After dinner, our group of thirsty tourists made our way to the hotel bar for a bit of hydration.

I move from conversation to conversation, immersing myself in other people’s stories on the trip thus far. When I notice off to the side to one of the groups, a chair that’s being completely unused whilst in a sea of travelers. Hmm…

Curiosity gets the best of me and I wander over to take a better look. A white cloth covering a couch and a table with two “Kimjongilias” placed on the table. (Yes, a flower was named after the great general). Rather interesting…

I move closer to check out the seat when a Korean lady motions over towards me…

“Please, don’t sit there.”

[STARTLED]“Uh… um. No, I wasn’t going to sit there. I just wanted to check it out…” (A lie, I was totally thinking of sitting there)

“So… why can’t I sit there anyway?”

“I’m sorry but you’re not allowed. General Kim Jong Il visited this hotel and sat there 30 years ago. Nobody has been allowed to sit there since.”

“Oh, okay…”

I know we’ve all heard versions of this before, but to see it in real life! It’s just surreal… There is so much honor placed into single “seat” for one man. It was a huge gesture, and it was one at the time I couldn’t fully comprehend. Was this feeling of gratitude genuine? Or was it a false view? One thing was certain though, this isn’t something that just happens over night. There has to be a pretty influential back story for society to hold such high regard towards someone.

So I started doing some digging. I wanted to find out exactly how a government figure could instill such devotion (or intimidation). And with my research and observation I’ve devised a simple conclusion about how all this could happen.

All the North Korean mass manipulation of the past 50+ years started from a single universal belief, a common understanding that all Koreans could relate towards.

That universal belief being that all Koreans wanted a “free Korea,” A Korea self-reliant and beyond the control of foreigners.

So why did the Koreans crave being self-reliant? You see the last 100+ years have been particularly hard for Korea. First the Japanese came to Korea and occupied the peninsula. Thousands were killed and millions brutalized. Next came the Americans and Soviets. They then split up Korea into two pieces despite the protest of the Korean people. The north was administered by the Soviets and the South by the Americans. Years later, the Korean War erupted in the peninsula resulting with millions of Koreans being killed.

By this point the Koreans were absolutely fed up with the outside world coming onto their land and manipulating their people. This was especially so in North Korea where the Americans were universally viewed as the instigators of the Korean War and occupiers of their southern lands. As a result, Korean people believed the only ones they could rely on were themselves, they desired a Korea independent of the ills of the world.

With that, the North Korean government developed a prescriptive answer to this pain that all Koreans intimately shared. They took all theses desires and twisted them into a philosophy that was then spread across North Korea. A belief that became known as “Juche.”

Juche translates to many things, but in a nutshell it essentially stands for ”self-reliance.” Self-reliance of the Korean economy, self-reliance of the Korean government and self-reliance of the Korean people.

After Juche was introduced, it was quickly gobbled up by the North Korean people and engrained within their daily lives. It became something of a religion to the North Koreans, something they’d happily smear on their toast every morning.

And in an instant, it happened. The Korean’s desire for self-reliance had become the shackles of their manipulation. Juche harnessed the perfect storm to gain absolute authority within North Korea.

And this was how the government was able to isolate the North Korean people from the world. This was how they were able to instill such a strong sentiment of Korean nationalism. This was how they were able to elevate their “supreme leaders” to the near god-like status. This is how the North Korean government was able to manipulate the masses with a single “belief.”

AFTERTHOUGHT

So the reason I wrote this post was because I was fascinated in how the North Korean government used similar techniques to what we use in advertising to manipulate their people! In the same way the North Korean government used a universal belief to fabricated an ideology, we use universal beliefs to build a brand around a product. Instances like these remind me of the incredible power of communication. That’s why I hope to continue searching for ways of harnessing this powerful tool… so long as it’s used for good of course.

So now I think we need to start from a new angle. If we want to implement a sustainable business model, we need to start from scratch. In this case, it means starting with an undeveloped market where we can start institutionalizing a revised “business 2.0″ from day one. The good news is, there are dozens of countries with the wiggle room necessary to start enacting these reforms; however, I believe there is one looking a bit more poised than the rest.

Oh lovely Myanmar.

Being isolated for the past few decades has put Myanmar in a special circumstance. The mix of self-imposed isolation and international sanctions has left Myanmar relatively unspoiled by global commerce, meaning we now have a blank slate to work with. However, this also means that international companies are now looking towards the untapped nation just as eagerly. Myanmar holds a huge opportunity for investors; it’s potentially a large consumer market, it’s full of cheap labor and it holds an abundance of natural resources. Now that Myanmar is making the necessary moves to reopen itself to the world, many investors are viewing Myanmar as ripe for the picking.

So here we stand at a crossroads. We have the choice to either allow business-as-usual and watch as outside businesses move in to consume Myanmar’s resources and put the population into sweatshops; or we can empower the people build something better and more sustainable.

This is exactly what the recently founded project Sustainable Business Myanmar (SBM) hopes to promote in Myanmar. SBM rejects the notion that business should stay solely focused on profit. They believe that business 2.0 involves a triple bottom-line: people, planet, profit. SBM plans establishing this triple bottom-line approach through ongoing activities meant to educate and support entrepreneurs and businesses on sustainable business practices.

