thinkers, combatting climate change, treating HIV/AIDS & Malaria, fighting childhood obesity, promoting economic opportunity, and creating sustainable development in Africa
• George Lucas - founder of Edutopia, focusing on what works in public education.
• and 14 others, all of them world-class thought-leaders and business activists.

06:18 pm | 0 recommendations | 1 comment

Carbon Poker

I had a dream about watching one of those high stakes poker games that you see on TV these days. There were bit players who you knew, from the few colored chips in front of them, would soon fold - - but the two “whales” at the table were Barack Obama and Hu Jintao. They each had so many chips on the table that you could barely see their cowboy shirts, but the purpose in their deadly stares could not be obscured, even by the dark black Ray Bans that shaded their eyes.

Obama wasted no time putting his ante smack in the middle of the green felt for all to see - - roll back greenhouse gases to 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% lower by 2050 (a statement made just 14 days after he was elected). Hu countered with a commitment to reduce energy consumption by 20%. Cards were dealt and the players tugged on their caps (Hu’s read “Made in China” and Obama’s proclaimed “Copenhagen”, an obscure reference to either the failed Chicago bid for the 2016 Olympics or the upcoming climate talks).

The American Prez made the first bet - - adopting California’s greenhouse gas limits on tailpipes as the national standard. The crowd murmured as they realized this meant he was betting on executive power instead of Congress. The Chinese Prez countered with a commitment to replace 15% of dirty fossil fuels with clean energy, like wind and solar, by 2020. The crowd gasped audibly, realizing that this would double China’s current renewable energy supply.

Mr. Cool and Mr. Harmonious took and tossed cards, each betting bold plans to measure and register greenhouse gas sources; out-compete each other on a carbon market; and save more trees than anyone thought possible - - raising the stakes higher and higher, a pile of loot that made it hard for one to even see the other, let alone get a real read of their respective poker faces. Aides tugged at the sleeves of each man, whispering words of advice or caution, but the shrewd observer knew these competitors needed no guidance - - they were playing for keeps.

As often happens in dreams, reality and fantasy merged - - the closer I looked at the loot on the table, the more it resembled a blue, spinning globe. Were the Presidents playing for wealth, the future of a planet, or both?

I awoke with adrenaline pumping, the final result unknown, wondering if anyone else had distilled the words and deeds of these two world powerhouses into anything resembling my dream, or if most people had failed to see the high-stakes poker game that was going on in world capitals, UN speeches, and government announcements day by day. The media has largely failed to add up what’s going on in both countries already, which allows Hu and Obama to make these pledges, so how would average citizens or investors know?

Yes, carbon will soon have more than a penny-ante price, but if we play the game shrewdly at Copenhagen and beyond, this may be a game with many winners and a dream for a more sustainable, resilient economy come true.

01:41 pm | 0 recommendations | 2 comments

What is Your State’s Green Economy Profile? It Could Be the Key to Your Business and Career Success

With experts predicting a jobless recovery, there is one hopeful statistic emerging that is contradicting that prediction.  According to The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA), every state is seeing growth in at least one green industry segment.  In most instances, this business growth stems from existing strengths in the state.   As part of an effort to help states continue to grow these industries, the NGA Center has created a series of reports analyzing emerging "green" economies in each state in terms of the scope of green business activity reveals areas of comparative advantage, promising areas for workforce development and opportunities for building partnerships within and across green industry segments. It is intended that this information be used to help states analyze their current efforts and form strategies to grow green economies.

The reports also show the extent to which each state's business base is poised to meet the coming demand for green technologies and products such as renewable energy generation systems, low-emission fuels , highly efficient appliances and high-efficiency building materials. 
 
