Conversating the Working Title: "Sustainopreneurship - Business with a Cause. The Whys, Whats and Hows of Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Sustainability"

[Anders Abrahamsson]

Hi,

As announced, I am now in process to write up a book on Sustainopreneurship. The working title that has emerged is this. What do you think about it? Catchy enough? And is it catching and communicating the intended content of the book? I. e. a popularly written book on the concept of sustainopreneurship in an abstract idea, why it is necessary, and hands-on practical advice for wanna-be sustainopreneurs as well as advanced and seasoned ones ready to take their ventures to the next level.

A more succinct outline of the book will be presented soon at the main book writing blog, www.sustainopreneurship.biz / http://andersabrahamsson.typepad.com, and on the book wiki - http://sustainopreneurship-book.pbwiki.com.

Subscribe to my main blog to get notified when this is happening.

Peace,
Anders

[Simon Sharp]

Hi Anders,

I think I'd remove the word 'organizing'

Congratulations on the next stage ticked off!

Simon

[Anders Abrahamsson]

Thanks, Simon!

Here I enter a dilemma - the "academian" meeting the "copywriter" :). Entrepreneurship in its broader sense, and thru my mentor Bengt Johannisson's 30plus years of dedicated research, somewhat has reached the most simple two-word description of entrepreneurship to be "creative organizing". For me, that phrase makes perfect sense. But the emphasis for "sustainopreneurship" is use exactly business as a means, thus I added an unfolding translation of the title in the sub-title

"creative business organizing for sustainability" = "entrepreneurship for sustainabilty" = "sustainopreneurship"

Is this meaning lost if organizing is excluded?

Peace,
Anders

[Adite Banerjie]

Anders, the title is too long. It has to be catchy and yet leave no doubt about what sustainopreneurship is all about. something on the lines of "Sustainopreneruship: When creative business meets sustainability. "
Adite

[Anders Abrahamsson]

Ok, thanks for the input, Adite!!

The thing is - there is a short header to catch the Eye on the Shelf (virtual or physical) - the Main Title.

"Sustainopreneurship - Business with a Cause"

If your attention span is three main words, one unknown, two known in a new combination to get common-sense meaning, let it rest there. This has been branded all the way back to my first article/book chapter presented in spring 2005 conference, published one-and-a-half year later in Sept 2006.

So, that will be left untouched. I have seen in the business of Amazon Business Book Best Sellers that there is an extended sub title tagging with rich content 'what it is all about'. We live in a world where 1. the publishing industry in the Western World is constrained by existing codexes, rules and practices in the community we talk about. and 2. frames of mind gets set up to filter info and receive it in well-known/ritualized/habitualized/institutionalized ways. This is the core of "culture", socially constructed. In order to communicate efficiently in "different hives of understanding", you need to adapt accordingly.

So the smaller print sub-title should capture the Essence of the Meaning of the Book. Like a one-liner synopsis, where the target is to have the whole title to fit in a Twitter 140c message.

Cf. e. g. The Long Tail (Chris Anderson, Wired editor-in-cheif - who began with an Article in his Wired Magazine, extended the ideas through a blogged book, and then wrapped it up in a book. This is the main inspiration for the book authoring process, so there is no coincidence why I look this way for inspiration...).

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Tail-Future-Business-Selling/dp/1401302378

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

Now you know where I am heading ;). Revealed :P.

With that said, Adite (and others?) - how to formulate the essence grasping sub-title? I feel I cannot negotiate on the main title, the common sense-aimed tag for the concept and phenomenon...

It has already travelled on the WWW, I will add that to a blog post on "Googling Sustainopreneurship" to wrap up the conceptual diffusion from 2000 to today (in 500 words or less...)

Peace,
Anders

[Adite Banerjie]

Sure, I understand where you're coming from...and if the title is going to be in two parts: a main title and a sub-title, it should work!

Cheers!
Adite

[Anders Abrahamsson]

Ah, cool!

Still - with remarks from Simon above (and my response) - is the sub-title to esoteric? I mean, the remarks on "creative organizing" = "entrepreneurship", and "business" being in the creation, not just any kind of entrepreneurship (that has been broadened far beyond just business creation in the recent research in the phenomenon). Thus "creative business organizing"...did that work in the core as well?

