(Continued from page one)
Our corporate mission is to make a
difference. We fully intend to give a damn. We
will stand up and cast a shadow, seize the high
ground in the name o f greater good and accomplish
works o f epic proportions.
Anything less wouldn’t be worth the
trouble.
Eight Virtual Realities
* I will do nothing that reduces information
to a video poker machine.
* I will not forget what I’m doing is suppose
to be fun.
* If what I’m doing doesn’t feel good, I’ll
stop doing it and do something else.
* I will do nothing my grandchildren will
regret.
* I will not confuse beans with humans.
* I will miss no opportunity to do good.
* I will put new colors in my paint box.
* I will let no day pass w ithout asking, what
if?
A Few Thoughts on Growing a Business:
In the Beginning is the Soul.
“ Never prophesize — especially
fu tu re ."
~ Mark Twain
about the
Business is, first and foremost, a human
endeavor. We have come to the serious nastiness
we’re in because we have pretended otherwise.
There is no profit from greed, there is no love in
jealousy, no jo y in anger, no future in pride and
sloth.
The consumer drives the product and the
consumer understands. W ithout values, there is no
integrity, w ithout integrity, there is no tru s t and
compassion. W ithout tru s t and compassion, there
is nothing. Business begins its search for a soul.
The first step in creating a corporate soul is
to plant the seeds o f greatness. Your dream must
be noble and grand. You must believe in something
larger than yourself and act upon those beliefs.
You must accept as self evident th a t you and the
world are one, th a t we are here to actualize our
potential, and th a t unless everyone gains, everyone
loses. You must align yourself with what you know
is right. You must be what you look fo r in a friend:
honest, caring, loyal and intelligent enough to laugh
often. You must not be self-absorbed, aloof or
ruthless. You must get a life, lighten up and have a
little fun. You must not forget you’re capable of
having dumb ideas. You must listen when smart
people tell you. You must ask them what they
think. Most importantly, you must have faith: in
yourself, in your fellow human beings, and in the
obvious tru th th a t we reap what we sow.
A business is a living thing - a system
designed to exchange goods and services in the
most efficient manner possible. To this end, you
must create an environment in which humans can
do their best work. There is a reason th a t cubicles
do not figure largely in home decor. You are In the
creativity business and the most disastrous
decision you’ll ever make is to send your creators
to their rooms. Open the gate, unsnap their
leashes and let them run and play. Build an
environment o f trust, loyalty and respect. Free
people from fear and worry and encourage them to
take risks. Every act o f creation is a leap into the
unknown. Invest in a trampoline.
Remember to hire both the heart and the
mind. What you’re building is a family, a set of
relationships th a t encourage mutual growth.
Know who you are and reinvent yourself
daily. Never confuse the work w ith the tool. You
are exactly the same size as your dreams, your
reality is coincident w ith your vision. Your
corporate mission is to create the best of all
possible worlds. Tend your garden well.
A Few Thoughts
on Marketing
“ Never, say never."
— James Bond
The first step is to throw o u t most o f what
we know. The world described in the textbooks no
longer exists. Small surprise, Marshall McLuhan was
right, “ Any technology creates a tota lly new human
environment." It was true with the printing press,
it was true with indoor plumbing, it was true with
television, and it is true w ith the personal
computer. It was never more true than with broad
bandwidth information. It is the business of virtual
worlds. You are the guides.
Avoid most market research like the plague.
There is no longer an average consumer. There are
people o f like mind, of like interest, o f common
dreams. Your first corporate goal must be to
create a community. The most important
connection on the internet is the one between you
and your customer.
“ The major advances in civilization are processes
that all but wreck the societies in which they occur.”
A . N. Whitehead
2 UPPER LIFT EtXsE TUNE 2.000
il
The advent o f interactive technology and
virtual environments has created sales channels
that exist in a virtual environment rather than a
physical space or location. In this “ Marketspace,”
the more human you are, the more humans will
come to see you.
Align yourself with w hat’s right. State your
position boldly and simply. Create a relationship of
trust and mutual respect. Respond to the world
rather than react to it. Don’t sell your product,
communicate your values. Encourage the
conviction that there’s something better and that
you’re not only busy building it but are convinced it
should be fun. Make your first goal the expansion
of awareness and those who are aware will come
back.
Socially conscious consumption is not a
trend; it is the future o f all commerce. Fuse your
vision to this future. Community, compassion, self
empowerment. Love people, use things. People
buy what they believe in and support what they’ve
helped build. Character has become a status
symbol and decency has become profitable. If your
customer buys from you, you’ve made a sale. If
your customer buys into you, you’ve made a
partner. Remember th a t always and forever what
you’re marketing is an experience and th a t the
words we all most love to hear are; yes you can.
We’re all ju s t looking for what we need in order to
do what we want to do.
You are not marketing what you are: you
are marketing who you are. You are the person
people come to with their dreams and visions. You
are the provider o f all things possible, a resource
for any reality. Your mission must be to exalt
human potential.
Some time ago, a cross cultural survey was
taken to find common characteristics among the
world’s oldest humans. Diet and environment
aside, the single commonality was this: those
people live longest who spend the most time
serving or caring fo r others. Think long on this.
Because of the infinite reach o f your
service, your immediate focus should be on large
scale application to government, education and
industry, most especially arts and entertainment.
Think boldly, do not surrender your marketing
department to ’professionals’, and hire the best
lobbyists in the country. Aim your service to the
public good and there will be no need fo r large
advertising budgets. Do not pinch pennies on
public relations. Involve yourself in your
community; not because it ’s good business but
because th a t’s what good people do. Patronize the
public and they won’t patronize you. Position
yourself strongly and immovably. Be the mountain.
