#like yes the way capitalism pressures businesses to function is a driving force for some reasons why manus aren't shared and Capitalism Bad

[acorviart]

ooo ok so I was wondering if anyone would argue against my first 2 points, because I don’t think I phrased them very well, but also it was 4am when I wrote it

So a few counter-arguments: 

My first point isn’t “but other people do it too” or that it’s justified specifically because corporations also do it. What I am emphasizing with both the first two points is that while a merch artist is an individual, they are also running a business, have put significant time and money into this venture, and sometimes need to make decisions that prioritize/protect that venture. Whether or not having to act as a business is a good thing is debatable, but notice that I never said anywhere that this is a list of reasons why gatekeeping is “good,” just that sometimes it’s necessary and here is the reasoning behind it! It’s what sets sharing manufacturers apart from my example of sharing a resource like brushes, because the number of people using an unlimited resource like a digital brush doesn’t run the risk of directly affecting the original artist’s income and ability to keep running their business. Unfortunately all of this is perpetuated by how capitalism works, but Big Pharma holding patents specifically to price-gouge on lifesaving medicine isn't really an equivalent situation to an artist being asked to provide procurement work for free to anyone who asks? It's more like walking into a random bakery and asking the baker to send you, for free, all their recipes that they spent a year perfecting and bank their business on. Maybe that's a bad comparison too, I don't know how bakeries work, but hopefully you guys get the point I'm trying to make.

I thought it was implied or outright stated enough throughout, but maybe I needed to explicitly write it at the very beginning instead of at the very end: these are reasons why manufacturers are not shared to strangers and to the public willy-nilly, it is not an argument in favor of silo-ing information entirely or making everyone climb that hill both ways in the snow because I had it hard and now you need to too, etc etc. There’s plenty of sharing between friends and colleagues (many of my manus are from recommendations from friends, in fact)—it’s a different conversation if you’re asking someone you have a good rapport with vs a someone who’s a complete stranger. Plus, there are lots of resources openly shared on this topic like guides and tutorials on sourcing, as well as middleman group orders, so the barrier to entry is actually not all that high.

I also included the second point because it’s not at all obvious to a lot of people just how much time and money the sourcing process costs. Some people ask just out of genuine curiosity (I have had plenty of people ask me in-person to make small talk), unaware that it’s a complicated topic. I think that the amount of time/money someone spends on something is a perfectly understandable reason for why they would be more selective in who they share that info with (along with all my other points), and knowing this will let people formulate questions they can get more useful answers out of, such as “do you have any resources or tips for how to start this process?” or “do you have any recommendations for what manus to avoid?” instead of “can I have your very specific manufacturer?”

would anyone be interested if I made a breakdown post of reasons why merch artists don't share their manufacturers? it's oversimplified as "artists are just gatekeeping" in part because I think there's just not a lot of awareness that it's a significantly more complex situation and involves some level of risk compared to sharing simpler resources such as brushes

artists also don't tend to explain beyond "sorry, I don't share my manufacturers" (for good reason, they're not going to write an essay to answer a quick question) but maybe diving into the details will help people understand why so many merch artists are protective of their manufacturers and will not share with strangers

[joaquinbumblebee24]

Onslaught 1/11

Onslaught

Paring: House/Wilson Established

Timeline/Summary:  Alternate timeline  June 2019, A conference and a storm would change the trajectory of House’s life forever. Adventure,  Love,  Autistic!House 

Inspired By: J_Baillier: Where The Streets Has No Name, a Sherlock fanfic

Authors notes

House and Wilson would be of the same age, they would be around 38. Like in the original pitch.

Infarction never happened. Autism is his Achilles heel instead. In this story, House had what you call Hypotonia (low muscle tone.)  He would need a cane for long distances.

The team is Foreman, Cameron, Chase and Hadley.

 I am Filipino, and the place where I would be dropping the boys  is in my father’s hometown, of Liliw  four hours drive from the capital of the country, Manila. Liliw is a third- class municipality in the foot of a mountain called Banahaw. 

I am writing this story, because  I want to practice the descriptive part of  writing. 

11 chapters

Chapter 1

***

Dr. James Evan Wilson, the head of oncology, of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, was called to the office of Dr. Lisa Cuddy. “You called?” He said when he popped his head on the door frame.

“I need to talk to you?” Cuddy said, standing up and crossing her arms.  

“I heard,” Wilson said sardonically, sitting down.

She took a deep breath and sat down herself opposite him. “I need you to convince House to go to this conference in the Philippines on infectious Diseases.”

“No, why not asked Nolo or Jacobson from Infectious Disease, they are the best at what they do.”  

