Truthout.org has just published Academy President Rinaldo Brutoco’s latest article, “The President’s Leadership Challenge: A Call for Bold Action,” written as an open letter to President Obama. Rinaldo wrote: "Mr. President, there has never been any doubt you are a brilliant orator. And it is also clear that nothing you have said will cause the Republicans in the Senate to break their stranglehold on progress, using threats of filibusters to destroy the majority rule that is the hallmark of every other democracy in the world. People are asking for results they can understand."...more...
Truthout.org and the World Business Academy have launched a partnership to bring their readers more cutting edge stories. Rinaldo is a member of Truthout's Advisory Board.
Truthout is keeping independent journalism alive through its edgy daily newsletter, which broadens and diversifies the political discussion by introducing independent voices and focusing on undercovered issues and unconventional thinking.
Truthout has published the following Academy articles that you won't want to miss:
"'Spellcasters': The Hunt for the 'Buy-Button' in Your Brain," by Academy President Rinaldo Brutoco, with a link to the neuromarketing video created by Academy Board Member Tim O'Connor;
"Bringing the World Out of Denial: The Power of Passion, The Fallacy of Fear," by James A. Cusumano, about why we are doing so little to address critical global issues;
"Copenhagen: A Bigger Opportunity Than Climate Change," by Rinaldo Brutoco, about the need for a new global Marshall Plan which will raise the living standards of rich and poor nations alike; and
"The True Story about ‘Climate Cover-Up,’" Academy President Rinaldo Brutoco's and Vice President Madeleine Austin's review of James Hoggan’s new book about climate change deniers.
All Academy articles can be found on its special page at Truthout.
February 11, 2010 marks the 20-year anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison after 27 years. Millions around the world watched him walk down the road a free man. Millions watched him lead his country and people all around the world into a new era as he demonstrated his extraordinary capacity for forgiveness and reconciliation. Barbara Nussbaum, a long-time member of the Academy community who lives in South Africa, has published a new article, “How Invictus re-inspired me,” which marks this historic anniversary.
For all of us struggling with the challenges of working for positive change in a democracy, we should remember his words: “I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”
Watch “Redefining Success,” a video created by Academy Fellow Hazel Henderson’s company, Ethical Markets, the financial lifestyles program that reports on how people, NGOs, businesses, and even countries are redefining success in the global marketplace.
Every week the program brings stories about "how individuals and institutions from all over the world are transforming lives, changing business, and the way we measure wealth and profits while being socially accountable.”
“Redefining Success” features interviews with global change agents who are leading the charge to get countries to adopt new scorecards for measuring progress, no longer measuring it solely in terms of money and Gross National Product (GDP).
You will also want to read TIME Magazine’s January 30, 2010 article, “Is GDP an obsolete measure of Progress?” which explains:
“What exactly have we been fetishizing? Basically, market activity and growth. The GDP, generally expressed as a per-capita figure and often adjusted to reflect purchasing power, represents the market value of good and services produced within a nation's boundaries. Sounds reasonable. Until we consider what it doesn't measure: the general progress in health and education, the condition of public infrastructure, fuel efficiency, community and leisure.
"It's a narrow calculation of cash flow," says Hazel Henderson, President of Ethical Markets Media (USA and Brazil) and who co-developed the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life Indicators, which unbundles, rather than averages, 12 indicators. "Because it's averaged, the GDP mystifies and masks the gap between rich and poor. I don't think there's ever been such a large disconnect between the GDP and what ordinary people are experiencing."…more…
“Deep down, most people want essentially three things in a job, in the following priority,” writes Academy Member James A. Cusumano in his second article in his new series in Leaders Magazine (formerly Prague Leaders Magazine):
- A sense of passion from a higher purpose
- Reasonable autonomy to do their job
- An appropriate reward for success
Jim describes how these three drivers shaped the lives of entrepreneurs like Apple founder Steve Jobs, Gentech founder Bob Swanson, and Netscape founder Jim Clark.
“What Do You Really Want in a Job?” is a fascinating addition to his new series, “Business May Be Your Life—But—Life is Your Business.”...read more...
Leaders Magazine previously published Jim’s 10-part series on energy and climate change. Jim is one of the co-authors of the Academy's 2007 book, Freedom from Mideast Oil.
Jim was a member of the “Visionary Panel” at the European Banking & Financial Forum 2009, a meeting of the CEOs of all the major European banks and attended by about 300 people. The other four panelists were Christine Lagarde, France’s Minister of Finance; Anatoly Aksakov, President of Regional Banks in Russia; Grigori Marchenko, Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan; and Tomas Zima, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Charles University in Prague.