There’s a great quick post over at HarvardBusiness.org on the zombie economy and Michael Jackson.

“If the world’s biggest pop star only made $12 million a year from his recordings, why would anyone make serious music? Where did the rest of the money go? Why, straight into record labels’ pockets. Did they make better music with it? Nope — they made Britney and Lady GaGa. And that’s how they killed themselves: by underinvesting in quality, to rake in the take.

That’s the big problem behind the zombieconomy. We don’t reward people for creating, growing, nurturing, or even remixing assets. We just reward them for allocating the same old assets.”

The zombie economy is a result of chasing hits, of short-sighted wins, and of course, greed. I know a few people that might argue with the Lady GaGa reference (it’s subjective and weak), but examples go well beyond the music industry. We’ve embraced scale to such a degree that we can no longer ignore its impact on our interconnected world.

Starbucks can topple governments by their decisions on which coffee beans to purchase. Wal-Mart employs over 2.1 million associates worldwide and touches far more up and down the food chain. (got more examples? leave em in the comments)

Neither of these companies, I believe, sought out to entrench themselves in the very blood stream of the global economy, but they have. And now their actions directly impact all of us – and ultimately, themselves again. It’s about a longer view than a quarterly earnings report. These companies now have a direct responsibility to invest in activities that contribute to the full eco-system, not simply to their margins. This responsibility extends far beyond advertising.

Like people, companies have to develop something akin to self-actualization – they have to do more with their actions than simply prolong their own existence.

Listen to Umair Haque speak on the zombie economy