“I might not admit it out loud,” said Cuddy, exasperated. “Gregory House is the best infectious Disease specialist in this whole wide world.”She said the last words with a childish tone.

“No,” Wilson rolled his eyes. “You called. you know why it’s not a very good idea to bring him to another country, Cuddy.”

Cuddy frowned. “Why? Because of autism? He seems fine to me..”

Wilson wanted to smack her, she is so dense sometimes. “Cuddy— You don’t understand. He won’t go.”

“Wilson, He needs to go. If he doesn’t go, I’ll fire him.”

“You can’t do that, Cuddy.” When he looked at Cuddy’s face, he didn’t see a bluff.

“You mean, you're serious.”

Cuddy sighed and fished out papers from the desk and handed it to Wilson. ‘The New Jersey Medical Board would revoke his license because he doesn’t go to conferences. Wilson. He needs to go.”

Wilson knew that because of the autism and House’s social anxiety, His spouse literally felt sick while talking to big groups. However, if it would prevent him from being fired, then he would convince him to go. “Please talk to them, Lisa. Please bumped his schedule speeches to the first day.”

“Deal,” Cuddy said.

Wilson sighed, “Now the hard part.” Wilson muttered under his breath. He stood up and left.

****

House was at his office when Wilson passed just before lunchtime. The diagnostician was playing with his ball, tossing it back and forth. Wilson examined his face for a couple of moments, he looked peaceful. The case was going fine, or as fine as an undiagnosed patient was. “Greg?” Wilson said, and the ball stopped.  

“Uh… Sorry, bit distracted.” House sighed. “How can I help you?” He said, though he couldn’t understand sarcasm, he used it well.

“You need to eat,” Wilson said. He knew that House didn’t eat until forced to. His executive function was nonexistent; his self-preservation gone.  

“Yes, It's lunchtime.” He stood up and walked toward the door. “I want to go to lunch elsewhere.”

“McDonald’s?”House nodded. There was a Mcdonald's outside the hospital, which they often frequented,

They walked from the elevator; and thru the main door. As soon as House ventured to the busy restaurant, it became overwhelming for him. He almost put his hand in his ear. He had forgotten to bring his noise-canceling headphones from the hospital.

The urge for him to flee the area kicked in. “This isn’t very beneficial," House said, Meanwhile, his spouse was ordering their food. House hummed the theme from Star Wars while drumming his fingers on his crossed arm. He was stimming.

A five-year-old boy approached House. “Your weird; what is wrong with you?” The mother chastised the young boy when House’s humming became louder as if he was reaffirming his belief that there was nothing wrong with him.

Beside him, Wilson noticed and paid House no mine. Because he needed to do those things sometimes, hence the ‘thinking ball.’ He finished paying for what they ordered.

House led Wilson out away from the noise of the fast-food joint; luckily for him, there was a small courtyard outside. “Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

“Why would you say that?” Wilson asked. He shouldn’t be surprised, but he was.

House sighed. “You only go to lunch when you want to ask me something or to talk other important reason.” He said picking up a chicken nugget and putting it in his mouth.  

Wilson sighed as well, looking at House. “Lisa called up to her office, and we have…. A chat…”

Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, House said; “I did nothing wrong.” He splayed his hands up in surrender.

“Greg, Your license is due for renewal this year, and you hadn’t gone to a single medical conference….”

House’s breathing picked up. He started to hum and rock back and forth. He was remembering a past that stayed hidden in his life except for Wilson. Growing up with a marine fighter pilot father, every time they would leave one country for another, the change of time zone and weather would be hell on him. As an adult, House hated routine. However, he hated to be apart from his piano, guitars, and his motorbike for even a couple of hours.

“Hey? Greg?” Wilson said, circling the table to come to him. He knew that House loved deep-pressured hugs. “Are you alright?”

House scolds his face to an inscrutable mask. “I am fine. where is it?” The tremble of his hand bellied his panic.

“In the Philippines, I have no details yet, Greg.”

“Okay, I can’t let Father win. If I didn't do this the medical board would revoke my license, right?”

Wilson nodded. “You need to eat more, You just ate a chicken nugget.” Then House’s pager went off. “Who is that?”

“Chase,” House said, moving towards the street.“Tell, Cuddy I want to go there.”

Wilson smiled, but the lingering thoughts were still in his head.

*** Wilson followed his partner out to the hospital. But He went to Cuddy’s office. It was good that she didn’t have a visitor. “Lisa,” Wilson said. “When and where is this conference on?”

“You chat with him. Seat down, James.” Wilson sat down opposite Cuddy’s chair.

Wilson nodded. “Yeah, I want to put on the record; that Greg was on the verge of a panic attack earlier,” Wilson said.