The emerging green economies reports were prepared by,Collaborative Economics Inc (CEI). CEI first developed its methodology to analyze California’s green economy (for The California Green Innovation Index), and refined it further to provide the analysis for the Pew Center on the States to release a state-by-state "count" of clean energy jobs and businesses, a subset of the green economy, that was released earlier this month. Based on the interest many states showed at the Green Economy State Roundtable, the NGA Center arranged for CEI to provide states with some of the more detailed information contained in the California report and that is not in the analysis done for the Pew report.

Each state green profile provides an analysis of the green business activity in the state that includes the following:

• A breakdown of the number of employees in each of the 15 sectors that comprise the green economy.  The 15 segments of the green economy are: 1. energy generation; 2. energy efficiency; 3. transportation; 4. energy storage; 5. air & environment; 6. recycling & waste; 7. water & wastewater; 8. agriculture; 9. research & advocacy; 10. business services; 11. finance & investment; 12. advanced materials  13. green building • design & construction; 14. manufacturing & industrial; and 15. energy infrastructure.
• The concentration of employees the state has in those sectors compared to national numbers
• The change in concentration of employees the state has in those sectors over time
• The number of green technology patents
• The amount of venture capital investments in clean technology

You can view your state’s green economy profile or a competing state’s green economy profile at the National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices Web site. 

To see how your governor is tackling energy and environmental issues, check out is Greenopia's Ranking of State Governors on Environmental Responsibility

How state governments plan and respond to the green economy could be crucial to our nation climbing out of one of the biggest downturns in decades.  These reports are a great resource for determining where the best opportunities for business and employment will be for the forseeable future.

01:20 pm | 0 recommendations | 1 comment

Don’t Be A Chicken Little: Rosetta Stone Knows The Sky Isn’t Falling

The market has fallen two weeks in a row and the analysts are already running around like Chicken Little. While it is so tempting to get caught up in these daily dramas, it is also short-sighted.

Consider, for example, the case of Rosetta Stone (RST). This innovative language software company issued one of the hottest IPOs of 2009. It was the darling of Wall Street. It was going to revolutionize language learning and was even credited with helping to reverse the downward momentum of equities in this “great recession” year.

And then Rosetta Stone reported a second quarter loss of $7.3 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with a profit of $3.4 million, or 20 cents per share, for the same quarter the year before. Suddenly, many stock watchers are ringing bells. “Rosetta Stone is under pressure,” they say.

But I had a chance to conduct an extensive interview with the company’s CEO, Tom Adams, and then I dug a bit deeper. What I found was the fingerprint of a thriving company, one that is making strategic choices others ignore. If you step above the quarterly noise and instead analyze the company’s long-term strategic fundamentals, you will see several strategic patterns underpinning the company’s story.

Over the next week or so I will share these patterns and unique choices which have led to success before and may prove potent yet again.

Pattern #22: Move Early to the Next Battleground 

As I’ve mentioned here before, highly competitive companies seem to consistently orient themselves to the next battleground, while their peers remain entranced with the immediate turf war. RST’s core strategy begins with such a commitment.

When Tom took the company’s helm in 2003, the firm was selling language software in a crowded field of other similarly priced books, tapes, and CDs. The team’s “big insight” was that by approximating the competitors' pricing they were mis-categorizing their offering.

All language materials were selling for between $5 and $30. And RST, following standard business school logic, had decided to sell the first unit of their product for $20, nicely in the middle of the field.

But RST’s product was entirely different. It was not designed to replace the classroom learning experience. Instead “we compared ourselves to the immersive experience of going to a foreign country, not being able to speak the language, and learning it there,” says Tom.

RST’s management realized that if they wanted to really own the immersion positioning, they should be selling their product at a far higher price. “We were thinking in terms of category,” Tom explains, and so it became obvious that they needed to sell the experience not for $20 or even $100. They immediately repackaged the product (bundling multiple $20 modules) and sold it for $300.

“Price is a proxy for quality,” says Tom. “When you make a promise that people will learn and you charge $300, then you really must deliver.”

