Meaningful  Business  WinsHow companies are creating meaningful value in the 21st century  

Really  cool  things  are  happening.  Businesses  are  creating  a  new  kind  of  value.

At  shiftalliance  we  call  this  meaningful value.

meaningful:  having  a  significant  quality  or  purpose.

There  are  infinite  ways  that  21st  century  enterprises  are  building  meaningful value.

 shiftalliance  has  identified  231.

Here’s  a  taste  of  “better  practices”  that  create  meaningful value in  business.  They  are:

meaningful to  individuals  (m2i)meaningful to  communities  (m2c)

or  meaningful to  the  environment  (m2e)

Developing  and  learning  should  always  be  fun

Bamboo  Bike  involves  you  in  the  whole  process  of  building  your  bamboo  bike

"Everyone who leaves the studio says, 'Wow, my bike is my favorite object now.' "

~Marty Odlin

bamboo

Repurposing  can  connect  you  to  your  personal  history

ReMade  takes  your  old  leather  jacket  after  its  worn  out  and  makes  a  bag  out  of  it  that  retains  your  memories  from  the  jacket

“Everything in the re:made shop has had a previous life and was re-claimed by the folks at re:made.”

~Clair

Working  at  home  office  allows  for  flexibility  and  time

Continental  reservation  agents  are  allowed  to  work  from  home

“The hours are flexible, you can work whatever hours and days you want...trading capabilities are great!”

Engage  the  community  with  mobile  networking

Cool  Haus  uses  Twitter  to  let  people  know  where  their  ice  cream  truck  will  be  and  find  out  where  it  should  go  next

“COOL HAUS! the perfect ending to a burgergasm..”~burgergasm

Personalization  lets  you  shine

Its  My  Scar  makes  jewelry  to  match  your  scar  and  reflect  the  story  behind  it

“This scar represents pain and hope for my family and me. I wear it with pride.”

~Sonya

The  story  within  is  personal  and  powerful

TOMS  shoes  gives  a  free  pair  of  shoes  to  a  child  in  need  for  every  pair  that  is  sold

“Thank god there are people to do this type of thing so others will follow the model.”

~2 Angel McKenna

Focusing  on  personal  strengths  and  interests  

enables  each  employee's  potential

yelp!  has  a  VP  of  People  focused  on  understanding  then  satiating  the  needs  and  desires  of  its  employees

“Wonderful people from the ground up. If you get the opportunity, go for it!”

Crowd  sourcing  encourages  creativity  and  involvement

Threadless  asks  for  new  designs  from  the  community  then  asks  them  to  vote  on  their  favorites

“Thanks to threadless i have the coolest shirt at the laundromat that isn't being washed.”

~mtasticical

Diversity  and  new  thinking  inspires  innovation

A  notable  percentage  of  employee's  time  is  spent  freely  exploring  their  new  ideas

“What has made Google really great are the brilliant minds that work there.”

Moving  people  for  a  positive  change

Expedia  books  travel  plans  for  both  business  needs  and  vacation  dreams

“"Neatly executed, honest and clear.”~Zemanta

Diversity  builds  a  stronger  workforce

Indigenous  organic  apparel  is  all  made  by  the  crafts  people  of  indigenous  nations

“Indigenous Designs are role models in the industry– they have been trailblazing pioneers in organic and fair trade clothing for the

last fifteen years.”~Jute & Jackfruit

Serve  the  under-­served  community

Kiva  enables  individual  loans  to  low  income  individuals  in  need  to  get  funding  for  new  business  ideas

“I've been with Kiva for a few years now and have helped several indi-viduals with their goals. Micro-financing is a real effective effort to

help local communities and small business.”~darkgreenjoe

Relationships  are  just  as  important  as  performance

Joie  de  Vivre  managers  are  measured  on  the  health  of  their  relationships  as  well  as  their  work  performance

“The Hotel Montgomery is a gem amongst jewels.”~A Yahoo! Contributor

Energize  individuals  to  mobilize  a  community

Nine  Inch  Nails  now  distributes  their  music  for  free

“Thanks to NIN everyday is NOT exactly the same.“~tigerpath

Viral  messages  stimulate  21C  value  based  communities

Pepsi  has  dropped  their  Super  Bowl  advertising  in  favor  of  cause  marketing,  to  gather  ideas  from  the  community  to  improve  the  community

“What a great example of forward thinking in the marketing world.”~Matt Courtland

Enabling  education  animates  imaginations  

Vittana  enables  funding  for  education  for  under  served  communities

“It is refreshing to see entrepreneurs tackle the issue of extreme global poverty and we need to support them.”

~Andy Liu

Causes  less  total  CO2  emissions

Zipcar  enables  car  sharing,  there  by  reducing  the  number  of  cars  on  the  road

“Forget everything you know about car rentals.”~mithril

Profit  sharing  enriches  a  community

An  Alverado  worker  can  earn  $65K  a  year  making  bread  because  of  their  equitable  compensation  policy

“Rather, this is a vibrant community where members legitimately are interested in and care for the wellbeing of its members.”

~Dean Walker

Give  it  a  second  chance  with  re-­useable  materials

Simple  shoes  is  an  impressive  pioneer  in  the  area  of  re-­used  and  sustainable  materials  fro  shoes

“madebyjewls: is in love with my Simple shoes. They're made from hemp and car tires and are so comfy!”

Local  partners  create  a  sustainable  community

Burgerville  partners  are  all  organic,  local  and  follow  sustainable  practices

“fresh, local and sustainable! thats where i grind my burgers!”~timbuk758

Bio-­degradable  materials  keep  the  Earth  pure

gDiapers  has  pioneered  bio  degradable  diapers

“gDiapers are the best kept secret among diapers.”~Kathleen M. Mcdermott

gdiapers

Recycling  keeps  things  moving

Vert  catering  is  all  organic  and  as  thorough  as  you  can  get  in  terms  of  re-­cycling

“As if they weren’t cool enough already, they have taken it one step further by launching their office bike deli service.”

~simón

We  help  businesses  with  Meaningful Business Model Innovation & Design.  We  use  231  better  practices  as  inspirations  to  discover  unique  opportunities  to  create  greater  value  for  your  company.  Our  unique  methodology  helps  businesses  energize  and  differentiate  themselves  in  the  21st  century  marketplace.    Shift  into  a  meaningful  mindset.  www.shiftalliance.com

email:  info@shiftalliance.comphone:  Seattle,  WA  office  206.201.2641Los  Angeles,  CA  office  310.773.7679