“Yes, You can’t protect him from the world,” Cuddy said sardonically.

Wilson glared at her. “You have no idea how much he'd worked to be ‘normal,’ do you? Cuddy didn’t reply, instead, she handed him an envelope. Wilson opened it. He read the information; it would be for four days in July. However, House needed to acclimatized to his surroundings. “We need to be there a week or two before the conference.”

“James?” Cuddy said, with an angry frown. “You’re not coming.”

“But Why?” Wilson stood up; and began pacing. “Lisa, You know him. He doesn't eat on time. How can I just sent him on a plane; and just hoped that he ate? He has autism.”

Cuddy wanted to argue more with Wilson. However, She knew not to. House’s functioning level is that of a 12-year-old boy. He may be a genius in Music, Medicine, and Motorsports, but in many ways, he was still a child. “Okay, you will be on vacation leave.”

“Fine. Get us first-class seats.”

“Already did, for him. I’ll get you one.”

“Thank you, Lisa.”

***

House was home late, he’d driven his motorbike in to work; It wasn't advisable, because of his issues with inattention associated with the ASD. He could drive for heaven's sake!!. This morning Jimmy informed him that they would be going to the Philippines for a conference, at first he was angry because this was being forced on him; however, He loved the Philippines, being back there with Wilson; it would be a bonus.

His family lived in the country for almost five years, the longest time they had, from when he was nine years old until he was fourteen. They had lived in a base, but because it wasn’t a war zone, he and his mother could go to civilian zones, where he met locals.

House entered their bedroom, he knew that Wilson was already asleep in his side of the bed. He could wake him if he wanted to. He decided not to, they had a tiring day. House sat on the bed, the bed dipped, Jimmy stirred. “Go back to bed.”

Wilson woke up fully. “Greg, What time is it?”

“Eleven. Maybe eleven-thirty.”

“What time did you get home?” Wilson asked, turning on the light.

House rolled his eyes. “I can ride perfectly fine, thank you very much.”

Wilson knew not to dignify that quip. “You eat already?”

“No, nothing since three, I am busy, finishing up the Johnston case.”

“Greg,” Wilson said, swinging his legs up. “You need to eat. I’ll make you something, Burrito?”

House nodded his head. They headed to the kitchen, where Wilson made House dinner. Deciding against drinking coffee, Wilson made a glass of milk instead.

“Still have a beer?”

“We have apple cider.” House nodded, he ate in silence.

Wilson watched him eat. Remembering the conversation with Cuddy earlier, how could she suggest that House can manage the four days; House didn’t eat; if he could help it. He needed to have a reminder constantly to eat or to go drink. One time he had left for a conference, he got home to the apartment a mess. House was spinning on the desk chair. When he approached House, his partner looked annoyed. House hadn’t eaten in two days. Wilson vowed to not leave House alone overnight.

“Jimmy? You okay?” House asked, looking at him thoughtfully.

Wilson nodded. “I have an annoying chat with Cuddy,” He needed tread very carefully here. “I want to accompany you in the Philippines. She said no for some reason.” Wilson didn’t elaborate on what Cuddy told him.

House’s breathing picked up a bit. Wilson hugged him; and kissed him from behind. “Bedroom, now,” House told Wilson, they walked to the bedroom arm over shoulders.

End of chapter 1

[ocdaniel]

KILL THE NOISE (WIP)

Concept I’m playing with of something I’ve been thinking about a lot these days. Here are the first few pages:

SOCIAL MEDIA EPIDEMIC

Socrates believed that written word would harm memory. What has the emergence of social media done to our minds and memories? If the mind acts as a hard drive, keeping what is necessary and deleting what is not… What is it doing to those memories that we document with photos and videos? If Socrates believed written word would damage your memory, what would he think about the effects of new media documentation?

I’ve been working in the digital media space for almost 20 years now and have seen the evolution from geocities web pages, xanga, friendster, myspace, facebook, instagram, snapchat, and now tiktok. Since 2003 i’ve had to stay on top of various platforms as they emerged to capitalize on the online trends for my business. I’ve built websites and online marketing campaigns in the entertainment industry for half of my life now and it’s provided quite the incubator for understanding online human behavior. I started as an intern at Interscope records in their new media division. It was the smallest division for that record label at that time. In just a few years, it took over as the main division and ultimately became the go to department for the future of music. I still remember encoding cd’s into mp3’s and sending them off to Apple Computers in Cupertino in 2003 curious why we were mailing these compressed files over to them. A week later, iTunes was launched and the way we consumed music was forever changed. A complete adoption from analog to digital was under way.

