From the monthly archives:

May 2010

Discover and Manifest Purpose

by Peter Korchnak 05.29.2010
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From “The Portland Bottom Line” table of contents: Social purpose is becoming the mainstay of successful companies. It focuses on benefiting stakeholders, instead of shareholders and takes into account the social context of business. However, taking a compelling “why” at launch and living that purpose in day-to-day operations can be a challenge. How did you [...]

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What’s In It For Me?

by Peter Korchnak 05.28.2010
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To contribute to “The Portland Bottom Line: is to share your sustainable business practices. Still, the question on every co-author’s mind is bound to be, “What’s in it for me?” To be sure, compared to growing the choir of sustainable business and benefiting a local organization supporting entrepreneurship, these self-interest benefits are minuscule in stature. But they’re [...]

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Why Does the World Need “The Portland Bottom Line”?

by Peter Korchnak 05.26.2010
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The main idea behind “The Portland Bottom Line” — its Why — is sharing. In Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle concept, which I’ve mentioned before, organizations and individuals function on three levels, from outside in: What you do, How you do it, and Why you do it. It’s the Why at the center of the Golden Circle that propels [...]

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Following in Your Baby Steps

by Megan Strand 05.24.2010
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We’re all busy. Busy with work. Busy with pet projects. Busy with friends and family activities. But we shouldn’t be too busy to connect and reflect every once in a while. You own a small business, so we know you’re busy. You’ve tried your very hardest to do the right thing — with your employees, [...]

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Use Crowdsourcing for Social and Environmental Sustainability

by Peter Korchnak 05.22.2010

This is an excerpt from my guest column on Sustainable Business Oregon, published on Friday, May 21st, 2010. *** Have you heard the one about crowdsourcing? This one company decided that instead of having an employee perform a task or outsourcing it to a contractor, it would issue an open call asking a large, undefined group [...]

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Co-Authoring “The Portland Bottom Line” Is Easier Than You Think

by Peter Korchnak 05.19.2010
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The Portland small-business community stirs with excitement and encouragement when we share the news about “The Portland Bottom Line”. People find the project compelling and volunteer to spread the word about it. In the same breath, many say, ‘I’d love to participate, but I’m not a writer’. You don’t have to be a writer to co-author “The [...]

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Skipping Along as a Happy Steak Slave

by Peter Korchnak 05.17.2010

This is the first contribution we’ve received for “The Portland Bottom Line”. Sharon Soliday submitted it in the Engage Your Employees section. *** With over-filled plates in hand, medium rare steak juice running down my arms, I’d rub against the back counter to twist my blue/green plaid polyester uniform skirt back into place, eight times [...]

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