Stories from the Community

How an Oregon Startup Is Putting Soul into the Tech World
Tom Hering Tom Hering

How an Oregon Startup Is Putting Soul into the Tech World

From the get-go, the leadership team of the Signalmash brand at Mash Technologies asked themselves a simple question: “What does it mean to be a responsible tech company today?”

They found their answer with 3 simple words: People, Planet, Profit and the pillars of a benefit corporation.

Taking a triple bottom line approach to business made it easy to answer the hard questions of building a tech organization. If the action the company was evaluating didn’t also positively impact people and planet, the answer was a simple “no.”

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How a Mission-Driven Firm Supporting Dramatists Earned its Curtain Call
Tom Hering Tom Hering

How a Mission-Driven Firm Supporting Dramatists Earned its Curtain Call

Planet and Profit as public benefit corporation in New York City.

DG Copyright Management or DG©M is a purpose-driven business. It believes in doing work that makes a difference in the world. And it’s the very reason why this estate planning consultancy and intellectual property management organization chose to adopt a triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit.

As a certified Benefit Corporation for Good, DG©M is committed to social and environmental impact. It joins a family of businesses from 5 states and 1 Canadian province whose values are aligned in creating a better business, a better community and a better planet.

We recently interviewed Debra Murad, executive director of DG©M about becoming a certified Benefit Corporation for Good. Here’s what she had to say about it, her firm’s motivation for doing it and why it’s helping DG©M take a leading role in working with dramatists and their works.

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8 Ways To Boost Your Imagination and Build a Culture of Creativity
MaryAnne Harmer MaryAnne Harmer

8 Ways To Boost Your Imagination and Build a Culture of Creativity

What does it mean to be creative? Are you known for your out of the box thinking? Can we learn to be more creative as leaders?

Today, creativity is needed more than ever as we take on workplace and societal challenges., but leaders that come up with innovations may not necessarily describe themselves as creative.

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How a Strategic Financial Services Firm Found Its Purpose Far Beyond the Bottom Line
Tom Hering Tom Hering

How a Strategic Financial Services Firm Found Its Purpose Far Beyond the Bottom Line

As the founder and CEO of Tailwind PDX, Colleen Ruhlin brings a Fortune 100 financial and accounting skill set to her clients. Her strategic thinking and ability to see beyond a company’s financial statistics can do much to improve the performance of a business.

But when she made the decision to become an Oregon Benefit Company, she knew it wasn’t solely about the numbers. It was based on the practice of a Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet and Profit where a business focuses on its employees, its clients, and its communities in addition to making a profit.

We recently interviewed Colleen about becoming a certified Oregon Benefit Company. Here’s what she had to say about it, her motivation for doing it, and why it was right for her business.

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How a World-Class Research Firm Found  its Big ‘Aha’ in Becoming a Force for Good
Tom Hering Tom Hering

How a World-Class Research Firm Found its Big ‘Aha’ in Becoming a Force for Good

When Marzano Research decided to become an Oregon Benefit Company, they knew that a Triple Bottom Line approach to business was the only way for them. After all, they believe that a business must go beyond just making profit to be of value in the eyes of their employees, their clients and their communities.

Recently they felt the time was right to certify those beliefs and practices of…

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Who Else Wants to Help Oregon Small Businesses Impact the World?
Tom Hering Tom Hering

Who Else Wants to Help Oregon Small Businesses Impact the World?

The Oregon Benefit Company was introduced in January 2014. Yet very few state businesses know about it or the simple steps required to become one. In fact, Oregon lists over 320,000 businesses today but only 1800 of them, or less than .5%, have chosen to become one.

How can this be, you ask?

Well, the plain and simple fact is that there is a lack of awareness. But we aim to change that and need your support so we can spread the word about how a business can commit to making a positive impact on society and the environment in addition to making a profit.

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How a Purpose-Driven Consulting Firm  Took It Up Another Notch
Tom Hering Tom Hering

How a Purpose-Driven Consulting Firm Took It Up Another Notch

Change is the new normal. Resilient, agile and adaptive organizations stay ahead of the competition. And while The Peak Fleet co-founders Jen Coyne and Brian Stinson help prepare organizations for dealing effectively with such organizational change, they’ve also embraced a transformation of their own by becoming a certified Benefit Corporation for Good.

For the past 3 years, their firm has modeled the principles of the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet and Profit. No doubt those values have been part of their careers and business from the get-go. And recently they felt the time was right to certify those values and practices through Benefit Corporations for Good.

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How a Tiny California Town Underscored the Power of the Triple Bottom Line for Me
Tom Hering Tom Hering

How a Tiny California Town Underscored the Power of the Triple Bottom Line for Me

After just returning from an unforgettable trip to Northern California, I must say I have renewed and unabashed enthusiasm for the Triple Bottom Line movement. And it all started with our journey and quest for oysters and a stop at Hog Island Oyster Company.

It's what opened my eyes as we walked into this little gem of an oyster shack. For sure my mouth watered at the sight of the Sweetwaters and French Hog oysters that I saw in front of me. But what really got my attention …

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Why Become a Benefit Corporation: The Revealing Business Case
Tom Hering Tom Hering

Why Become a Benefit Corporation: The Revealing Business Case

Certification as a Benefit Corporation business is what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk or LEEDs certification is to buildings. Benefit Companies and Benefit Corporations are for-profit companies certified around standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. In an era of ‘greenwashing’ and misleading labels…

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Why a Portland Law Firm Became  a Certified Oregon Benefit Company
Tom Hering Tom Hering

Why a Portland Law Firm Became a Certified Oregon Benefit Company

“I graduated law school in 2009. After graduating in the recession and facing a variety of hardships (and bar exams), I became a lawyer in 2017. Here I was finally a lawyer after years of doing other things: marketing and branding, real estate, nonprofit work, conflict resolution/mediation, restaurant work, law firm work, etc. (all legal activity I promise).

Since I was young, I’ve always been…

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Does Your Business Have a Soul? Here's How To Tell...
MaryAnne Harmer MaryAnne Harmer

Does Your Business Have a Soul? Here's How To Tell...

I’ve been around.  And I have many chapters in my life to prove it.

An executive at several major healthcare organizations, an ED at a nonprofit agency, a lead strategist at a branding agency, a coach and a consultant for many local and national government agencies, and an entrepreneur launching two start-up companies.   

AIong the way, I’ve worked in a multitude of capacities, partnering with…

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The Number 1 Strategy for Long-Term Entrepreneur Success:  Be Cause-Driven!
MaryAnne Harmer MaryAnne Harmer

The Number 1 Strategy for Long-Term Entrepreneur Success: Be Cause-Driven!

There is no magic formula for a startup. But in today’s world, it is not just about focusing on the bottom line – generating revenue and managing expenses. Customers in 2018 make choices not solely on the cost and quality of a product or service, but whether the company itself is doing good.

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How Your Benefit Corporation Takes a Stand
Tom Hering Tom Hering

How Your Benefit Corporation Takes a Stand

You know your business stands for something special in the world as a benefit corporation.

But do your key stakeholders? Your partners, customers and clients?

Do they understand your plan to make a difference...to help create an equitable world?

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