I ended up starting my own digital agency while at Interscope Records and built out a ton of web campaigns for them. I built Lady Gaga’s first website, Gwen Stefani’s first website, Pharell Williams first website, and the list goes on. I probably built all these “first websites” because i entered at a time when websites started to explode. Websites became the digital storefront and the main source of content during those years. All of a sudden, Myspace pages became popular and we started developing social media pages for these entertainers. It was still very new at the time but the engagement was incredible. Next came YouTube, then Facebook and the story continues. I got to see how entertainment and social media collided and had front row seats to the show.

Even though i was building all these digital campaigns, i personally didn’t really get involved with marketing myself. I had a myspace page, xanga blog and accounts to the other platforms but it was really just used for personal use. I never viewed it as a resource to market myself or my business. It was just a way to communicate with close friends and keep in touch online. Fast forward to today, and life as we know it is synonymous with social media.

I saw the rise of YouTube stars and eventually started partnering with them very early on and building online businesses for them. Several of them doing millions of dollars in ecommerce sales with us. Business was great and we got in at a time when the era of social influencers started becoming a trend. Looking back, my interest in the social influencer space was probably just a result of working in the entertainment industry and absorbing the trends that were emerging. I don’t think it was a real thought out process but an eventual evolution to the path i was already on.

“Eventual evolution to the path i was already on….” To me that’s an interesting concept. I kinda feel like life is just a sequence of paths that we initiate or transfer onto. A series of choices to put us on a path that will eventually evolve into a new reality for us. Depending on the choices you make, the output will result accordingly. My path had social media written all over it. I just didn’t know it at the time.

I remember in 2010 right after i had my son, a new platform instagram came out. I had a feeling this platform would do well and i remember having a conversation with my wife and i said “I think i gotta really figure this social media thing out for myself. I’m going to force myself to post once per day and see what happens.” That was the beginning of my personal journey into the “Digital Noise.”

I did just that. I posted at least once every day. I thought perhaps i’d do it for a month and see where it would go from there. One month turned into two, two to six, six to a year and kept going and going. I was posting more content than anyone else i knew that was on social media. There were moms using social media as a way to document their kids and family activities but i was documenting EVERYTHING. Because i forced myself to try and post at least once a day, I developed a thought pattern to capture anything that my mind felt interesting. If i saw a cool sticker on the street, i’d take a picture of that. If my son was spacing out on some patterns, i’d snap a photo. It was literally like i was trying to capture what my brain was thinking. “Oooh, my food looks good, imma take a photo of this!” This was before taking pictures of photos was a thing. I literally forced myself to do social media experiments and started making a habit of making consistent posts on social media.

As i would meet people, they would add my on social and engage for a while but i think after a bit, they would stop because i posted so frequently. I think because i wasn’t a celebrity, it would be a bit creepy if someone i met liked EVERY SINGLE posts i made for a month lol. The funny thing is that i wouldn’t see any engagement for years from someone but i’d run into them IRL (In Real Life) and they would know everything i’ve done for the past few years because they were following my social media account. I’d run into people after not seeing them since college and they would see my son for the first time and say “oh man, i feel like i’ve seen you grow up and i finally get to meet you! I’ve seen you on instagram and facebook for years!” If this isn’t a cultural phenomenon, i don’t know what is. I think this particular example of modern engagement is a transformative shift in the way humans are now living. It’s not a small thing nor should it be looked at as casually.

Over the last few years, i’ve seen way more studies talking about the effects of social media and the increasing need for digital detoxing. As i said earlier, i was at the forefront of all this emerging so to me, social media is equivalent as living in smog my whole life. You just get used to it. Apple released screen time to help you see how much time your spending on your phone. Viral memes would showcase artists drawing social media logos as drug usage showing the addictive natures of these platforms. Awareness of the habit addiction of social media was starting to get more traction. The problem is that people still couldn’t get off the platforms. It was too late. Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and the other platforms successfully recruited the world’s top talent pool of creative minds and built the most addictive platforms on the planet. If you want to see the most consumed products, just look at the stock market for the highest valuations. Money comes in, talent comes in, brainpower is used to make their products more addictive resulting in a larger customer base and ultimately a change in culture behavior.

Behavior shifts any time culture adopts new norms. Today, new norms are dictated by money. Follow the money and it will lead you to where new norms are being developed. Today, technology dominates the global marketplace with companies like Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (FANG) leading the charge. The problem is because these companies are focused on increasing revenue and increasing stock prices, their motivation is singular focused. “How can we get more users and get them spending more time with our product.” Drug dealers ask the exact same question.

