Sustainable Business - (High-Impact Business Innovation) by Cj Meadows (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

What would you get if you combined an entrepreneur, a technologist, a financier, and a strategist/ecologist with an international chef, corporate lawyer, architect, and more? One such international leadership team created a new model of eco-development (economic and ecological) and introduced it with an array of on-the-ground programs into a village on the edge of one of India's original nine Project Tiger nature reserves.

This book presents the story of this remarkable center. It argues that to save an endangered species, you have to save its environment, and to save those, you must "save" the people that live with them, by providing eco-sensitive ways to grow economically, without encroaching on the natural environment or helping poachers.

This "Golden Triangle" model is put forth in this book that includes eco-development facts and figures, engaging "how-it-happened" vignettes, insights and lessons learned, and results - including a four-times increase in tiger numbers, generation of new base-of-pyramid businesses, fierce eco-protectiveness by local people, eager adoption of eco-technologies, and economic and social betterment. Scalable implications are provided for economic and ecological development worldwide.

Review Quotes

"Inspiring and timely! If you care about sustainability, innovation, impact investing, social enterprise, not-for-profit organizations/NGOs, or just generally making our world better-this is the book for you." -Virginia Cha, Global Agenda Council Member, World Economic Forum

"A must-read for every corporate executive interested in ESG, CSR, and emerging market expansion. The content is invaluable for government and conservation leaders, too!" -Dr. Asli Chamizo-Toksal, Sustainability, AI, and Innovation Consultant and Board Director

"A watershed work! Environmentalists and economists have much to learn from each other, and this book both uncovers the synergies and provides a practical scorecard for management. Fascinating expose of how vastly different people work together for common good." -Prof. Nishikant Mukerji, Member, Wildlife Ecotourism Board of Maharashtra; Director, Center for Science in Villages

"A passionate personal story of tigers, environment, and people! This book also provides larger lessons for all social entrepreneurs who seek a better balance between people, economics, and the natural environment." -Dr. Chris Marshall, VP-Data Analytics, AI, Resiliency, and Sustainability, IDC Asia Pacific

"An inspiring story of people, passion, and purpose coming together for the betterment of our planet! With deep insights on innovation and entrepreneurship, Dr. Meadows takes us on a journey to magnificent tigers, indigenous tribes, and success fueled by community partnership." -Priya Rath, Sustainability, Agriculture, Product Management, and Partnerships Leader, Bayer

"Enjoyable, informative, and insightful! The surprising facts, entrepreneurial stories, lessons learned, and integration of ecology, economy, and people make this a useful, inspiring read." -Nigel Cosans, Independent Producer for Discovery and National Geographic

"A must-read for anyone who cares about sustainability! Whether you're founding, funding, or running an ESG-sensitive enterprise -- or just want to learn more about endangered species and environment -- this book will provide key facts, frameworks, and insights you need." -Puneet Pushkarna, Venture Capitalist at Solmark; Chairman, Servion Global Solutions & Innoveo

About the Author

Dr. CJ Meadows is the Director of i2e, The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at SP Jain School of Global Management. She designed and launched new innovation programs (Design Thinking, Disruptive Innovation with Harvard Business Online, and startup360 with IBM Garage) and has certified hundreds of executives and MBA's in IDEO's design-thinking methodology. She initiated new consulting and education relationships with top-tier clients (e.g. World Bank, Cisco, MSD (Merck), Novartis, ADP, etc.), as well as collaborations with indubators, industry leaders, mentors, and more. Her research and coaching focus on Leadership & Creativity, and she runs an advanced-technologies Think Tank & Tinker Lab (2050ed.tech), envisioning the future of education and applying AI, biometrics, and other advanced technologies to human L&D.

She holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School, USA and was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Dr. Meadows has over 20 years' experience in Asia, Europe, and North America providing strategy & business-development consulting to major corporations and new ventures alike, as well as executive education programmes individually and in conjunction with top business schools.

When businesses were just starting to go online, CJ co-founded an Innovation Lab in Singapore within a premier eBusiness consulting firm that built ground-breaking eBusiness for clients such as Chase, Morgan Stanley, AT&T, J&J, Boots, & Marubeni. Her lab collaborated with the firm's labs in San Francisco, New York, and London, as a place where clients could go to use a well-researched and well-honed innovation methodology to tackle key business issues. She led projects, worked with client executives to define their key business issues and envision the future, and fostered new client relationships with government and financial services organizations such as Standard Chartered Bank, DBS, Societe Generale, MetLife, Dun & Bradstreet, Dao Heng, GIC, Singapore Prime Minister's Office, Singapore Tourism Board, Ministry of Manpower, Attorney General's Chambers, and Singapore Law Academy.

Earlier, as a member of Accenture's Strategy Group (financial services) -- then the largest strategy consulting group in the world -- CJ structured & led projects, developed & managed client relationships, and served as an expert resource to envision industry futures and clients' positioning; define core competence & competitive advantage; define value creation, business models, partnerships, & implementation approach; and more. She was a member years earlier of Accenture's Information Technology practice, building finance & accounting systems for the US Government.

As an entrepreneur, she co-founded a variety of corporations, partnerships, etc. in several industries on three continents. At her own consultancy, she brought new research to business problems, serving clients such as Singapore Technologies, Ernst & Young (EY), Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, and the United Nations (UNIDO). In the social enterprise space, she remains the Chairman & Co-Founder of The Tiger Center (TTC), a ground-breaking social enterprise in central India. TTC whitepapers on the use of natural assets for economic development have been discussed in the Parliament of India, and the firm has impacted public policy.

Dr. Meadows has taught at Harvard University, INSEAD, Asian Institute of Management, National University of Singapore, and for MNC's both privately and in conjunction with Singapore Management University. Her latest research & new multimedia books focus on high-value lateral innovation, with a new model, process, and insights for innovation leaders and individuals, as well as implications for teams and organizations.

For more information, see drcjmeadows.com and https: //www.linkedin.com/in/drcjmeadows/.