Amazon.com Drops Price on ‘Tailoring the Green Suit’ Hardcover Edition

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Great news!

Amazon.com has dropped the price of Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy…again! The new price for the hardcover edition–$17.59–reflects a 20 percent discount off of the $19.99 list price.

And the timing could not be better.

Many of you know recent college grads struggling to find corporate entry-level work. And many more of you know work world veterans that have been “between jobs” way too long (some two years or more). Tailoring the Green Suit provides up-and-comers and veteran executives alike the key steps they need to pivot–successfully–into the green business world!

Planning your Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa shopping early? Then make sure to include Tailoring the Green Suit on your gift list.

It makes a great stocking stuffer!

Order your copies, today!

Noted Green Business & Marketing Authority Reviews ‘Tailoring the Green Suit’

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

I am a long-time admirer of Anne Michaelsen, green marketer and author of The Green Inkwell. Anne is a leading advocate of the new green economy.

Now, Anne has penned a review of Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy.

From the book review:

While I’m not currently in the market for a Green job (I’ve created my own, thank you), I do like to keep tabs on every aspect of the Green economy. The demand for Green jobs has certainly caught my attention. So when Green business executive recruiter Dan Smolen announced the publication of his new book, Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy, you can bet I perused it with interest.

Check out the full book review, here.

Nook! Nook! (Who’s There?); E-version of ‘Tailoring the Green Suit’ Now Available at Barnes & Noble

Cross-Posted from The Green Suits:

Great news!

Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy is now available for the nook^TM e-reader at Barnes & Noble.

Even better news!

You can download Tailoring the Green Suit to nook for just $7.99–a savings of 20 percent off of the e-book list price!

And perhaps the best news of all!

With nook, you may lend Tailoring the Green Suit to your friends and relatives aspiring to be ambitious green business executives!

We could not be more pleased!

Doing Well and Doing Right (Not as Easy as it Sounds)

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

In my book, Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy, I state that the enterprising green business executive–The Green Suit–may do well and do right, making the world a better place.

But, just how easy is it for any of us to do well and do right at the same time? Given the prolonged economic downturn we are experiencing, not very.

Fewer of us are getting hired or re-hired while more are adjusting to doing more with less. Yet, despite that, The Green Suit must continue striving to do well and do right.

And might I add that The Green Suit must do well and do right in a deliberate manner. We cannot pass the time gazing at our PDAs, our online calendars, or our navels waiting for economic and hiring conditions to improve. Instead, we must do all we can now to usher in the new green economy, faster.

Whether you hope to pivot into a green executive job–or–want to turn the conventional assignment you have green, there are ways you can leverage your time and energies well. Here are five things you should be doing now to tailor your Green Suit:

1. Gather information. Make it your daily practice to read news stories pertaining to corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Become fully familiar with the issues and the thought-leaders in the green business space;
2. Gain knowledge. Enroll in a corporate sustainability-focused MBA program, or–if you are not sure exactly how you want to pivot your executive career into the green space–then audit courses on business-related environmental subjects so that you can commit to a course of study that best suits your interests and motivations;
3. Get on-the-job experience. This one is not as easy as it sounds, yet it is critically important. If you are already in a green job or working for an obviously green company (such as a renewable energy or green tech company) then do everything you can now to expand your corporate sustainability and/or CSR expertise. If you are not in a green job or work for a not-obviously-green company (such as an insurance provider or a financial institution) then do everything that you can now to adopt best-practices. Stage your company’s first green audit, baseline-measure the carbon footprint, recommend how your firm may return millions of dollars to the bottom-line by conserving energy and water, and promote and execute CSR programs involving skill-based volunteerism. If you are not currently employed, get selected as a corporate sustainability program intern;
4. Walk the walk. Demonstrate your corporate greenness by conserving energy and resources at home, limit your dry-cleaning by steam-pressing your work attire, partake in mass-transit commuting, become a tele-commuter and work from home, and write opinion editorials (op/eds) for your local newspaper that promote sustainability and CSR, and;
5. Remain totally ENTHUSIASTIC. Your high energy and good spirits will help render you a more-attractive job candidate, aid your rise up the corporate ladder, help win you admirers in the senior corporate ranks, and increase your visibility and credibility in the green business community.