DIGITAL ADDICTION

Like and hearts. Today that is our culture. I work with hundreds of social media influencers and one of the questions i like asking is… “Does it get depressing?” I’m shooting 100% with answers of YES! Even though social media influencers are making careers of broadcasting their lives online, the consequence is almost always a loss of self identity. They have to constantly keep up to date with their followers and are no longer on their own schedules. If they miss a day or two posting, followers get impatient and start up a ruckus. I’ve heard influencers tell me, “It’s like i’m not really living my own life anymore because i have to be something my audience wants.” Their social accounts may have started innocent and authentic at the beginning but over time, the pressures to continue momentum takes a toll. I’m not a social influencer and i even had those feelings. I’d get a ton of likes on one post, then another wouldn’t engage. It was make me question, why would one type of post get hearts and likes while the others wouldn’t. It’s human behavior to want to be accepted and held in esteem. Maslow’s third and fourth rung right after your primal survival needs of living and safety.

Physiological needs - food, water, warmth, rest

Safety needs - security, safety, health

Belonging needs - relationships, friends, community

Esteem needs - respect, status, accomplishment

Self actualization - fulfillment of one’s potential

It’s no wonder that as a culture, we’ve flocked to these social platforms to fulfill our belonging and esteem needs. At what cost though?

As a human species, if we’ve sorted out our primal needs to survive by figuring out resources to eat and have shelter, the next eventual stage would be to make friends and get respect among our colleagues. In the past, we would need to go to events, functions and meet with people to do this but with the emergence of online communities, online gaming and general online engagement, we can get the same feeling of fulfillment with social media. While i feel that social media was intended for something very positive and useful, it’s really taken on a new shape with the amount of content that is now being released.

See, social media has now successfully created an online ecosystem of users that engage on a daily basis. This is now a common habit for a majority of the world today. I’m not sure if the originators of the social media platforms had any idea that their creations would have as much content on them as it is today. With more content, comes more moderation, with more moderation come more control and so on. The funny thing is, human behavior has patterns and they continue to emerge over the history of man kind. We love getting more of the things we love. You put a kid in a candy shop and he’ll eat until he gets sick. The good thing for kids is that we have parents and lack of funds that will cut off our supply of candy. Social media is free. You can consume all you want. The genius minds creating these companies are also paid very well to make sure you consume all you want and not only that… they try to make the content even more addictive.

A few years back, i started working on a new mobile app called “Binge Mix” with someone from the entertainment industry. The idea was that finding things on Netflix to watch has become so time consuming that we wanted to make it more “efficient” to binge with your significant other. Looking back on this concept, i’m glad it didn’t work because i don’t know how i would feel today knowing i made binge watching more accessible. Binge watching… when did that become a thing? We have so much disposable time now that we sit and watch addictive shows 4-8 hours at a time now? I’m guilty of this phenomenon myself. When my wife got into the show “Lost” our common phrase was.. “Just one more and then we will sleep.” If you really think about it, the days when we had 13 channels on a tv box to now thousands of shows at your finger tips is a result of blitzscaling media companies that have tapped into an addictive human behavior. Legalized media drugs.

Humans can’t help themselves. It’s our nature to consume more of what we want if it’s available to us. There is a dopamine hit in the brain that rewards us like a pavlovian dog every time it gets a treat. You might feel you have free will but every time you watch another video, click another link, or start another show…. You throw your freedom out the window and have become a slave to that platform. I don’t use that word lightly either. A SLAVE TO THE BINGE. To “binge” is synonymous with “addiction” and that is now the culture we live in today. The era of digital addiction. The question i have, is WHAT IS ALL THIS DOING TO OUR BRAINS?!?!?!

DIGITAL DETOX

Noise. Too much noise.

A few years back, i started a new experiment with my company. My wife would probably consider me a workaholic and i really have a hard time shutting my mind off from work. I get obsessive about things that catch my interest and it’s my nature to work hard. It would be really hard for me to leave my company operations for more than a few days for any time of vacation or time off. Even when i’d leave on vacation, i’d be on my phone checking things, writing new ideas down, taking down pages of notes on strategy and just not being able to relax. I started making it a point to intentionally power down my phone when i’d take a break at a certain point. It would suck going on a vacation, then working on vacation only to come back the same as i left. The hard part was trusting that the business wouldn’t crash and burn without me being there.

I started realizing that it would take me about a week to really disconnect from work. I considered the first week just a work detox to get my brain to settle. So i did my first 2 week vacation and turned my phone off for a week at a time. I would throw my phone into the hotel safe or dresser drawer and shut it off for a week. That to me was insane but i figured, if it takes me a week to decompress.. Perhaps turning it off completely will speed the process up. It did!

