Stuff to Rock Your World.

A Trashy Problem

[Sorry to disappoint those who saw this title and rushed to open it, looking for the juicy gossip and trashy story...Bummer, this post is about something much more serious and worldly. Keep reading, though - next time maybe?!]

The trashy problem that I speak of is happening in Naples, Italy - land of the most carefree and joyful people ever...and also unfortunately the mafia.

Naples, you see, has a problem with its garbage. The landfills are full, and the mafia runs the trash collection service. Put the two together and what do you get? Ya got it - a trashy mess! Neapolitans have had problems getting their trash collected and it has piled up in the streets. But not just a little. A lot.

Today, Silvio Berlusconi, esteemed off again-on-again prime minister, visited Naples and vowed to fix the problem - once and for all. His solution? Bring in the military. You got it: they will guard dump sites (protesters had blocked access to said facilities) and promised stiff measures for anyone caught trespassing or blocking refuse collection, including up to one year of jail time. Previous attempts to open dumps have been hampered by the protests of residents worried by health risks.

He also promises to build more incinerators. 

Meanwhile, there are serious concerns about the spread of disease, rats and cockroaches, and this of course is aggravated by the warming weather.

It would seem that this problem might inspire the government to perhaps think of recycling, composting and reducing garbage production in the first place. Since dump space is becoming limited, finding ways to reduce waste should be the top policy to pursue.

Trust me - Naples is a beautiful city...but until this trashy problem is solved, the stink will keep the visitors away...

--C.L.C.

Shipping Container Living

I spent the day yesterday at my Leadership San Francisco session learning about workforce housing - or the lack thereof - in San Francisco. And it made me think that if we are to find affordable housing solutions where developers can make a return on investment, costs can be kept low, and prices are actually accessible to the workforce, we really need to think out of the box...or is it...the container?

Enter Container City located at Trinity Buoy Wharf in the heart of London's Docklands. Urban Space Management devised the concept of recycling discarded shipping containers for other uses - namely housing, schools and offices.

Why shipping containers? Well, considering our trade deficit, more containers come in to our ports, than go out. And it is not cost effective to send the containers back empty to pick up more stuff for the American consumer to buy. So we have lots and lots of these things sitting around in our ports. Besides, they are modular, stack easily, are sturdy, and they are cheap.

The first phase of Container City was built in 5 months, was 3 stories high and provided 12 work-live studios. Eventually a fourth floor was added, bringing the units up to 16. Talk about environmentally friendly: they were built with 80% recycled materials.

Phase 2 became more adventurous, with a brightly painted funky ziggurat shape, balconies and bridges. And since then they have built children's center, youth centers and an office building.

These modular buildings have been sited in places and then moved - a termite-proof mobile home to boot! Some have created veritable masterpieces of architecture with such containers...

Yes, they are funky. And, yes, it seems like artists are some of the early adopters - others may not feel quite as comfortable in such a house. And, yes, in a place like San Francisco there isn't a lot of land...But compared to the "affordable" housing we toured yesterday (a one-bedroom loft sells for $500,000), developers may find that the numbers pencil out much better with shipping container housing. Who knows, comfortable, spacious and environmentally-friendly housing might bring back the teachers and public safety workers to the city after all...

Now the question remains, would you NIMBY such a project in your neighborhood in order to have a teacher or firefighter live in your community?

--C.L.C.

This Brand Is About The Journey

I am so inspired by people who have vision, take risks and doggedly pursue their dreams. These are leaders who believe in themselves so much that they are able to persist despite adversity.

One such leader is Gary Erickson, the founder of Clif Bar. He is a leader that has staked his business and life based on the idea that it’s the journey that matters, not the destination.

Gary’s story goes something like this: in 1990, he was living in a garage with his dog, skis, bicycle and two trumpets. One day he went on a 175 mile bike ride with a buddy, and gnawed on a bunch of energy bars all day to keep going. By the end of the day he was so sick of these bars that he couldn’t take one more bite. He calls this his “epiphany” moment when he realized he could make a bar that was much better. He worked in his mother’s kitchen to develop a bar that was nutritious, healthy and yummy. He named the bar after his father, Clifford.

After an initial success with his bars, Gary almost sold the company because of its rapid growth. He struggled with the risk of walking away from the corporate buyout versus keeping the company. If he was to keep it, he needed to buy out his business partner. Eventually he made the decision to make a go of it on his own. This took a huge amount of guts. And vision. And love for the journey.

The rest is history. Driven by his passion for food, family and adventure, Gary and his team have been very successful, but it has not been an easy road. He equates his Clif Bar journey to his bicycle adventures in Europe where he took his road bike off the road on paths less traveled – even on non-existent trails where he had to carry the bike on his back. These roads were not the quick way to his destination, nor were they the easiest, but certainly the journey was much more rewarding because of the unexpected twists and turns.

Gary has an inspiring philosophy of business, the workplace, community and the environment. The company has focused on building social and environmental responsibility in to every aspect of their business. They monitor progress based on not one, but five bottom lines:

1. Sustaining our Brands: Make what people actually need. Never compromise quality.
2. Sustaining our Business: Grow slower, grow better and stick around longer.
3. Sustaining our People: Create a workplace where people can live life to its fullest, even from 9 to 5. (Imagine a workplace where you can “work hard, play hard, recover” and start all over again!)
4. Sustaining our Community: Be good neighbors. Give back to the community.
5. Sustaining our Planet: Keep our impact small even as we grow

Kudos to Gary Erickson for creating and sustaining a business that is more than just growing the bottom line at the expense of its people and our planet! And kudos for showing us that the journey is full of wonder and inspiration.

-C.L.C.