Two events are already set in motion for the kick-off of SBM:

The first events will occur on the weekend of June 15th in Yangon, Myanmar. The TEDx event and SBM Forum are both designed to inspire and educate entrepreneurs, businesses and government officials on sustainable business.

Other events in the pipeline include:

• SBM Social and Sustainable classes- will be set up to educate entrepreneurs on the logistics of starting up a socially oriented business.
• SBM Funding Challenge- will provide the best sustainable business ideas with funding and support.

If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved, check out the SBM website for further information.

As mentioned earlier, this could be the turning point for business. If we can embed the triple bottom-line principal here and now then maybe we can copy and paste the same concept within other undeveloped nations around the world. Then we can watch the spread of business 2.0. You get the picture.

I hope one day we will be able to look at Myanmar as the place where it all started, where we were able to diverge onto another path. Maybe instead of referring to Myanmar as “Asia’s Last Frontier” we should instead talk of it as “The World’s New Beginning.”

Source:

SBM website

LDC Map

In a nutshell, the Benefit Corporation (B-corp) is a business classification kind of like a social enterprise, but with teeth. There are three key principles for B-corp members:

• They must create a material positive impact on society and the environment- clear goals need to be declared
• They must consider non-financial interests when making decisions- two separate but equal bottom lines are established: financial and social
• And best of all, they must report their overall social and environmental performance using recognized third party standards, allowing for transparent, unbiased evaluations.

Creating a positive impact doesn’t mean brands can simply say “check please,” write an amount, reap the rewards and leave. Declaring a social goal means being part of the long haul and getting hands dirty. This involves donating time, expertise and resources, all of which are worth more than untrained money.

The establishment of two bottom lines help eliminate the “all-for-profit” issue. Now brands can focus on each as separate rather than as interconnected- both being equally important.

The last bullet point on social performance evaluations simply brings me glee. Brands are always quick to publicize their “social good” initiatives; however, are their efforts actually worthy of the recognition? It’s difficult to judge when brands are usually the ones holding the yardstick. I think a verified evaluation of a brand’s social commitment should be obtained before anything is promoted, especially if brands want to avoid misleading their customers. Believe me, consumers aren’t dumb and they don’t want to be screwed with. So if a brand is looking to do something socially responsible they’d better not mess around and back it up, or as the 90s rapper Juvenile wisely puts it, “who is you playing with, back that ass up” Different context, similar interpretation.

Even though B-Corp status is only available in a few states the same principles can be applied across the globe. It just takes some effort. The reward for action is immense. Not only does this method help the world but it also helps improve a brand’s overall reputation and consumer relationship. Acting like an actual human being will never feel better.

Welcome to the world of the social-brand partnership.

Peace.

Sources:

Benefitcorp

LA Times

Flickr

Ali would have liked to see a more democratic government, he just couldn’t see the protesters accomplishing anything. That and Ali was too busy to care. A swift kick in the face would be needed to break Ali out of his daily stride. Fortunately for him, fate was happy to oblige.

On this day, Ali decided to check-in at the Tahrir Square protests for his daily source of entertainment. In the past, Ali only encountered pockets of protests of only a few hundred people. Today, he walked into Tahrir square to be greeted by several thousand! Instead of the usual scene of protesters being scattered away by riot police, Ali encountered groups of protesters commanding the streets! The sea of protesters quickly submerged the square and spilled out onto adjacent roads. Their orchestrated chants set the pace of the protest and drowned out all outside distractions. Clearly poised for nothing else but disruption, the protesters had taken over.

Business as usual was over. The world had just turned upside-down on Ali, kick-to-face contact was finally achieved. Without hesitation, Ali quickly jumped into the crowd. By the time Ali joined the protestors the police had begun attacking the crowd but by then it didn’t matter, nobody cared. At this moment everything had changed. The momentum began swaying in a new direction. Days later, and weeks after the first protests began, President Mubarak finally resigned.

I met Ali last December as I was backpacking through Thailand. With all the news surrounding the Egyptian protests, I jumped at the chance to hear his story. I was inspired by his perspective and curious of his abrupt change in opinion. All the while hearing his story, I kept thinking of all the elements that pushed Ali over the edge… I couldn’t determine if it was a series of compounding events or the overwhelming moment in Tahrir Square. More importantly, this got me thinking whether there was a method to helping other similar movements succeed. Perhaps there’s model for understanding this tipping point that Ali experienced- maybe a formula developed by scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Network Science and Technology Center that understands the transition of a minority viewpoint to the majority viewpoint and outlines key elements needed for this to occur. Hmm… Kind of sounds like some ammo for another article!

Until then, peace.

Sources:

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A message calls for self-reflection.

A message exposes the numbness inside.

A message elevates a repressed opinion.

A message sparks an epiphany.

A message connects potential allies.

A message incites a gut-wrenching decision.

A message positions for a daring move.

A message steadies for the moment of opportunity.

A message liberates us from the last moment of hesitation.

A message draws thousands to the streets.

A message propels the scream around the world.

A message reveals the turning point.

A message changes the world.

A message can give courage. It can provide a voice.

As a strategic communicator… It. Is. My. Resolve.

Source:

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