Nerdistan

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was launched by Henry Kravis and his partner George Roberts in the 1970’s with the support of the First Chicago Corporation. Recently they have set up a groundbreaking green project that focuses not only on how much money they can produce, but additionally on how ecologically friendly each of their companies are. Green business processes went mainstream last year when KKR’s Henry Kravis and the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) joined forces. Their goals include encouraging their associated firms to resolve environmental menaces e.g. toxic waste and any immeasurable water consumption. In order to attain this, they apply eco-efficiency; this uses techniques like increasing the durability of products, waste reduction, and reducing the dispersion of toxic chemicals. The Green Portfolio Project was a great success, but the companies involved did not grasp the scope of the benefits of the project until Ken Mehlman, the person responsible for the Green Portfolio Project, looked over the numbers from the project following its first year in operation. Knocking off everybody’s expectations, Ken found that this program not only helped in proctecting the local environment, but was also increasing the profitability of each and every business organization as well. At the time of writing, KKR and Ken Mehlman have well-nigh each and every company in their portfolio actively participating in eco-efficiency principles. However, when you consider that the group has a current portfolio valued at eighty six billion dollars, you may be sure this was not an easy achievement.

The original project has developed far beyond its initial purpose and currently encompasses new and innovative initiatives. The Climate Corps Program set up by the EDF is one of these, it campaigns for eco-efficient business principles to MBA interns. Moreover, Ken Mehlman has been cooperating closely with Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co to produce metrics and analytic tools which companies can employ to measure and administer resources. This type of data is critical as companies may without much effort assess all of their day-to-day operations and find out where they can resolve any issues while at the same time letting staff to find out how much they have moved on. The business community has been changed by the pioneering efforts of Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund. Their innovative developments have simplified the process for firms in any industry and illustrated that making profits need not entail the hefty price of damaging the environment.

The volunteers’ togetherness can strengthen the local community spirit, and as you’d expect it will fulfill the volunteers’ goal of giving charity to their local needy. The obvious problem is that adjusting your workload so that you’re free to volunteer often squanders some of that valuable free time. Of course, if volunteering becomes a larger effort with co-workers, it’s likely to be far more fun. Companies like Adaptive Marketing LLC, a firm from Connecticut that developed programs including 24Protect Plus, are forming points of organization enabling their employees to make time for reaching out.

Company based charitable works like these were always rare activities - in today’s world, so much more can be accomplished. Shoe recycling programs and more active work like tree-planting events - these are among the activities that have been arranged for its workforce by Adaptive Marketing. With all relevant information - time, date, location, type of event, etc - displayed it became very simple for staff members to set aside the time they’d volunteer and how they’d be using it.

It’s essential to let volunteers select activities in line with their own interests. Employees of Adaptive Marketing choose from among a great many local volunteer initiatives. Once you start looking for possible projects you see so many; working with children and young adults, lending a hand to environmental programs, or supporting local artistic projects to list just a few that have already been tried. A happy volunteer is an effective volunteer, consequently, by providing so many initiatives Adaptive Marketing can be certain that progress will be made in as many projects as possible.

When companies recommend their staff to consider volunteering at homeless shelters or local schools, it is commonly for a single event or a regular undertaking. This means that if you’ve merely got enough time available for a Saturday morning park clean-up or the public library’s used-book sale, there’s still a chance to contribute. Business history is full of tales of firms giving back to the citizens of their hometown. Adaptive Marketing like many other businesses maintains volunteer programs in part to generate positive feeling within its home community by the actions of its staff. One thing volunteer work is certain to do is provide your workforce with a reason to feel good, the end result of which is a motivated firm.

Like thousands of other people, you will have encountered Mr. Naveen Jain’s name in connection with him being the co-founder & CEO of Intelius, Inc. a market leaders in background checks, identity theft protection and public records services. Well beyond having made the Forbes 400 Richest in America list in 2000, this maverick entrepreneur has been given multiple reputable awards including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the WSA Industry Achievement Award, and the Albert Einstein Technology Medal. Even so things absolutely expand out from there. Because Naveen Jain and his relations are by the same token as impassioned about philanthropy and will try to assist others as often as they can.

All our anticipations for the years to come are carried in our young generation. They are moreover an essential motivation for this enterprising man and he tries to make the best of each and every opportunity available to help them. This, too, is why he is so untiringly using every possibility available to aid children in need, wherever possible. Hence, Naveen Jain, his family and his employees at Intelius, Inc. dedicate their time to charities for example the Overlake Service League, the University of Washington, and the Rotary Club. Of course they assign plenty of monetary support but most importantly, they pledge their time and attention to the most disadvantaged and risk prone children. What’s more, he is sponsoring the Children’s Hospital, hoping to advance child health. With Jain being an alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and the Indian Institute of Technology, it’s hardly surprising that education constitutes a vital pivot point in his charitable activities. This also incorporates causes and good causes that run the gamut from the regional to the global. Hence Intelius and its co-founder are actively involved in sponsoring deserving causes and organizations such as the Vedic Cultural Center, the Children’s Hospital and Hopelink.

Getting food to the starving of the world is another critical objective to Naveen Jain and those around him and to him, it makes not a speck of difference. Although Naveen is cognizant that the job of obtaining provisions for all the world’s starving is an eminently titanic one, he is also aware that the unachievable can actually be accomplished when everyone endeavors towards a unified end. If this entrepreneur obtains his objectives, there will come a certain end to hardship and famine everywhere in the future.

People may be of the opinion that being the CEO of a spectacularly prosperous enterprise and a devoted husband and family man as well would leave him with no spare time for charitable engagements. Regardless he sees to it that each and every one of his charitable projects will receive all the support he can possibly donate. To wrap it up, this idealistic man is indisputably a lot more than your ordinary pioneer of industry. He is, in fact, an outstanding individual and a remarkable community benefactor.

How can the introduction of new products affect the way I network at meetings?

When I have a new product to launch, I make sure that I have a 20 to 30 second pitch ready for the next networking event I attend. I also make sure that I have a supply of product announcements offering a free sample. As I work through the crowd, I make sure that I am talking to a person that could use my product, by listening carefully to what they have to say, and if the product does not fit I go on to the next conversation.

The important thing to remember is that you should not force your product onto everyone you talk to. You have a job to listen intently to what they have to say and then make a judgment as to the fit of what you have to offer. Sales of new products are not made or broken through networking events, they are simply introduced so that the next time an event occurs and you have product to display, some attendees will be aware of your offering. The best thing is to make sure that you are excited about your product or service, you are an expert in the field, and that you are able to deliver what is promised. All three need to be present while attending an event and making the product introduction. If one item is missing, the product is not likely to be well accepted.

Sometimes a networking event will allow participants to have a display booth. In that case, you should make sure that you have a table or share one and offer tests or trial sizes with feedback forms. It is one thing to give out the product; it is another thing to get feedback on its application. Never give out anything without having a way to contact the potential product user.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com