Today’s language tools are battling to replace the classroom learning experience. But the battleground of the future is to apply technology to replace the experience of immersion, and RST crafted its lesson around that premise. By choosing the next battleground early, RST was able to break away from the current competitive field.

Choosing the next battleground or “category” may seem superficial. But this tactic explains the success of numerous breakthrough companies such as Gatorade, which was the first to move to the sports-drink category. The key to building a long-term advantage with this strategy, however, is to weave together this positioning with a long list of interlocking strategic decisions. This way you raise your competitors’ costs of copying you.

“Choose your competitors wisely, for they will define you,” says Tom.

Last month RST launched a new product called “Totale.” It is a combination of the Rosetta Stone core product (a series of interactive computer lessons) with two new services bolted on: a web-based, video coaching session with a live tutor and online game room in which customers can play language games with other RST users.

But Totale has the potential to be much more because it moves RST yet deeper into the next battleground. How so? Well, to start, Totale is entirely online. It requires no CD or heavy program to install. As such, it steps RST into the software-as-service field, or “cloud computing” as many call it. If the world is moving into one in which we no longer need disk drives or large hard drives because we access our applications through web browsers, as Google and increasingly Microsoft believe, then RST is already there.

Ask yourself the questions below to see how you can create a new category or find a new battleground to give your business a competitive advantage that you can build upon.

1.      Where do I see my industry going?

2.      What customer needs are not being met?

3.      How can I offer a new product or service that my competitors don’t expect?

11:52 am | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment

Show Compassion, Find Profit

I have a lot of people tell me how unique my company is. I guess it's because in my industry (call centers), most businesses are focused on being the lowest bidder and aren't concerned about sacrificing employee morale and margins. In contrast, our attrition is a fraction of the norm, we've been named a "Best Place to Work" nine times, and have margins over 100 percent greater than competitors.

We did it with a simple strategy of treating our people like...people, but why should that be unusual?  Treating employees right is not only the right thing to do, it's good for business.

This is highlighted in David Wolfe's  2007 book, Firms of Endearment. It tracked the financial success of companies that fostered employee-centric cultures.  They included companies like Costco, The Container Store, and Starbucks.  Research revealed that over a 10-year period, these companies returned 1027 percent for their investors, versus a 127 percent return from the S&P 500.

Thankfully, there is a growing group of companies who realize their employees are their most important stakeholders -- before customers, vendors or investors. At Beryl, we call this philosophy The Circle of Growth (SM).

The Circle starts with gaining employee loyalty. The level of service and quality of work employees give in return results in customer loyalty. Loyal customers drive profits into your business. That profit is returned into your employees to give them better tools and resources to do their jobs, as well as rewards.  Circle back to the beginning, repeat, and over time your company will continue to improve, giving you a competitive edge.

Working within this framework, we've built our culture by removing hierarchy and being transparent.  We encourage healthy debate and employee input through events like open forums.  We've built trust by caring about people in the totality of their lives.  If a co-worker needs help with rent or a note of encouragement to get through a tough time, we'll deliver it.

We have fun, as evidenced by the tricycle races we've held in our halls. We support our local community, and we are committed to fostering a learning environment through company training and clubs so people can grow personally and professionally.  In short, our company exists to enhance the lives of the people that work with us.

Is it a pretty cool place to work? You bet. However, the investment we make in our culture pays off in our productivity, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

That's why I hope one day we will no longer be "unique" and this will become the new standard of treating employees right.  Companies who don't see employees as their best investment will continue paying a price for years to come.

Paul Spiegelman is a sought after speaker and author on corporate culture.  He's founder and CEO of Beryl, the country's leading healthcare call center, and CEO of Small Giants, a non-profit dedicated to small businesses that choose to be great instead of big.  In 2009, he launched The Circle of Growth, a corporate culture consulting and training company. His first book, "Why is Everyone Smiling? The Secret Behind Passion, Productivity, and Profit" was published in 2007.