And yeah, Adite, lovely to have you see where I come from, but even more important, where I want to go...

Peace,
Anders

[Sunil Malhotra]

Hi Anders,

I'm looking at the title/descriptor and finding it too exhaustive. Meaning that to me it comes across as a research publication and not so much a book I'd pick up for its title. Can we think of something more inviting from a popular perspective. eg.

1. Whys, whats & hows of sustainability entrepreneuring.
2. An Introduction to Sustainability Entrepreneuring.
3. Organizing for sustainability.
4. The innovation guide to organizing your business.

What do you think?

Sunil
PS: I realise that the main title is something you do not want to change. We can pick any / any part of the tag lines I have suggested and work them through to create a tighter sub-title or descriptor.

[Anders Abrahamsson]

Ah, great! :)

Why, what and how has kinda stuck with. And I like "entrepreneuring" rather than "entrepreneurship" implying a more action-process-view. Still not to esoteric, the -ing word also harmonizes with my pref for "organizing" beyond "organization". Very interesting to have plural of the three Q's in need to be answered! whys, whats, hows (who, where, when is intended to move towards the Reader...! but WE are HERE!!)

This is really a great collaborative inquiry - thanks all, Sunil, Adite, Simon!!

Hm....

elements

emerging

Sustainopreneurship - Business with a Cause

The Whys, Whats and Hows of Entrepreneuring for Sustainability

Moving closer?

Are we?

All love! THX!!

Peace,
Anders

[Anders Abrahamsson]

Reconsidering: Since the Wikipedia entry has http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainopreneurship Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Sustainability as 1st definition, maybe to be consistent with that as well. And it is a point that innovation nothing without entrepreneurship. And also, a sustainability innovation is not necessarily deployed in a business form. It could be organized as a not-for-profit venture such as One Laptop Per Child initiative, or incubated in R&D association with mixed funding, before institutionalization in other commercial formats beyond, like the IAVI - International Aids Vaccine Initiative.

Landing at;

"Sustainopreneurship - Business with a Cause. The Whys, Whats and Hows of Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Sustainability"

Peace,
Anders

[Sadiq Baig]

I will offer my considered comments later, however, suggest going through a question I raised at linkedin and answers thereto:

How to do a harmless business?
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/using-linkedIn/ULI/73339-318985

Why and how business can be made sustainable? Mainly 2 things involve, sort of hardware (physical resources) and software (intent and expertise).

In business, basic objective is earning money while a real objective cannot be money but the value that money created through business; and if that value is of long life to be enjoyed by increasing number of end users then that value could be sort of 'sustainable'

The role of green business is understandable (hardware) but the question remains as to how it could be matched with a corresponding/compatible softwae (intent)?

Kindest regards.
Sadiq

[Anders Abrahamsson]

Hi, Sadiq,

Don't add it into a reply in a deep thread in a deep group.

Get it on the frontpage instead!

Use
either

1. Your Sustainopreneurs Café BLOG

or

2. One of the FORUMS!

This conversation and the results of your answers collected on LI are too important to be just here.

And also, to keep structure of the conversations - they're complex and intertwined as they are, so don't want to be the Police Moderator Bore for a Café being allowed to exchange Napkin Notes in vibrancy, but consider this a Peaceful Intervention :) !

Just copy the text - "Go thru the text... etc and headline your posting "How to do a harmless business?"

And, on a last note, all respect to iPeace.me / iPeace.ning.com - but in fact, we are one of the most concrete measures and bridges to create Everlasting Peace Everywhere (together with Naima's TransQure, Inger-Mette's 360Hub and Yvette's Cultural Fusion concepts/hives/communities).

No coincidence why you're all here!

And, honestly, Sadiq, I think you should start your own Ning Community. Given the spot where you are, the Kashmir Proximity etc - why not Punjabi-something as a metaphor for Peace, the reason for the Gandhi hunger strike. PunjabiPeace.Ning.Com - or something? I think that naming it directly Punjabi.Ning.com would get it to be too widened in the hit rate.

Just some random thoughts in a thread, now hopefully getting back on topic - "What's your Take on the Title?" ;) ?

Peace,
Anders