5 Lessons in Corporate Social Responsibility from TOMS Shoes

The darling of the "philanthropic capitalism" fan club right now is TOMS Shoes. And for good reasons.

TOMS Shoes is the handiwork of Blake Mycoskie, a young entrepreneur whose business model has put a new spin on corporate social responsibility.

Mycoskie was the subject of a profile recently in Success Magazine, one of the best articles I've seen on this young company that is winning both sales and hearts by giving away a pair of shoes for every one that is sold through its business.

Mycoskie got the idea for TOMS Shoes when he visited Argentina and saw many children who had no shoes. At the same time, many adults in that country were wearing a very simple yet comfortable shoe that caught Mycoskie's eye.

Mycoskie's new company, TOMS Shoes, adopted that shoe style, produced it in many styles and colors, and promised customers that for every pair of shoes they bought, another pair would go to children in need around the globe.

The idea took off, and now Mycoskie spends half of his time on his business and the other half flying around the world making "shoe drops" to smiling kids all over the world.

TOMS Shoes embodies several lessons for others who want to combine doing good with business...More...