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In developments of a grander scale, I am pleased to report that the parent company of The Karma Capitalist -- Moon Day Media -- has completed its initial round of financing. If you would like to learn more about our company, you will find a presentation and a sampling of our development work: link

The files are large and take a while to load, but they are well worth the wait (in my opinion). Thank you!

Reinventing Bleach

The Clorox Company says it wants to transform itself into a company focused on health, wellness and environmental sustainability. My first impression was scepticism believing this is another attempt by a major company to latch onto a marketing trend. It turns out I was wrong to be sceptical.

Chief Executive Don Knauss plans a major push towards personal products with the first step being the purchase of lip balm and lotion maker Burt's Bees for $925 million. Knauss is also launching a line of natural cleaners under the label Green Works. Green Works cleaners are made from 99 percent natural plant-based ingredients and perform as well as conventional cleaners. And Green Works bottles are 100 percent recyclable.

These are exciting developments for a company that has not launched a new brand in 20 years. But how does Clorox intend on transforming its current product line up to fit this new image? How will Knauss make such major revenue producers as Clorox Bleach and Glad plastic trash bags environmentally friendly?

Regarding Clorox bleach, it turns out that the brand's least earth-friendly aspect is not the liquid in the bottle but the bottle itself. Much to my surprise, Clorox liquid bleach breaks down quickly once down the drain, primarily into salt and water. The same cannot be said for plastic trash bags -- which will never break down no matter how long they sit in the landfill. To credit Clorox though, Glad bags have been re-engineered to use less plastic and the plastic that is used in manufacturing is entirely recycled. The ultimate environmental solution for plastic trash bags has more to do with consumers (who should use less or none of them) than Clorox.

While no company is perfect, Clorox has a solid track record in environmental practices. Maybe transforming this 100 year old company will not be so difficult after all. link

Gratuitous Philanthropy

Al Gore made news today by joining forces with noted Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins link to spearhead investments in environmentally friendly energy sources and clean technology. link

The 45th Vice President of The United States is teaming with one of the most successful venture capitalist firms as a partner with the likes of John Doerr, who was behind Netscape and Google to name a few of his stellar hits.

Never shy about making headlines and leveraging the press to tell his story, Gore also announced that he would be donating his salary to the Alliance for Climate Protection -- the non-partisan foundation he chairs that focuses on the climate crisis. Unfortunately for the foundation, however, Gore will be keeping for himself the options and equity stakes he receives from his venture investments -- and this is where the real money is made in venture capital.

Don't get me wrong. I love what Al Gore has done to promote the dangers of global warming and I certainly wish he and not George W was in the White House. And I am all for making money AND doing good. But this donation is more about making headlines than making a difference.

Running And Spiritual Growth -- Part II

My friend Tom read my recent post about A-ROD and suggested I do a follow up piece on A-ROD's meditation practice, which has apparently turbocharged his baseball talents even further. Unfortunately, despite visiting the superstar's web page and doing a variety of Google searches, I could find nothing on the subject. My searches did reveal though that on the same day that A-ROD opted out of his Yankees' contract, 1960's legend, Donovan, announced the creation of a meditation center in Scotland. A-ROD is linked to meditation after all.

Google also led me to a wonderful interview with the recently departed Sri Chimnoy who built an entire spiritual following based on the dual tenets of meditation and endurance sports such as long distance running. Sri Chimnoy believed that physical feats such as marathons or power lifting were conduits to spiritual development -- somewhat contradicting the premise of my last post. Unfortunately, since Sri Chimnoy is no longer with us in the physical form, I am unable to ask him this question directly.

In that earlier post, I commented that working hard and running long distance were doing very little for my spiritual growth. I'll leave it to you to decide if my views coincide or conflict with those of Sri Chimnoy. link

And for more on the death of Sri Chimnoy, please visit the October 17Th entry of the hugely popular weblog -- Souljerky, produced by my dear partner, Spiros. link

Raise Your Arms and Bend Backwards

Yoga took me off the traditional career track. For me, the daily practice of yoga muted my raw ambition and gave me a broader sense of what I really wanted to accomplish in life.

For decades, I focused on "achievement" -- nothing unusual for a Harvard MBA. During this time, I was also an avid runner. And my running paralleled by career. Just as I pushed myself to run marathons at a faster pace, I pushed myself higher up the corporate ladder. Until I realized I could not sustain this pace over a lifetime. And that's when I discovered yoga.

