A vital issue brought up by the Affordable Care Act is whether employers can penalize employees who decline to take part in wellness offerings. Some consider it a civil rights issue if companies penalize employees who won’t act that way their employer wants them to.

I see that some could see it as an issue, but I hesitate to agree.

These scoundrels of corporate wellness, with their “relentless focus on health and happiness.” How dare they!

The phrase comes from a RealBusiness blog post by Jason Hesse, not from “The Wellness Syndrome,” (link withheld for cause) the book that triggered his comments, so it is conceivable that I’m being unfair to the book. But I read the review of it from the Guardian this morning too, and I’m feeling safe enough to proceed.

The authors, Andre Spicer and Carl Cederström, are Europeans business professors of clear political bent (which, I concede, is something usually said by someone with a different political bent). The “syndrome” of the title is a “creeping cult of corporate wellness,” under which emphasis on health and wellness is alleged to make people feel less healthy and less well.

”’The pressure to maximize our wellness can make us feel worse. We have started to think that a person who is healthy and happy is a morally good person while people who are unhealthy and unhappy are moral failures,’ explains Spicer,” quoted by Hesse.

When I recently interviewed Carol Sanford, author of “The Responsible Business” and “The Responsible Entrepreneur,” I was a little taken aback when she stated flatly that “I want the word ’sustainability’ to go away.”

Her contention is that “it limits what people think they can take on,” which I’m not sure I agree with.

I do have sympathy with those who deride it as a buzzword, but I’m heading the opposite way. Instead of hoping the word will go away, I’m trying to restore its full meaning, before it became a stand-in for green technology or corporate PR obligation.

Welcome to another episode of “10 Words or Less,” in which I ask brief questions of interesting people and ask brief answers in return. Today’s guest has been a well-respected voice on business, sustainability, and innovation for more than 25 years, whom the Associated Press has called ‘The guru of green business practices.” He’s done a lot to get there, but a notable achievement is he is the founder of Greenbiz.com. Remember, “10 Words” is an ethic, not a limit, so to those of you at home, please, no counting. If you think it’s so easy, let’s see you do it.

Name Joel Makower
Born when, where  Oakland, Calif., Feb. 19, 1952
Resides now  Oakland
Family circumstance "Married to Randy Rosenberg for 26-plus years, and we have two lovely dogs."
Formative event  “Growing up in the Vietnam War."
A strong influence outside your family  "I was coming of age professionally in journalism school during the time of Watergate, so Woodward, Bernstein, all of the others were of influence to me in terms of journalism as a way to speak truth to power. I was also, at the same time, influenced by Ralph Nader. The consumer advocate, not the election-spoiler, who was about taking on corporations on behalf of consumers."
A historical figure you hold dear  "I admired Martin Luther King well before he was assassinated and became the hero-martyr that he became. At 13, I made him the subject of my bar mitzvah speech, in 1965, so I guess that says something."
What came first for you, green or biz?  "Probably biz. I started off my career as a consumer reporter, and I quickly realized that in order to understand consumer issues you had to understand business."

Sanford is the author of the very successful "The Responsible Entrepreneur," last year's follow-up to 2011's "The Responsible Business."

I’m just digging into Aon Hewitt’s report, 2014 Trends in Global Employee Engagement, and an early heading inspired this post. It is a reference to the “Emerging Talent Imperative.”

In the fullness of the report, I’ll learn just what they mean by that, and I’m sure it’s informed, incisive, and salient. But the phrasing reminds me a) of the movie “The Player,” and b) the resurgent value of design, reestablished by Apple, BMW, and others.

This chat with Joel was delayed 30 minutes by a technical fault, but he redeemed all with cogent, sometimes surprising tidbits. Sample: he devoted his bar mitzvah speech to Martin Luther King, in 1965.

I understand that year’s end is a natural time for stock-taking, reflection, and goal-setting, and I’m OK with all of them. I engage with all of them myself.

No writer writes without wanting to be read, so if you're reading this, you're helping me meet my aspiration. The only fair assumption is that you're here for your interests, not mine, but regardless, thanks for coming! I appreciate your attention, and will continue trying to earn it.

Best wishes!

Michael

There’s a maxim among people I know that says something like, “Just for today, I’ll help another person, and if it is found out, it won’t count.” Well not that, but the point being, “The glow of helping others is tarnished by bragging about it.”

My wife, the estimable Georgina, says the act of helping is what matters most, regardless, but I’m stuck in the middle. Yes, helping is helping, but I am not unfamiliar with helping as showing off.

Which is why I hesitate to relate the following, which I received four days ago: