Ethical Brand

A Message from Yasuhiko Genku Kimura

In 2009 and beyond, we are entering an era of a new kind of frugality and prudence. Financially we must be prepared to be on our own and ready to voluntarily assist one another. Within the next few years the availability of many of our society's structures and systems that we now take for granted are likely to crumble.

Lao Tzu states in Tao Te Ching (in Verse 46):

"There is no greater vice than giving in to greed,
No greater calamity than not knowing contentment,
No greater imputation than succumbing to covetousness.
Therefore, know and be content with what is enough.
Then you will always have enough."

Those who cling to the notion of external causation or external authority will continue to depend on, and thus expect from, and push blame on, the government. While those who are willing to look within and develop their inner resourcefulness will grow and evolve in quantum leaps throughout the whole breakdown of the societal structure and infrastructure. The expansion of the inter-net will give way to the evolution of the inner-net which requires no external electricity but the internal light of awareness.

Lao Tzu states elsewhere (in Verse 44):

"The more excessive is your attachment,
The greater is your suffering.
The more excessive is your possession,
The heavier is your loss.
To know what is enough is to be free from disgrace.
To know when to stop is to be free from danger.
Those who practice this will long endure."

Like any academic discipline today, economics has become a highly specialised field, which the general public has difficulties comprehending because of its sheer complexity - its specialised language, use of complex mathematics, and enormity of statistical data. The talks on economy sometimes give an impression that economics is basically all about manipulating insubstantial numbers and figures.

However, in its basic essence, economics is "the science of who gets what, when, how, how much, for how long, and at what price." (W J Murray) The real substance of economics is the creation of wealth, the conversion of wealth into exchangeable asset, and the exchange of valued and valuated asset. In short, real value creation, production, and exchange. The numbers and figures do not mean anything unless they are attached to and backed up by real value (wealth/asset).

We simply need to return to the basics. That is, create wealth and produce value and live within our means. And develop the wisdom to know what is enough.

Wishing you all a Wondrous New Year of further growth and evolution!

Yasuhiko Genku Kimura

Vision without action is empty. Action without vision is blind. Opinion and ideology divide. Quest and commitment unite.

Yasuhiko Genku Kimura is the Founder and Chairman of Vision-In-Action. He is an ordained Buddhist priest and scholar; transhumanist philosopher; creator and leader of transformational philosophical programs; consultant-advisor to leaders in business, science, and cultural organisations. Yasuhiko Kimura teaches dedicated adults philosophy as a way of self-realization outside the confines of academia, using his unique Zen-like Socratic method of philosophical inquiry and various intellectually challenging texts from the East and the West, contemporary as well as ancient. A philosopher of science, he is a founding member of the Evolution of Science Group that meets annually to explore and develop new philosophical foundations of science.

From 1998 to 2002 Yasuhiko Kimura served as Executive Director of The Twilight Club, originally established in the 19th century as a venerable American tradition by Herbert Spencer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Mark Twain, Edwin Markham, Andrew Carnegie, Oliver Wendell Holms, William James, John Borroughs, and others for the purpose of ethical uplifting of the world through the enrichment of culture. In the early 20th century, Thomas Watson, Sr and Walter Russell developed The Twilight Club into The Society of Arts and Science. In 2003, Mr Kimura established Vision-In-Action, an action-oriented sapient circle of thought leaders, as the 21st-century version of The Twilight Club/Society of Arts and Science, to develop and implement creative, innovative, and transformative approaches to problems and challenges facing humanity that will bring about novel resolutions and a new evolutionary pathway for the world. He is the author of four books and over 50 essays on the subjects of philosophy, science and business.

This article was originally published by the mi2g Intelleigence Unit

DIY: The Case For Action

Green versus Good

Once upon a time there was a problem in the world. A big problem. The problem was, well, nobody really wanted to acknowledge the fact that there was a problem at all. That was until lots and lots of ordinary people in the world began to say to one another "Hey, you know what? There is a problem in the world. Something is going on with weather patterns, temperatures and sea levels". Only some of the politicians agreed, but then after some time went by - around election time - the vast majority of the politicians began to say "Hey, you know what? There is a problem in the world. Something is going on with weather patterns, temperatures and sea levels."

It was around this time that some corporations began to say to themselves "Hey, you know what? People really care about this problem. This is an opportunity. If we can make people believe that we care as much as they do about stuff they care about then we can make lots of money".  Some other corporations decided that they would not be like all the rest. They said to themselves "Hey, you know what? People really care about these problems. There are opportunities in solving problems and we can do that because we do care as much as they do about these problems. We too can make lots of money." And so it was that two very different kinds of corporations emerged: those who looked like they cared and those who did actually care.

Then ordinary people began to say to one another "Hey, you know what? Look at all of the corporations who care about the same things as we care about. We should spend and invest our money with them; get jobs and partner with them." Unfortunately it wasn't until some time later that the people began to say to one another "Hey, you know what? There is still a problem in the world. Many of these corporations that said they cared about the same things as we care about, but look at this news story. These executives have enriched themselves from our loyalty and although they have planted many trees, they cannot be trusted to do the right thing. They continue to rely on fossil fuels; use child labour and they have put nothing back into the communities they touch - some of which remain in poverty. Now everyone is selling their shares and we must find a new employer."

It was around this time that the politicians said "Hey, you know what? We need some more laws to prevent corporations from misleading the ordinary people in the world; to force them to acknowledge and respond to the concerns of all of their stakeholders and not just their executives and shareholders."

Being green is not necessarily the same as being good. It is barely a posture and it certainly does not define the sustainability of a commercial journey - only some transportation choices. However, being an 'ethical brand' is a corporate demeanour. It isn't simply about 'being green 'and it certainly isn't about 'being perfect'. Being an 'ethical brand' is fundamentally about 'doing the right thing'. It not only determines the direction of a commercial journey, but the overall health, vitality and sustainability of an enterprise on every economic, social and environmental dimension.

Love Ninja Coca-Cola

The BBC is reporting an interesting story that in many respects, perhaps, typifies the nature of the David v. Goliath battle that will distinguish the emerging ethical brand. It seems that an animation sequence for a track entitled 'Ninja' created by an unsigned UK band called 'Love' appears to have been plagiarised by Coca-Cola's Argentine advertising agency. "We have acted in good faith when retaining the agency and deciding to air the TV commercial," Coca-Cola said in a statement. "Therefore, we are surprised by the alleged claim and deeply regret being associated to this unusual and unexpected debate."

Apparently Love has a rather solid looking legal case. That is, if it were to be fought in the UK, but of course the band is not in a position to fund an expensive legal battle in Argentina...  Nevertheless, it would be so nice to see a huge corporation accept what appears to be a rather clear cut moral obligation instead of issuing the default response, based on a level of comfort with their legal position. Listen, learn and respond guys. If it really is the real thing, then go on... do the right thing. Take your place in the future.

The BBC report is here.