Rick writes about his feelings of distress with American business (and this could be equally applied to Australia). I think it is an important read, now more than ever, regardless of whether you agree with him or not. So where do you start?
Well, start with the small things. You may think the following is trivialising the issue (not at all my intention), but it is very funny and makes a good simple message:
http://www.storewars.org/flash/
(it has been around for a bit so you may have already seen it)
By the way Rick, my wife and you share many ideas here. One of the things I love about Michele is how she makes a stand on even the small issues where it is clear that the business she is dealing with is totally out of line. One thing she does really well is stays rational, clearly presenting her case and thoroughly following up with a company she is dis-satisfied with. I learn heaps from her all the time. Ofcourse the temptation is to think ‘why bother? I’m only a drop in the ocean’, but as you say, if we don’t even make a stand, then we are effectively condoning the actions of big business. The good thing is that it doesn’t take too much effort to make a small difference, whether it is the buying decisions we make or more importantly the integrity with which we run our own businesses.
Sadly with our buying decisions on clothing it is almost impossible to buy an item that hasn’t been through a sweat shop at some point. But in other areas, especially food, we still have choices (well in Australia at least). However in our own businesses we have our maximum potential to fight the corrupt practices of (some) big companies. One thing my boss often reminds us of, is that ‘we are born with our integrity, whether we die with it is up to us’. Let’s not be a generation that decided it was easier to follow the path of corporate greed.
Taking on the big boys
T