Have you had your fill or the corporate life? Then maybe it is time to become an eco-entrepreneur. Perhaps the-most exciting aspect of the new green economy is that millions of start up businesses focused on sustainability, green tech, or CSR will be launched. As an eco-entrepreneur, you will lead innovation and ideation that in turn will rebuild our nation’s wealth, drive profitability for generations, and provide careers for green-minded executives–The Green Suits.

Our future looks very bright, indeed. Take advantage of the current (overcast) conditions to become an enthusiastic and successful green business executive. And to guide you to a great green business executive career, buy your copy of Tailoring the Green Suit, today.

Amazon Drops Price on ‘Tailoring the Green Suit’ Hardcover Edition

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

Here is some great news for loyal Amazon.com customers!

Amazon has just applied a 10 percent discount to Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy. This new $19.79 price matches Barnes & Noble’s best price for the book.

Having trouble deciding on a gift for that recent college or grad school grad? Consider a gift wrapped copy of Tailoring the Green Suit from Amazon.com!

With the economy still not showing signs of enduring growth and stability, entry-level and mid-level executives need all the help that they can get. And if they are motivated to land green jobs or pivot into green business careers, then they must also act strategically!

Tailoring the Green Suit is a must-have resource for any aspiring green business executive. It is a highly useful “process book” designed to help executives start or further successful green business careers.

And now with Amazon’s new discounted price, there is added incentive for you to help that newly minted grad become The Green Suit!

One More Reason to Promote Tele-commuting…

From The Green Suits:

…is that it allows business executives greater proximity to the natural world.

Earlier today, I was on the phone with a client when I heard this unfamiliar noise–a squeak. At first, I thought it was a loose floorboard. Then I wondered if one of the many smoke detectors in the house had a low battery.

Then, I looked out the window and saw THIS!

To our readers who are more-familiar with inner city areas, may I introduce you to Buteo jamaicensis, otherwise known as the Red-Tailed Hawk. He or she is perched on a table on my deck.

What an inspiring sight!

Tele-commuting has many obvious bottom-line benefits. Chief among them: it enables executives to significantly reduce their carbon footprints. And, by reducing or eliminating daily commutes by car–some of which may be 2 hours round-trip or longer–executives become more-productive on the job.

But tele-commuting also offers pleasant–and awe inspiring–moments such as these! I don’t know about you, but discovering this wild critter reminds me why we green business executives do what we do.

From the book:

“Many executives will be guided by their own strong sense of social conscience and will seek management opportunities in green business so that they may do well and do right, making the world a better place.”

As The Green Suits, let us promote tele-commuting as a great way to impact corporate sustainability, increase productivity, and benefit society.

Tailoring the Green Suit Now in Joseph-Beth Booksellers’ Career Section

Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Fredericksburg, Va. is a great local bookstore.

Why is this store great? Well, it gives back to the community.

It also ❤s local authors!

Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy has new prominent shelf place in the store’s career section. It won’t be hard to find; look for the shelf talker (left).

Amazon Drops Price on Kindle Version of ‘Tailoring the Green Suit’

Great news for Kindle readers!

Amazon.com has dropped the price of Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy. The new price–$8.99–reflects a 10 percent price cut.

Kindle is a big hit with executives-on-the-go. And now, many more will enjoy Tailoring the Green Suit for less!

UPDATE 8/9/10: For reasons we cannot explain, Amazon.com has restored the hardcover book’s price to the original $21.99. If you are as puzzled as we are, then we encourage you to contact the “big giant head” (a.k.a. Amazon) and vent your spleen! Tell them to restore the sale price to $19.79 or you’ll purchase elsewhere!

