Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
Flexibility and independence makes workers happier and more productive
The rat race is a drag, fighting the rush hour is a headache, and sitting in a drab cubicle all day can be life draining. More and more firms are going virtual, allowing their workers to work from home full time, or come into the office only a few times a month. It makes sense. Workers are happier Read More...
Sustainable banking is lucrative and has a conscience
As it turns out you can run a successful bank, while maintaining a moral conscience. The 2008 financial crisis left many of us skeptical about the ethics that drive financial decisions made around the world. The idea that you must sacrifice morality in order to make more money is nonsense, as Read More...
Social skills bring success and more money
This is a study that the technology-24 hour-screen-bound-nerd hoping to create the next Internet success should notice: Being able to read people’s emotions turns out to be an important trait if you want to succeed professionally. A new study conducted by German researchers looked at how well Read More...
Richard Branson: Why digital currencies will change the world
The Internet has transformed business beyond recognition. But we still use the same currencies we used a century ago. Digital currencies—like Bitcoins—are about to launch another digital revolution. Here’s what one Bitcoin investor, Sir Richard Branson, has to say ahead of the first The Read More...
Doing less gets you further, professionally and personally
How many times a day do you check your phone? A dozen? More? A Times magazine study found the average was 110: The average person unlocks their phone 110 times a day. But that’s understandable, many times it’s for work—you have to. Technological innovations catalyze productivity, boost job Read More...
Companies that do well do better
Need another reason to back climate change initiatives? Here’s one: It makes companies stronger. A recent report tracked S&P 500 companies for three years and found that organizations that had a plan for climate change, like emissions risk management policies, greenhouse gas reduction goals, Read More...
This dealer knows how to sell electric cars
Electric cars are becoming more popular for obvious, good reasons. Still their sales figures are marginal. This year 0.25 percent of all cars sold in Canada are electric. But at Bourgeois Chevrolet, an hour North of Montreal electric cars make up 35 percent (!) of total sales. There are no special Read More...
Tackling Indian poverty through job creation
One of the problems with charity is that it doesn’t address the root of a problem—people not being able to support themselves. In India, and around the world, a new form of business employs those who would normally receive charity to make consumer and other goods, so they can be Read More...
North of France declares itself a hub for social enterprise
Northern France is mostly known for old heavy industries and agriculture—not as place of social innovation. But that’s about to change. Inspired by Nobel Peace Prize winner and social business pioneer, Muhammad Yunus, this region of France has declared itself “a hub for social enterprise”. Read More...
Impact investing: A socially conscious market
The wake of the 2008 financial crisis has left many skeptical of the ethical practices that drive our banks and investment institutions. The better answer is called: Impact investing According to this new model the social ramifications of business are as important as the quarterly profits figures. Read More...