The frame of reference for most business people is onward and upward. And over time you become less flexible both physically and emotionally. And this is not helped by long hours at work behind a desk. Business people are not geared to bend in all directions. And, this is damaging in the long run.

I am not suggesting you quit your job or derail your career aspirations. I continue to explore new growth opportunities and recently joined a new media start up. I am suggesting though that you find an activity that complements this mad rush forward. You'll find that twisting and bending backwards (even if only figuratively) provides many benefits, especially when everyone else around you seems to be racing forward with blinders on.

A little bending and twisting will make you more reflective and thoughtful. And, the added flexibility will enable you to adapt to the changing demands placed on you. At the very least, you will reduce your risk of back injury, the next time you bend over to pick up something. That's what a little yoga can do for you. And just maybe, it can do a whole lot more.

Sequential Philanthrophy

About 18 months ago, Warren Buffet made big news with the announcement of his $30.7 billion pledge to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At the time, this was estimated to be about 85% of his fortune.

In the event you have been living on Mars, Bill Gates (with $56 billion) and Warren Buffet (with $52 billion) are the 3rd and 4th richest people in the world. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was started by the Microsoft founder with his wife in 2000 and now has an endowment of $34.6 billion.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet each made an enormous sum of money over the course of their careers and now are beginning to give most of it away. This is a generous, noble and rational approach to philanthropy -- wait until you are older and have more money than you and your heirs can spend, and then give most of it away. And if you are Bill Gates, who for most of his life was viewed as the ruthless brain power behind the Microsoft monopoly, it is a wonderful way to redefine his legacy.

Gates and Buffet are engaging in what I will refer to as sequential philanthropy. First make a significant amount of money, and then give it away – in such a way as to not cause much personal hardship to you during your lifetime. There are other ways to give -- ways which involve much more personal sacrifice.

Let me give you an example. Over the weekend, I met a man in his 50’s who has volunteered for the Special Olympics for thirty years. He has been a year-round volunteer for most of those years and has worked on a daily basis for extended periods of time. He coordinates regional training activities and officiates at competitive events. His wife is a volunteer too and now that their children are grown, married and out on their own, they can travel together to Special Olympic events and meetings around the world.

I asked this gentleman if he had a special needs child or loved one, who instigated his volunteerism with the Special Olympics. He said he did not. I asked him if he had made his money very early in his career and chose to spend most of his adulthood “giving back.” He said he had not and that even today he holds down a full time job to pay the bills. I asked him if Special Olympics ever employed him during that 30-year period. He answered that he has given time and energy freely and has never been on the organization’s payroll.

This man has given an Olympic-sized donation of time and energy to an organization that serves people in need. He gave up opportunities to spend time with his family and perhaps make his own millions (or billions) had he channeled his energies in an entrepreneurial direction. His donation was not sequential – it has been continuous. While he may not make headlines or cure world hunger, this man has made a far bigger philanthropic sacrifice than either Gates or Buffet. There are many others like him who contribute in a quiet, sustained way.

If you want to support this gentleman, who asked to remain anonymous, you can visit the Special Olympics website and get involved yourself – or give a donation. link In any event, don’t wait until you’ve made your money or are too old to spend it—start helping others right now.

The Soul of Capitalism

Our good friend, Shreedevi Thacker, brought to our attention this incredible interview with John Bogle conducted by Bill Moyers for PBS. And if for some reason, you cannot watch the video, do take the time to read the transcript. link

As Shreedevi notes, Bogle does not mince words when speaking about what is driving capitalism today and the impact that this is having on society. In Bogle's view, the productive system (which makes things) adds value whereas the financial system (which provides the money to help companies makes things) subtracts it. In Bogle's view this is not inherently wrong -- just way out of balance.

Today, the economy is driven largely by the financial system and the bankers, mutual fund managers, hedge funds and CEO's who profit from it. Financial companies now make more money than agricultural companies; and energy companies; and technology companies; and manufacturing companies; and so on. The 25 highest paid hedge fund managers each made more than $129 million last year.

Bogle, the author of "The Soul of Capitalism" is no mere social critic or academician. He is the founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group. Under his leadership, the company grew to be the second largest mutual fund company in the world. His awards and distinctions include being named as one of the "world’s 100 most powerful and influential people" by Time magazine and one of the investment industry’s four "Giants of the 20th Century" by Fortune magazine.