It was like a magical antidote for my workaholic pace of entrepreneurship. Turn the phone off, the brain starts forming back into a natural state. It freaked me out a bit but at the end of the week, i’d check in and see what was going on. I’m not going to lie and say everything was perfect. I had several fire drills and tons of anxiety doing this but i kept trying. After doing a week no phone, i tried 2 weeks. I would try these breaks over the next few years and would eventually get to 3-4 weeks without using my phone. Sounds almost impossible with the way the world works today but I was so desperate to recover from my overthinking at work that i made it happen. Well, actually my wife probably made it happen for me! hahah. I think she was getting tired of our vacations getting ruined with emotions and phone calls from work.

I know this isn’t possible for everyone to do right away but to me it was a goal. How long can i be without my phone and just connect with nature. In the 80’s we didn’t have smartphones and survived, we could probably do it today…. It’s just not “normal” anymore. The thing i started realizing when i’d do these digital detoxes, my brain would change. The noise would start to fade and my thoughts would get clearer. My ideas didn’t seem so cluttered and i was able to THINK!

The brain is supposed to be able to retain 7 numbers at a time as our working memory capacity. If this holds true with numbers, what is going on with our brains as we are saturating it with content? Is it deleting old files? Getting rid of old memories? I personally want to keep a lot of good memories and hopefully keep my brain running at top performance for the rest of my life. My instinct tells me that binge watching 4 hours of a Netflix show is definitely going to alter the way my brain works. It’s going to tell my brain… “If your focusing on this for 4 hours of your waking day, it must be important and i need to use processing power for this.” Even though we feel that binge watching helps us to disconnect and zone out, i’m pretty sure the opposite is happening. We are filling our brain hard drive with more stuff to process and it’s probably not good for our overall production as a human being. 

More content makes for more noise. More noise makes it harder to focus. Focus is what helps us achieve great results. Perhaps the reason why we are not getting the progress in life we want is because there has been a massive influx of content that has become way to easy to become addicted to. I think of it like trying to play basketball while drunk. The more you drink, the less effective your body functions perform and the more horrible choices you make on the court. Think of digital content as the alcohol and life as the basketball game. If you want to live more effectively, reduce the noise.

[eliingraham]

The SDG Imperative

May 8, 2019

I was recently asked by a journalist on LinkedIn for my thoughts on various CSR and SDG-related questions in connection with Innovation360′s Fix the Planet initiative that invites innovators to submit ideas around four of the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs].

Here are my thoughts:

1. CSR vs Sustainable Development

First, I think we need to differentiate between CSR, ESG, and Sustainable Development; three concepts that are bandied about, and often conflated, or confused. 

CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] or “responsible business” is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model whereby business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards and national or international norms. CSR assumes that business is motivated by a social conscience, rather than shareholder profit. Lots of companies self-report on their voluntary CSR activities but have proven false to its real power. CSR is largely considered a myth [1] by some, as well as a marketing gimmick [2] that benefits the company, but does not actually fix the planet. 

ESG [Environmental, Social, and Governance] conflates sustainability and corporate governance issues but ignores the economic dimension. Sustainability investors are concerned with how companies manage all factors contributing to profitability: supply chain, production, employees, regulatory relationships etc. They focus on the relationship between economic, social and environmental factors, as well as financial performance. However, corporate governance, designed to balance the interests of management and shareholders is a structurally different system. ESG arose when investment managers combined two areas of research [corporate governance and sustainability research], which gave them a convenient way to communicate both activities to clients. [3]  ESG has gained a lot of traction, but it is not a considered a ‘real’ thing by many professionals in the impact space.

Sustainable Development was coined in 1972 by the Bruntland Commission as “development that meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. [4]  In January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, were adopted as a universal framework. The SDGs are intended to mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities, and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind, and with meaningful progress being made by 2030. The SDGs also recognize the interconnectivity of global issues, that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. [5] The SDGs are also unique in that they expect action by ALL countries, poor, rich and middle-income to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. 

What differentiates the SDGs from CSR and ESG is:

Universal framework for action that is inclusive and collaborative

Universal framework for measuring impact at target/indicator level

Interconnectivity of social, economic, and environmental issues

Global call to action for: governments, business, and civil society 

Aggressive timeframe, by 2030

__________________________________________________

2. Is CSR Spiking?

It depends what you are really asking. Is the number of CSR reports filed by companies increasing over time? Yes. Is their actual impact increasing? Hard to know. Some illuminating facts from the August 2017 Journal of Accounting and Economics [6]:

Publicly traded companies face increasing pressure to prepare CSR documents to inform stakeholders about their voluntary activities to operate in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner.

