The Future of the Coffee Industry - A new vision by Victor Zwald, President Swiss Coffee Trade Association and Dr Patrick Dixon: "The following is adapted from story written in the Financial Times 27 January 2005 by Elizabeth Rigby:
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'Big coffee producers such as Nestle and Kraft have been pressed to introduce a voluntary levy on raw coffee beans as part of a wider move to promote sustainable development. The Worldwide Sustainable Coffee Fund, set up by leading members of the coffee industry, yesterday put forward at an International Coffee Organisation meeting in London a proposal to levy Dollars 1 on every 60kg bag of beans.
Walter Zwald, former president of the Swiss Coffee Trade Association, spearheading the proposal, said the move would raise Dollars 70m a year. 'The money would be split between projects based in producing countries and the promotion of coffee consumption,' he said. The ICO had agreed to explore the proposal and would meet the Coffee Fund team to present a more detailed plan.
The plan has informal backing from 70 per cent of coffee-producing countries. The Coffee Fund first discussed the scheme in 2001 but it was rejected by ICO at that time.
However, the continued fall in coffee prices has prompted a rethink. The ICO estimates that earnings of 50-plus producer countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America have dropped from Dollars 10bn a year to Dollars 5.5bn a year since 1998. The scheme will focus on the mainstream market rather than just the fair-trade segment of the industry, which makes up only 2 per cent of coffee production.
'This is all part of a conversation about sustainable coffee production and human justice,' said Patrick Dixon, chairman of Global Change Limited and a speaker at the ICO conference. 'We know these issues are complex but they have to be solved. The oil i"

Venture Capital - Digital technology, biotech and other growth sectors - event for Vaekstfonden by Dr Patrick Dixon

Venture Capital Investment - in high tech / biotech companies. Risks and opportunities. Event for 500 bankers, analysts, private equity investors, business angels, start-ups, entrepreneurs, venture capital fund managers, scientists, government leaders and media - for Vaekstfonden, Denmark

Building a Better Business $20,000 challenge

Enter the Building a Better Business $20,000 challenge

Building a Better Business - by Building a Better World

Building a Better Business - new book by Dr Patrick Dixon published 11 April 2005 by Profile Books

“One of the most stimulating and challenging reads in this field for a very long time” Sir Digby Jones, Director General, Confederation of British Industry

“A really helpful guide to success.” Brent Hoberman , co-founder and CEO lastminute.com

Order Building a Better Business NOW - get big discount off normal price of $19 / £9-99

Enter the $20,000 Building a Better Business Challenge - no purchase necessary - anyone can try.

Read press reviews

Building a Better Business back cover text:

An intensely practical and inspirational guide on how to make great things happen in your business and personal life, by Dr Patrick Dixon , ranked as one of the 50 most influential business thinkers alive today. How to create greater passion for your business, by building a better world for you, your customers, workers and their families, shareholders, communities and those beyond. Building a Better Business is about how you can get:

Better leadership
Better people and teams
Better brands and marketing
Better customer relations
Better corporate image
Better innovation and strategy
Better change management
Better work-life balance
Better corporate governance

“A perfect summary of all important factors that contribute to success in business and private life” Robert Salzl, CEO Arabella Hotel Holding International

“Resonates instantly with one’s own personal and business experience” Paul O’Toole, Chief Executive, Tourism Ireland

“Excellent management books should spur you into action. This one does! Thoroughly enjoyable and refreshing” Lord Leitch, Chairman of the Employment Panel and former Chairman of the Association of British Insurers

“A message that every business leader needs to listen to and turn into action. A must-read for those who care about our common future” Professor Derek Abell, Dean, European School of Management and Techology

“A cracking good read, full of practical insights that will change your business life and understanding fundamentally” Paul Williams , CEO MLS Business Centres

* 50% of the author's receipts from sale of this book will be used to support AIDS care and prevention programmes in Africa and Asia

Building a Better Business - reviews of book by Dr Patrick Dixon

Press reviews of Building a Better Business - guide to marketing, management and motivation

"THE bookshelves are heaving with texts about how to improve your business and it"s not always that much fun for us having to wade through them on your behalf. However, Building a Better Business by Patrick Dixon, comes with a glowing testimonial from none other than Sir Digby Jones, director general of the CBI. According to the author many companies could increase their productivity by more than 10% by "re-discovering their real purpose". He says there is a "motivational crisis" in business in the UK and Ireland .

Mr Dixon puts forward a five-point plan to bring about a radical change in business thinking: 1. Reconnect with your true purpose; 2. Focus far more on the good the company does; 3. Take a wider view - what else can the company do?; 4. Connect with the passions of you staff and customers; 5. Put your money with your mouth is. He backs up his philosophies with case studies and research although statistics can, of course, be interpreted in different ways.

Mr Dixon has a heavyweight reputation in the business world with the Wall Street Journal hailing him as a "global change guru Sir Digby described it as "one of the most stimulating and challenging reads in this field for a very long time."

