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.
Changing chocolate
The New American Chocolate Movement is changing the way we think about and taste chocolate. Their focus is “bean-to-bar” chocolate, meaning choosing cocoa beans that will make the best-tasting chocolate, while using artisanal and traditional techniques to make it. Dandelion Chocolate from San Read More...
Customer, king and keeper
The management at the British company Standing on Giants knows how to prevent customer service frustration: Build your company’s core around your clients. “There are always people who are passionate about your product, whether you’re selling telephones, insurance or cosmetics,” says Vincent Read More...
The un-manager
We've been exploring the idea of shaking up management systems for the upcoming issue of The Intelligent Optimist. Whether that's using cooperatives as an alternative to business as usual, or something fundamentally different in the way we govern ourselves, there's an ongoing discussion worth Read More...
Solar and hydrogen powered cars show promise at electronics show debut
We’re all familiar with hybrid cars that run on a combination of energy and gasoline. But when will the next generation of energy efficient cars make its way to our nation’s highways? Earlier this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, two cars debuted that take the idea of hybrid Read More...
Growing agricultural investment
Photo: Africa Renewal Since little commercial lending goes to agriculture, the African continent is unable to feed its malnourished population of 200 million. Agricultural investment is seen as a risk, mostly due to the lack of data lenders have to work with when weighing the risks and benefits. Read More...
Innovative products make off-the-grid life a little easier
Access to power sources in developing countries is of growing concern, especially as households there depend more and more on phones and other technology for communication and livelihood. Each year, 77 billion liters of fuel is burned to light houses that have no power. Around 20% of the world’s Read More...
From gas to grass
Photo: ToadLickr Urban agriculture means more than planting a few fruits and vegetables – at least for Sole Food Street Farms. The organization produces 60 tons of food per year, and recently transformed an old gas station into what locals call “the largest urban orchard in North Read More...
San Francisco looks to startups to solve city’s problems
“We have the brightest minds to solve our biggest challenges,” said President Barack Obama in a White House address regarding the new management agenda on July 8, 2013. The city of San Francisco is now thinking about using the bright minds of tech-entrepreneurs to help solve the city’s Read More...
Empower Tools
Tradeworks Training Society is a non-profit that teaches carpentry and helps at-risk youth and inner city women develop useful skills for the growing trades industry in Vancouver, Canada. These marginalized populations often have several barriers to employment, like lack of training and emotional Read More...
Grass roots, grass bikes
The first step to making a Semester bike at Hero Bike is to walk down Main Street in Greensboro, AL to a bamboo stand and harvest a large section of the tall grass. Hero Bike is using an abundant local material, bamboo, to produce bicycles, create jobs, and spur economic growth. Hero Bike has been Read More...