John Elkington

John Elkington
optimistic space hopeful
So, you could call me optimistic and hopeful and probably just a little bit naïve, but I'm coming from the space that the best way to predict the future is to get out there and just do it yourself
allow open rights
Open your books, show us how much you make, and allow us to then see if we can give you logo rights for $1 a year, or something like that.
brand establish pine street
Beale Street has a brand. It's well known. You have to establish a brand in Pine Bluff.
million property
I have $250 million in property I'm working on.
city industry private successful venture
It's the most successful venture the city and private industry has ever done together.
musical tremendous
This is a tremendous area. Is there a musical heritage?
difficult longer people present terms
You know, people want longer terms or they want to own something--and under the present situation, it's really difficult to do that.
play choices important
Behavioral change is more important than individual product choices. They both have a role to play.
real keys offering
Companies watch what consumers are doing like a hawk. Just as one letter to a politician can signal an insipient problem, for companies, a trend where people are beginning to switch away from one of their key products to a rival offering on the basis of either claims or real improvements on performance, that's significant.
thinking hands play
I think consumerism breeds dissatisfaction, and I think that the advertisers play to that. So I cannot be comfortable with that. On the other hand, the cornucopia of products and innovation - I love Apple, for example. That's a temple of consumerism in many ways.
baby couple car
I'm part of the consumer culture. I was part of the baby boom generation. I have a car when I shouldn't, a couple of computers; I can't be anti-consumerist in that sense.
thinking doors people
What people say often precedes what they think. Some people sometimes say, "I have to hear myself talk before I know what I think." I think language sometimes, because it opens new channels, it opens new doors, is enormously important.
reality prudent looks
Any prudent business looks at the reality and how to maximize our investment.
people cost movement
The biggest weakness of the green-consumer movement, always, is that we tend to pick the easy-to-do things because that's where we can most readily engage people. It doesn't cost them very much to switch products or whatever it happens to be.