Energy | The Barefoot Spirit

7 Rules for Couples in Business (and Life) Podcast

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Wed, 29 May 2019 17:00:47 +0000

M&B were interviewed on “Spirit, Purpose, & Energy” by JJ Flizanes & Doug Sandler. To listen to the interview, please visit iTunes

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Entrepreneur – Rheem Manufacturing Sets Aggressive Sustainability Goals for 2025

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Mon, 06 May 2019 17:06:34 +0000

Sixtyfive percent of the energy that is delivered to the typical home is used for heating the home, cooling the home or heating the water used in the home. The rest is used for appliances, lighting, tools and electronic devices.

We have been reporting on startup companies that are making a difference. But what about the big boys? What are they doing to make a difference with the biggest mega-trend facing the economy? According to Nielsen, consumers are voting with their purchases for sustainably made and packaged products. Rheem Manufacturing Company is the only North American company that has both HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) products as well as water heating products available in the commercial and residential marketplace. We wanted to know how such a large company with such a huge impact on our home energy use was making a difference.

To read the complete article, please visit Entrepreneur

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Why Reflection, Analysis, and Redirection Are so Important to a Business’ Growth

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 18:15:24 +0000

One of the biggest challenges that entrepreneurs face is not coming up with a good idea as much as it is deciding on which one of their good ideas they want to focus on.

You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket, but you don’t want to be so distracted that you can’t put the proper amount of energy into the one idea that will bring you the greatest return.

This dilemma is especially perplexing as we begin the new year. We’re determined to make a change. We’re determined to stop beating on dead horses. And we’re determined to seek out and recognize alternatives.

To read the complete article, please visit The Business Journals

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Government Set to Terminate the Blue Energy Star Program

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 17:01:45 +0000

While we can understand the frustration many may have with our over blown bureaucracies and endless miles of red tape, we can’t understand the current administration’s budget blueprint to ax the immensely popular Energy Star Rating program. Ouch!

The program, now in its 25^th year, is beloved by consumer and the 16,000 companies and organizations that voluntarily participate to produce more efficient appliances to reduce energy consumption, dependence on foreign oil, and significantly reduce carbon emissions. According to the EPA’s Energy Star’s web site, “Energy use in homes, buildings, and industry account for two thirds of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. As of December 2013, families and businesses have realized estimated savings of more than $295 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the past two decades. The interplay of government, business, and market forces brought together through ENERGY STAR has changed the energy efficiency landscape.”

The Energy Star System is a simple no-brainer way of advising the consumer about the ultimate energy cost to them of appliances, homes, commercial buildings and industrial plants. The site adds, “ENERGY STAR has been instrumental in reducing this energy use in order to realize significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions – contributing to important health and environmental benefits by addressing the challenges of climate change while strengthening our economy. ENERGY STAR benefits have grown steadily over time, nearly tripling in the last decade.”

The program has wide-spread, bi-partisan support, is embraced by the Fortune 500 and represents a cooperative effort by many sectors of our economy from “manufacturers and trade associations, to retailers and efficiency program providers, to home builders and small businesses. ENERGY STAR has grown to represent products in more than 70 different categories, with more than 4.8 billion sold since 1992. More than 1.5 million new homes and more than 22,000 facilities proudly carry EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification, use dramatically less energy, and are responsible for substantially less greenhouse gas emissions than their peers.”

According to the site, “an ENERGY STAR clothes washer uses about 70 percent less energy and 75 percent less water than a standard washer used 20 years ago, (and) a home with the star is 15% more efficient. 85 percent of Americans recognize the blue ENERGY STAR label. Of the households that knowingly purchased an ENERGY STAR certified product, about 75% credited the (Energy Star) label as an important factor in their decision. The latest Good Housekeeping internal reader audit shows that at 92%, ENERGY STAR is now tied with Good Housekeeping (Seal of Approval) in terms of brand influence.” So why ax it?

Do we really want to turn back the clock that far? Do we really want to pay that much more for energy again? At what point does this move become an obvious attempt to bilk the consumer, stifle progress, and hurt the international competitiveness of US products to satisfy one, powerful, interest group? Who could possibly win if this vital all-American program is eliminated? We think it obvious! The energy companies!

So, no matter what your political affiliation, let your federally elected representatives know that the Blue Energy Star label is well worth saving to reduce your operating costs, reduce our foreign dependency, reduce our emissions, increase our health, and bolster our economy. Eliminating the Blue Star is a bad for American business and human welfare all the way around!

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Can the Kids Save the Environment?

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 17:00:45 +0000

Do children and young people have a constitutional right to a healthy environment? Is the government liable for promoting fossil fuel production and greenhouse gas emissions that accelerate climate change? According to the Washington Post, a pioneering lawsuit being brought against the US Federal Government by 21, 9- through 20-year-olds is claiming exactly that.

They contend that their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property are being violated by the government. They also contend that the government’s behavior is violating the public trust doctrine that holds the government responsible for the preservation of certain vital resources for use by the public, including, in this case, a healthy climate system.