Walking the Walk

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

In Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy, I devote a chapter section to how green business executives may show greenness to the outside world by “walking the walk.”

Among the suggestions offered for showing greenness is “know your stuff.” From the book:

“You lend the green business revolution great value by being a well-informed ambassador. Borrow a page from the pundits on television and have your talking points ready to discuss with interested executives or perhaps climate change skeptics…

With the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico still a serious economic and ecological stressor–and this week, with temperatures in communities along the Atlantic Seaboard reaching well beyond 100 degrees Fahrenheit–there are plenty of us chiming in about global warming.

And that is a good thing.

Yet, many people use the terms weather and climate as if they were interchangeable. For instance–this past Wednesday afternoon, as the outdoor temperature gauge on my car’s dashboard reached 108 degrees–I caught myself drawing a causal relationship between that record-high temperature and “global warming.”

Is there linkage between Wednesday’s record heat and global warming?

Maybe. But, then again, maybe not.

Dr. Fred Lipshultz, is a well-respected oceanographer. He reminds me that weather and climate are indeed two very different concepts. To paraphrase Dr. Lipshultz, weather happens over days whereas climate happens over years, decades, and centuries.

The term “global warming” seems as immediate as a severe weather event. And it is scary, conjuring up images of Polar Bears straddling melting icebergs. Instead, he suggests decoupling weather and climate by adopting the term “climate alteration.”

“There is no doubt,” Dr. Lipshultz adds. “[Man] has altered earth’s climate.”

He makes a very good point, indeed. The part of Northern Virginia where I live and work was once primeval forest. Yet over the past 350 years, much of that forest was turned into farmland–and later–suburban and exurban communities. Centuries ago, summer heat was reflected by the tree tops of old-growth forests, Now, the shopping center where my car’s thermometer registered 108 degrees gets super-heated, because arces of it are paved with (heat-absorbing) asphalt.

Man has altered earth’s climate. And the term, climate alteration, is a good one to use. Thank you, Dr. Lipshultz.

To learn more about climate alteration, check out resources like the NOAA Climate Services website.

In walking the walk of a well-informed Green Suit, seize opportunities to explain the difference between weather and climate. July’s record heat and “Snowmageddon” were serious weather events, indeed. But we must be careful how we relate these and other events like them to climate alteration.

Is ‘Green Certification’ Worth It?

Cross-posted from The Green Suits:

It is a question that I am hearing quite often.

Green businesses or businesses looking to be (more) green are investigating lots of ways to turn their “greenness” into a competitive advantage. That is why many businesses are considering green business certification.

But is green certification worth it?

The answer to that question depends on a lot of key variables, chief among them:

• Will green business certification help my company effect “profitable sustainability?”
• Will the certification persuade my business prospects to become customers?
• Will it provide my company with considerable re-selling and up-selling opportunities that otherwise it might not have?
• Will it overcome the perception that my company is not green enough?

As should pertain to any product or service purchase, the words “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware) definitely apply to any green certification process.

Yes, there are many good (and some very good) green certification programs on the market. But if you are considering green certification for your company it is important to do your homework, speak to executives that have gone through the process, find out how they feel about the company that provided the green certification. Most of all, ask this: has green certification been good for their business?

Be skeptical.

Before you contract with any green certification company, it is critical that you fully understand the process and the services you will get for your money. And ask yourself: will it be worth the investment of time and money? (Hopefully, it will.)

As The Green Suits, we are transforming our companies and organizations into lean, green fighting machines as we maximize the Triple Bottom Line. But as The Green Suits, we must be in charge of self-regulation, making sure that green certification programs on the market actually deliver the goods. We are responsible for calling out players in the space that do not live up to our high standards, or, are just out to take the money and run.

We’re interested to know what you think. Have you gone through green certification? Has it “delivered” what you expected? Or, has it been a disappointment?

Inquiring minds want to know!