Percentage of firms that voluntarily issue CSR reports has increased considerably. As of 2015, 92% of Fortune Global 250 firms issued voluntary CSR reports, up from only 35% in 1999 [KPMG, 2015]. As of 2017, 85% of the S&P 500 were filing CSR reports [7]:

Existing standards regulate only a fraction of accounting for socially relevant corporate activities disclosed in annual reports; reporting CSR performance through other channels [stand-alone CSR reports] remains largely voluntary and unregulated. 

Lack of regulation has resulted in diverse reporting practices [length, performance indicators, readability, etc.]. Additionally, verification of these reports by accounting firms is neither comprehensive nor stringent compared with verification of corporate annual reports.

While mandatory disclosures are highly regulated and subject to stringent external audits, the discretionary nature of CSR reporting provides managers with opportunities and motivations to signal their superior commitment to CSR or to pose as ‘good’ corporate citizens when their CSR performance is poor.

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3. Are Companies More Responsible or is That an Illusion?

There is mounting evidence that key social trends are having a positive impact on companies taking their “social responsibility” much more seriously. Clearly, companies face increasing pressure from employees and customers to take a stand on critical issues. [8]

Workplace Harassment/Bias

#MeToo movement

Gender pay equity

Diversity and inclusion 

Brand Activism

Gun Reform; #MarchforOurLives

Women’s reproductive freedom

Transgender rights; #WontBeErased

Paris Agreement

White supremacy

Shift from Disaster Recovery to Climate Resilience

More CSR in the C-suite

Higher Standards for Suppliers

Prioritizing Privacy and Data Protection  

In addition, as companies continue to take a stand on big issues, they are shifting the relationship between private enterprise, governments, and civil society, often speaking up where and when governments are not. Companies that pursue legitimate CSR activities “experience positive reputations, improved customer loyalty, and strong risk management processes.” In other words, ‘sustainability’ is now being associated with long-term sustainability of companies, as well. Those companies offering scalable solutions with immediate impact will succeed, giving companies a competitive edge, and making CSR more central to their business strategies. [9]

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4. Are Startups Leading the Charge or Larger Enterprises?

Right now, national and multi-national companies have the visibility, influence, and the resources to #BetheNeedle, driving sustainable change from the top down. According to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, “More than three-quarters of people worldwide want CEOs to take the lead on change instead of waiting for the government to act.” [10] 

We have seen the emergence of activist CEOs taking very public stands in the form of:

The Giving Pledge

CEO Action on Diversity & Inclusion

Global CSR Summit Declaration

Global Investors for Sustainable Development Alliance

We have also seen high-profile global CEOs adopting sustainable business practices in support of the SDGs while also delivering value to shareholders [11]:

Paul Polman, Unilever

Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo

John Noseworthy, Mayo Clinic

Richard Davis, USBancCorp

These, and others, like Larry Fink at Blackrock, who writes an annual letter [12] to CEOs of companies in which they invest, are linking stewardship and sustainability with profitability:

“We advocate for practices that we believe will drive sustainable, long-term growth and profitability.”

Both peer pressure [from other CEOs] and pressure from the citizenry [in the form of customers] are driving change. No one pillar [business, government, civil society] can achieve the magnitude of the SDGs by 2030 by itself. 

However, business alone has the capital, resources, technology, and innovative energy to #BetheNeedle in solving the world’s most challenging issues. 

“Unnerved by fundamental economic changes and the failure of government to provide lasting solutions, society is increasingly looking to companies, both public and private, to address pressing social and economic issues. These issues range from protecting the environment to retirement to gender and racial inequality, among others.”

The question then becomes profitability. Does purposefulness necessarily compromise profits? Larry Fink argues, to the contrary, that purpose is the animating force for achieving profits:

“Profits are in no way inconsistent with purpose – in fact, profits and purpose are inextricably linked. When a company truly understands and expresses its purpose, it functions with the focus and strategic discipline that drive long-term profitability. Purpose unifies management, employees, and communities. It drives ethical behavior and creates an essential check on actions that go against the best interests of stakeholders. Purpose guides culture, provides a framework for consistent decision-making, and, ultimately, helps sustain long-term financial returns for the shareholders of your company.”

So what about startups and early stage companies? How do they stack up in terms of Sustainable Development? Whereas huge corporation have the responsibility to turn the entrenched wheels of their behemoth production models toward sustainability, young companies have the enormous opportunity to define and direct their mission, values, and strategic plans specifically toward one or more of the Sustainable Development goals, targets, and indicators, right from the start.

Startups are notoriously strapped for cash and resources, which often supersedes their integrating loftier ideals like the SDGs into their investment proposals. This is extremely shortsighted. As innovators, they typically pride themselves on being ahead of the curve. Well, be ahead of the curve, by taking the lead in a new order of things.  