Daily Post 6 April 2005

Future of Design and Innovation - by Dr Patrick Dixon for Danish Design Centre

Presentation on design and innovation for Danish Design Centre

Media coverage - Dr Patrick Dixon's Futurewise, The Truth about Drugs and other books / issues relating to the future: "Recent coverage: Daily Telegraph - increasing profits by 10% by connecting with passion - and the $20,000 challenge, Financial Times - Push for Coffee Bean Levy - following speech at the World Coffee Organization: Daily Post (Liverpool) - 5 steps to a better business, TImes of India - the Spirit of Success, Borsen (Denmark equivalent of Financial Times) - how to create a better business, Lisbon press - the need for innovation in marketing, Vida Economica - Portugal, Times of Malta - marketing trends, Borsen - the need for innovation in industrial design, The Herald - handwriting demise in a techno-age, press in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Portugal on a range of issues, El Cronista Commercial (Spain) - the top 50 most influential business thinkers, Diario Economico, Portugal - innovation in marketing, ABA Banking Journal - Working for nothing - lessons for corporates from non-profits, Talk Radio on stem cell research, Daily Telegraph, Moral Maze (BBC Radio 4) - should politicians have to resign over personal indiscretions? Channel 4 News - next generation mobile phones. Daily Mail - human / animal hybrids. Daily Mail - salmon that spawn trout. Guardian - future of CDs and music downloading, MP3 and file-sharing. On cloning: Sunday Times (Perth), Irish Times, Daily Mail, Courier-Mail, The Sun, Western Daily Press, The Herald, The Scotsman, The Times, Scottish Daily Record, The Mirror, Times of Zambia. "

Watch TV documentary about Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist:

"Watch SWR TV documentary on Dr Patrick Dixon, Futurist - in London and Dubai
What does a Futurist actually do? Dr Dixon is contacted by TV, radio and press journalists around 200 times a year (up to 70 times in a single day) for comment on major issues and trends. Here is a short film made as a result of one of those calls.
SWR, the German equivalent of the BBC, sent a film crew to London to follow Dr Patrick Dixon over four days in December 2003. Dr Dixon has been ranked as one of the 50 most influential global business thinkers alive today (Thinkers50). SWR came to find out what day to day life is like.
The short film sequence joins Dixon at a government-sponsored think-tank on global trends with 25 other analysts, at home in his own TV studio from which he lectures to audiences in up to nine nations at the same time. We then travel with Dixon to Dubai where he speaks about 'The Spirit of Success' at a major client event for Fedex / Times of India, and then travels on, commenting on wider geo-political issues. "

Dr Patrick Dixon, ranked one of 50 most influential business thinkers - 7 million visitors on this Futurist site: "'The potential of gene technology is beyond the comprehension of most people today' - Dr Patrick Dixon - Wall Street Journal (E)"

books.htm: "Twelve Books by Dr Patrick Dixon
320,000 books printed in 19 languages (English, French, German, Polish, Chinese, Thai, Portugese, Estonian, Latvian, Russian, Czech, Hausa, Paite, Hindi, Urdu, Hungarian, Luganda, Nepalese and Swahili), plus a million chapters downloaded in just 15 months. Dr Dixon is often described in the world's media as Europe's leading Futurist, and has been ranked as one of the world's 50 most influential business thinkers.
NEWS: 'Building a Better Business' published in April 2005 with a $20,000 challenge - see below - also press reviews.
Free copies of 'AIDS and You' are available now in English, Spanish, French and Russian and many other languages listed above, in bulk, to organisations for distribution in developing countries - from ACET International Alliance website, in partnership with OM. The widely acclaimed handbook 'The Truth about AIDS' is available on the same basis. Save lives and care for those affected: donate to ACET online. $15 supports 10 AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe for a month; $130 supports a schools worker in Ukraine for a month; $50 pays for 150 books for project workers in India."

Impact of Global Trends on your Marketing Plan - Future of Marketing - Post Danmark - Dr Patrick Dixon

Impact of Global Trends on Your Marketing Plan - Direct marketing, TV, radio and press campaigns, interactive marketing, e-mail and online promotions, viral marketing. Changes in consumer behavior, lifestyles and values. Event for 900 senior marketing executives and CEOs of advertising agencies sponsored by Post Danmark. Closing session on 10 ways to improve your marketing plan.

AARP - Future Trends - Ageing / health / demographics and society - by Dr Patrick Dixon

The Future of Ageing - Science, demographics, politics and society impact of a society that could see huge increases in life expectancy over the next 50 years. Keynote for senior leadership of AARP - US action group representing over 35 million people over the age of 50.

How to write a better marketing plan - 10 steps to success - Dr Patrick Dixon for Post Danmak

How to develop a better marketing plan - presentation slides and videos

Future of Interactive Marketing - Dr Patrick Dixon for Skynet Belgacom

Interactive Marketing - Direct marketing in a digital world: iDTV, PDAs, SMS, mobile marketing, viral marketing, video marketing, opt-in e-mail campaigns - Keynote event for Skynet Belgacom high-level client marketing event. Low cost, high impact advertising campaigns - why interactive marketing is set to grow rapidly. Key marketing success stories and dangers to avoid.