Seize the technological and moral high ground and
refuse to retreat. Do not market yourself as a
product, or even a business. Market yourself as a
creative process; an energy source applicable to
any and all imaginings. You will live or die by the
appropriateness o f your applications. Never forget
you are dealing with humans. Or, fo r th a t matter,
th a t you are one. The best marketing and branding
strategy is to be accessible to your customers.
Talk with them rathe, than to them. They know
more about what they want than you do. Make
sure they know you know this.
Any advertising should be narrow gauge;
referred to in the new adspeak as “ surgical strikes’.
While the image is a little rough around the edges,
the reasoning is sound. Speak English and
understate. Hype is poison. Be the antidote.
Nothing in the universe us more difficult to hide
than power. No power is greater than potential.
Now, dear reader, there was more to this presentation
that Mike wrote for a soon to be dot com , but we think if
every head o f every corporation, large or small, in the
world today, read and pondered these words and then
acted on them we might not ever have to smell tear gas
again on the streets o f our planet.
The word is that this very month in a bookstore near
you, you can finally get your very own copy o f Letters to
Uncle Mike. Since the last printing sold out, the demand
has forced Saddle Mountain Press to again put on the
shelf the cosm ic curmudgeon -- Ann & Abbey’s least
favorite Uncle — Michael Burgess; but wait! that’s not
all. On that very same shelf you will find, with only a
slight change in graphics, the devilishly cleverly titled
More Letters to Uncle M ike!! Is that cool or what? If
your local store doesn’t carry them, first yell and scream
and make a big fuss until they do, or second, contact
Saddle Mountain Press at
saddlemountainpress@upperleftedge.com or write to us
here at the Edge, and w e ’ll see that you get your books.
| r ~U P P E R ■ L E F T • E D G E—t[
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E d ito r/P u b lis h c r/J a a ito r:
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Graphics Editor The Humble Ms Sally
Louise LackafT
Copy Editor/Sclaoca Editor/Voica
of Reason/Uuel« Mika/atc.: Michael
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W ildlife Info rm an t/M u sic Reporter
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And A Cast O f Thousands!!
'Beauty Qn T*icoma
By Angela Coyne
I have been given the opportunity to respond
to the accusations o f our beloved editor. A few
months ago he attended a book show in Tacoma and
as we all read in his descriptive editorial, things were
not pleasant. As horrible as he made it seem, I know
that even Tacoma has its good points, for it is not
only where I was bom but also where I have spent
most o f my life. People who come from a place as
blessed in nature as the Oregon coast have a tendency
to lose sight o f the fact that there is light, beauty and
even sometimes wonderment everywhere.
There are streets in Tacoma where you can
walk down the sidewalk shaded by ancient oak and
maple trees and hear children’ s laughter w afting from
backyards o f homes saturated in history. These spots
o f magic can exist anywhere for someone who takes
the tim e to look. It may take longer to find them but
they are worth more because o f it. A ll that is outside
o f that moment disappears and you can forget about
the ugliness o f the city, even i f it is only fo r a short
time.
I spent a few years in the historical district o f
Tacoma, and one o f the places I lived was a
refurbished hotel from the early 1900’ s. I used to sit
in my turret looking out at the Puget Sound and, in
particular, a stately old maple. I found com fort in that
tree when the pressure o f the city tried to invade my
solitude. I remember one day in particular I was
feeling especially out o f touch w ith nature, so I
decided to clim b my old tree. Ignoring that it had
been years since I had actually done so, I marched
outside like a determined child. M any scrapes and
scratches later I reached the top and sat fo r hours
watching people and clouds go by unaware o f my
presence. A fter that day I spent a lo t o f tim e up in the
leaves o f m y maple; it became the best remedy fo r
any frustration. W ho would have thought that in the
m iddle o f the city I could find a b it o f nature to help
me fin d peace. I f I hadn’t taken the time to look I
would have missed some o f the best hours o f my life.
W e are so fortunate to live in a place where it
is easy to fin d beauty; we would have to be blind­
folded not to see the overwhelming scenery that
surrounds us. B U T ... i f you are in the right frame o f
mind the peace and com fort nature brings can be
found anywhere. It ju st takes the right eye and a little
fortitude. Even in Tacoma.
WTO Rap
Well, I found myself in Seattle one day
With 50,000 people who'd made their way.
They came from far and they came from wide,
They came to confront the other side.
The side with the money and the pseudo
power, The time had come - this was the hour.
They came with a message you all should
know About the evil ways of the WTO.
See, the WTO, they just don't care
'Bout you or me or 'bout clean air.
Not dolphins or turtles, or butterflies, Or the
quality of the food we buy.
Don't care about the workers or their families,
Or poor countries, or even the trees.
Now I'm not sayin' that trade is bad.
It's corporate greed that makes me mad.
But the power of the people, it's plain to see,
Can change the course of history.
A revolution began that day.
When it'll end, well, it's hard to say.
One thing's for sure and true for me,
The people had a taste of victory.
The rage that had built for many years
Found an outlet in the chants and cheers.
All over the world, in all the lands,
People gathered and joined their hands
Against the corporations who count their
worth, While the people suffer, as does the
earth.
Come join the fight against corporate greed
And reconsider what you think you need.
They count on your money to keep afloat
And the politicians they pay to vote.
So choke them off at every turn.
Take some time and effort to learn
Who makes those deals behind closed doors,
And don't buy their products at the store.
If we pay attention and stay real cool,
We'll see the end of corporate rule.
How it'll happen, well, I don’t know.
But the WTO has got to go.
Yeah, the WTO has got to go.
© 2000 C hristopher Ann