A number of incubators, accelerators, and advisories are encouraging startups and early-stage companies to do just this:

UN SDG Action Campaign

UN SDG Accelerator Program

Impact Entrepreneur Center

Sustainable Development Goals Accelerator

There are undoubtedly, many more out there, working with founders, investors, and advisory networks to increase competency with, and commitment to, the SDGs. Startups and early stage companies can #BetheNeedle by driving sustainable change from the ground up.

Here are some fundamental ways new and emerging businesses can support the SDGs [13]:

Externally align your purpose with one or more of the SDG goals, targets or indicators. Communicate this intention in all your strategic documents, marketing materials, and employee training. In other words, COMMIT.

Internally align your business processes with sustainable business practices. There are a number of steps companies can take to help protect the planet, such as tracking and reducing emissions, increasing the energy efficiency of their operations, using clean energy sources, reusing materials and responsibly using resources like water.

Promote the rights and well-being of employees, customers and workers throughout your supply chains. Companies can strengthen their support of human rights by developing a human rights policy and working to integrate human rights into management education.

Act as responsible members of the communities in which you work, including using your standing as social leaders to stand up for justice and speak out against hate.

Take action to reduce the inequalities that harm lives and threaten global stability. Business leaders can provide decent jobs and fair wages, work to expand opportunities and skills training to underserved communities and push for more diversity in their ranks.

Collaborate with governments and international organizations to scale effective solutions. Time and again, we've seen the power of multi-sector partnerships to change lives, from expanding access to vaccines to turning the tide against diseases like HIV/AIDS.

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5. How Can Startups Like Innovation360 Galvanize the Public Around the SDGs?

I heartily applaud efforts that offer both tools and advisory services to innovators. Fix the Planet is certainly a “call to action” for innovative ideas on four specific SDGs. Like any initiative that wants to make a difference, it must have a clear purpose, process, and path to success. But if your goal is truly to coalesce serious ideas that have the potential to actually “fix the planet,” then it needs to convey the urgent, gritty, gut-wrenching gravitas of other organizations taking up arms in this daunting task. 

It also needs to be grounded in the firmament of reality. Fixing the planet is going to require complex partnerships between governments, business, and civil society. It going to require revamping entrenched systems that have been governing our world for centuries. Its going to require deftness in navigating the intersectionality of socio-economic-environmental relationships, while also employing the underlying principle of the 2030 Agenda: inclusivity. No one gets left behind. Any combination of ideas and initiatives that can do that would be like inventing innovation ‘fire’, for sure.

As of January 2019, global land and ocean surface temperature was 0.88°C (1.58°F) above the 20th century average and tied with 2007 as the third highest temperature since global records began in 1880. [14] According to the recent UN report, one million species “already face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken to reduce the intensity of drivers of biodiversity loss”. [15] In a world where "issues of mind-numbing irrelevance are more important than the collapse of our life support systems" [to quote George Monbiot] those taking up the #SDG charge need to do so with the attitude and determination, not of a startup unicorn, but of an impact ninja. We need results. Not monetary results, mandatory results.

In short, if you are going to get our attention and rally us around ideas to fix the planet, then you’d better be ready to implement for impact. We do not have time to waste. We do not have time to indulge creative fantasies. 2030 is ELEVEN years away. #BetheNeedle or go home.

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Footnotes:

[1] https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_myth_of_csr

[2] https://doublethedonation.com/tips/why-corporate-social-responsibility-is-important/

[3] https://www.sri-connect.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11&Itemid=88

[4] https://www.sustainabledevelopment2015.org/AdvocacyToolkit/index.php/earth-summit-history/historical-documents/92-our-common-future

[5 https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/

[6] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1815566917300164

[7] https://www.ga-institute.com/press-releases/article/flash-report-85-of-sp-500-indexR-companies-publish-sustainability-reports-in-2017.html

[8] https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanmcpherson/2018/01/12/8-corporate-social-responsibility-csr-trends-to-look-for-in-2018/ - 202767ad40ce

[9] https://www.mbastudies.com/article/how-corporate-social-responsibility-is-changing-in-2018/

[10] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2019/02/26/businesses-and-social-change-were-at-the-starting-point-not-the-finish-line/ - 447dd61e4bad

[11] https://www.forbes.com/sites/hbsworkingknowledge/2019/01/31/how-4-ceos-set-a-new-leadership-standard/ - 486be96fec64

[12] https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter

[13] https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2019/02/26/businesses-and-social-change-were-at-the-starting-point-not-the-finish-line/ - 447dd61e4bad

[14] https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201901

[15] https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/05/1037941