Interestingly, the lawsuit was originally filed under the Obama administration. In November of 2016, the lawsuit cleared a major hurdle, thanks to U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken, who denied motions filed by the government and the fossil fuel industry to dismiss it. She so ordered that it should go to trial.

“Exercising my ‘reasoned judgement,’ I have no doubt that the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society.” – U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken

This is major! It could disrupt the way environmental advocacy is being conducted globally. Already in the Netherlands, a court hearing a similar plea ordered the Dutch Government to reduce carbon emissions by 25% over a five-year period. Other analogous lawsuits are being brought in South Africa, Austria, and Pakistan.

The issue here is simple. If the government is in a position to promote or discourage the use of fossil fuels through laws, taxes, and permissions, are they liable for negatively effecting your life, liberty, and property? And if they promote the use of fossil fuels, are they violating the public trust?

So, the crux of the issue boils down to whether it can be proven in a court of law, that human activity and burning of fossil fuels in fact causes climate change. Unlike politics, where you can have 99% of the scientists agree that human activity causes climate change, and still say “It’s a debate,” in a court of law, a preponderance of facts still matter.

Speaking of facts, the plaintiffs had to submit a request that the Department of Justice preserve all documents relevant to the lawsuit, including climate change information and information on energy and emissions, and, get this, cease any destruction of these documents! This was right after the new administration’s immediate ploy to remove climate change information from the White House and other federal agency websites.

Julia Olson, chief legal counsel for the plaintiffs and executive director of the advocacy group, Our Children’s Trust, said “Destroying evidence is illegal and we just put these new US Defendants and the Industry Defendants on notice that they are barred from doing so.”

The new administration especially does not want this to get to court where a decision will be based on the facts. That’s why they have filed a motion to stay litigation and appeal the district court’s decision to clear the lawsuit for trial. They know that if this gets to trial and the plaintiffs prevail, like they did in the Netherlands, they could be ordered to reduce emissions whether they wanted to or not.

Unbelievably, the government’s argument against preserving the critical documents that could prove the relationship between the burning of fossil fuels and climate change is that it would put an unnecessary burden on the government just to maintain these files that already exist!

We support the children and young people who are taking this novel and noble action. We put our faith in the court system which must decide on the facts. Let the court end the “debate” and demonstrate its counterbalancing power to help future generations avoid catastrophe. Even a reluctant government would have to execute a court order. Find out more about this landmark lawsuit at Our Children’s Trust.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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Successful Hiring takes Preparation, Permission and Patience

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 22:50:59 +0000

No matter what business you think you are in, you wind up in the personnel management business. Your first hires will require a great deal of your time and energy with no guarantees. Your way may conflict with their previous way of doing things.

For the most part, great employees are not found, they’re made. In order to delegate and allow your company to grow, you really have no choice.

All this takes time, energy, preparation and lots of patience, but by working together in concert, you can see wonders.

1. Good Seed. Start with people who demonstrate a high degree of integrity, take responsibility for their own behavior and have a history of long-term commitment. They should be willing to learn and extrapolate conceptual ideas and apply them to new situations. A good way to test this is to give the applicant a verbal run down of the job, the company’s challenges and your expectations for the position. Then, have them send you a one-page summary on a deadline. This will tell you volumes.

2. Good Ground. Make sure their job is clearly defined in writing and explains how your products and services produce the income to pay their salary, bonus and benefits. We used to give our people a “Money Map”. It started with the consumer and worked its way back through distribution, production, and all the payables to finally get to their check. This gave them respect for how and where the money came from – the customer, of course.

3. Care. You must inspect what you expect, especially in the first year. Once you are convinced you have “good seed” it’s worth your while to regularly spend time with them answering questions and mentoring. Listen to what’s behind their questions to discover what they really need to excel in their new position.

4. Light and Space. Give them permission to make mistakes. That’s what allows them to develop into the independent decision makers you need to confidently delegate. To “make those mistakes right,” have them write down what needs to be done to prevent those mistakes in the future. Have them make new polices, procedures, checklists, sign-offs, or whatever, but they have to document everything. Consider rewriting their job description to fit their real skill set.

5. Nutrients. Give them the training they need, in person and in writing. If a document doesn’t exist, have them write it. Create a mini manual for every job with the growing list of frequently asked questions and as many charts and graphs as are necessary to depict processes, relationships and decisions. Provide outside training with conferences, or field time with sales or production staff. The more they understand your total operation, the faster they will become invaluable.

6. Time. How much time you give them before they “get it” really depends on the position, their ability to learn, and how much faith you have in them personally. Some folks take longer but “get it” at a core level. Others may learn a specific process quickly, but miss the big picture. So it’s a judgment call based on your assessment of their progress and conceptual understandings, and the preparation, time and energy you have put in.

Even if you do these essentials, there’s no guarantee of success, but you will be much more likely to succeed. To grow those new hires into fruitful producers it takes preparation, permission and patience.

Who We Are

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

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