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The main focus of companies has been on serving rich market. The reasoning has been: Rich people have money to spend, so let us dream up gadgets and services to sell them. They forget, however, that poor countries represent a vast untapped market.
Globalization has been touted as a boon to all. But in practice, Globalization has meant ascendance of multi-national corporations, not growth of many small companies in all countries.
So I think we should start building an
3 - ANTI-TERRORISM ECONOMY - The purpose of this economy should be to replace terrorism candidates with peace candidates, illiterates with doctorates, and starving nations with booming nations. This can be done by infusing our efforts toward Globalization with spirit of helpfulness:
> Globalization with a Local Face
Anti-Terrorism Business
An anti-terrorism business markets to world, not merely to rich countries. It does its marketing by following 3 principles of Helpfulness Marketing:
1 - LEARNING - Help poor countries learn. They need to learn about agriculture, small business, and about AIDS. We talk a great deal about distance learning. Why not go distance to poor countries?
2 - COOPERATION - Help them build their infrastructure, so they may use Internet. Leap frog their telephone systems to wireless technology. The poor need wireless for fundamental learning tasks, not for talking to their refrigerators, as rich are planning to do.
3 - COMMUNITY - Make poor part of your community. Form alliances and partnerships. Work together on common projects.
Anti-Terrorism Business Examples
Examples of anti-terrorism businesses do exist. Here are 3:
1 - NOVICA - http://www.novica.com - This company travels all over world in search of local crafts: ceramics, jewelry, paintings, clothing, games, sculptures, music, dolls, basketry, lacquerware, etc. Beautiful items from developing countries are offered for sale. Novica makes a fair profit and so do poor artisans.
2 - RAINTREE - http://www.rain-tree.com - Raintree works in partnership with indigenous Amazon tribes to develop sustainable resources to advance their income as well as income of Raintree. According to Raintree, following statistics show gain:
Raising Cattle $ 60/acre
Timber $ 240/acre
Sustainable Resources $2400/acre
The sustainable resources they work on are medicinal plants, from which Raintree obtains all sorts of pharmacological products. Raintree is stopping destruction of rainforests, increasing income of indigenous people, and making a good profit!
3 - WORLD E-INCLUSION - http://www.hp.com/e-inclusion - Hewlett-Packard is investing a billion dollars to search for "local knowledge" and "creative genius" all over poor areas of world. The company wants to help developing countries develop. It says it will choose projects based on needs of local people, develop them in partnership with local people, and offer sustainability and fair value. HP plans to do well by doing good.
It is instructive to quote Carly Fiorina, CEO of HP, with regard to World E-Inclusion program:
"HP has always believed that we can do well economically and do good socially at same time. In other words, invent for common good. We believe World e-Inclusion is a great example.
As part of a long-term HP effort to find new revenues one, three, five and ten years down line, World e-Inclusion targets 4 billion people that are seldom, if ever, served by traditional information technology companies. By providing people with social and economic opportunities of new information economy, World e-Inclusion is setting stage for tremendous growth, both for HP and for developing countries."
Hooray for HP! It is a model for rest of us.
Summary
Fight terrorism by reducing number of poor people that fuel terrorism. Reduce resentment and despair by building an anti-terrorism economy consisting of anti-terrorism businesses like HP, that aim to use principles of Helpfulness Marketing - LEARNING, COOPERATION and COMMUNITY - to bring prosperity to poor as well as to themselves.
Paul -the soarING- Siegel is a provocative Internet speaker and author of HELPFULNESS MARKETNG, an ebook stressing learning, cooperation and community. Learn about it at http://www.learningfountain.com/. Subscribe to newsletter, LearningFOUNT, by sending blank email to: mailto:LearningFOUNT-subscribe@topica.com.