Let me share a note from my friend Shel Horowitz, who co-authored two Guerrilla Marketing books with the legendary Jay Conrad Levinson.
Shel is quite an interesting guy. Last time I googled for him, I got more than 100,000 hits. I’ve always thought of him as visionary–he talked about marketing through both content expertise and partnering with both competitors and complementary businesses all the way back in 1985, and he wrote about business ethics as a success path in a book published in 2003. He’s also the only one I know who organized a movement that actually saved a mountain. He’s even been inducted into the National Environmental Hall of Fame.
Plus, he writes clearly written books and articles that are not only informative and inspiring, but fun to read.
What he’s doing now will knock your socks off: leveraging the power of profit to tackle problems like hunger, poverty, war, and climate change. Here’s his note:
Two years ago, I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up: the person who proves that the business world can end hunger, poverty, war, and catastrophic climate change.
Not through guilt or shame–through enlightened self-interest: profit. Developing a core business identity based in social transformation, and creating/marketing products and services that address these issues directly.
Let’s make that concrete:
• Example 1: inexpensive but profitable solar-powered LED lanterns eliminate kerosene’s toxic fumes and deadly fires…fund the purchase out of a household’s existing kerosene budget…provide better light, enabling the kids to get better grades and the parents to take on a cottage industry–ladders out of poverty (at least three companies are making these)
• Example 2: holistic design: without furnace or AC, you can save 80% energy/carbon. nature knows how to build a curved anthill that withstands both India’s intense monsoon flooding and the inhospitable dry climate the rest of the year.
• Example 3: self-feeding loops grow mushrooms on the spent grain from a brewery, feed the mushroom waste to a tilapia (fish) crop, and uses the fish nutrients to grow gourmet salad greens. This cycle creates new jobs, improves the community’s quality of life *and* food self-sufficiency, and restores polluted water–all at once.
Pretty cool, huh? I’ve spent the past two years looking at how systemic thinking can eliminate scarcity, balance the planet, and promote peace.
My 10th book, Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World comes out in April, with 22 endorsements including Jack Canfield and Seth Godin, and four essays from Cynthia Kersey (author of Unstoppable/Unstoppable Women), Frances Moore Lappé (Diet for a Small Planet), Yanik Silver (Evolved Enterprise), and Ken McArthur (The Impact Factor). It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
Brilliant, eh? And Shel tells me we already know how to do most of this. Shel’s never been one to shy away from a challenge. He even did a TEDx talk called “‘Impossible’ is a Dare.”
I know you’ll be thrilled to read this book–even without the cool bonuses Shel has put together (including some consulting time with Shel).
Visit http://transformpreneur.com/featured-book-guerrilla-marketing-to-heal-the-world/ to learn more about Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World and to order from your favorite bookseller (or get an autographed copy from Shel himself). It could even set your business on a new path, creating profitable offerings that make a real difference.