Carl Setzer

Just discovered this video by Sofia Ashraf about Unilever's "response" to mercury poisoning in Kodaikanal, India . I found it powerful. I, being me, did a little digging through this. Here's a piece describing the background , and why Ashraf was recruited to the cause. The global pressure seems to be working, as Unilever today announced efforts to resolve the situation . We'll see. 

We don't see that what we pay directly influences how well others live. By driving to pay less, always less, we drive down the quality of life for others; this lust for advantage. Now I understand that we expect that the lowered costs come from the horded wealth of the exploiters. Yet, really, that cost is born by the most vulnerable. Where is the sweet spot: customer maximizes their lives, seller theirs? It's truly impossible to know without transparency. Which won't be fully realized without trust. Finding this place of trust, where we can believe, fully, that each party is seeking "win-win", this is the great challenge for humanity. To move past seeking advantage, from exploitation to relationship and respect. To seek out a world where we all grow, all benefit and no one is crushed by inequality. This is my dream, at least.

Just read " Karmagate : 3 former Microsoft women discuss Nadella and what should come next " and came away with one key idea. Mr. Nadella has an opportunity for boldness and vision. My respect for him would grow if he publicly acknowledged the painful ignorance of his "Karmagate" faux pas (which he somewhat has done) and aggressively seek to change the inequalities in the tech sector . I have the deepest respect for those who not only acknowledge mistakes, but use them as leverage points to affect positive change. Nadella has an opportunity to go from good to great. I hope he takes it. (* my first response is here )

A few years back, when I worked for a large global company, a major NGO launched a campaign against us. I found it fascinating how so many people felt it was a major campaign by that org (no, it wasn't). Actually, from their side, it was simple. One of their directors wrote an article for the Guardian, then their network of Blogs and MySpace accounts posted links to it with a "call to action" (call/fax/email "us"). This had a significant impact on us, and received a fair amount of media coverage. This campaign utilized very few resources on the NGO's side. The largest effort was the writing of the article. Well, that's in regards to the campaign. The real work for this was years in the making. They built and maintained a large, global network of advocates. The NGO interacted regularly with them. Information was shared, input solicited, and the audience was listened to. Relationships created and maintained with two-way discussion. Then a blend of MySpace...