By Dr. Anton Camarota
Sustainable business develops the capacity to endure changes in its operating environment by renewing and restoring the resources necessary for its operations. These resources fall into three categories—ecological, social and economic. Ultimately, the core sustainability strategy is one of renewal: how do we design a company that creates positive changes in the world?
In order to answer this question and create a sustainable business model, you need to know where to start. At the Institute for Business Longevity, our approach is to begin with the end in mind, based on the work done by Stephen Covey, bestselling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The first step to developing a sustainability-based business is to have the company leaders define the desired goals for the company. When the leaders can describe what social, ecological, and economic changes they want to generate in the world, the framework for sustainability has been set.
A major contributing factor to how effectively leaders achieve their goals, or outcomes, is how clearly and powerfully these outcomes are stated. The precision with which leaders state their outcomes directly impacts the realization of these outcomes. When leaders can state what they want with power and authority, they lend their ideas the energy needed to manifest.
Effective sustainability leaders take full responsibility for shaping their organization’s future. Instead of letting circumstances determine the company’s direction, they mentally visualize and then physically create their own positive results. The outcome they picture in their minds shapes the entirety of their organizational reality. Effective sustainability leadership requires two actions: first, holding an idea clearly in your mind, and second, stating it powerfully, obviously and passionately so it is unambiguously manifested in exactly the same manner as you held it in your mind.
Consider your emerging sustainability agenda—why is sustainability important to you as a leader of your organization? Asking yourself the following questions will guide you to develop effective social, ecological, and economic outcomes that have a much higher probability of manifesting.
- What changes do you want? What would you like to have happen in order to get what you want? Is what you want stated in positive terms? (For example, “I want X,” not “I don’t want Y.”)
- Is this initiated and controlled by you? (If it is not, then you run the risk of becoming stuck.)
- What is your specific sensory-based description of what you want? What will you see, hear and feel when you have what you want?
- Is it an appropriate scope? Can you manage it easily or is it more global in nature?
- What will accomplishing your goal do for you and your company? Will that be positive also?
- How will you know when you have it? Will you have appropriate and timely feedback? What will be the evidence of your achievement?
The Intel Corporation has provided some excellent examples of sustainability-based goals in their 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. The company has established six categories of goals:
- Financial Results and Economic Impact
- Caring for the Planet
- Caring for our People
- Inspiring the Next Generation
- Building the Supply Chain of the Future
- Respecting Human Rights
The important point is that goals in these areas are managed within an integrated framework that supports decision making at all levels of the company. The company states its desired outcomes so they support a business that balances people, profits, and planet.
Dr. Anton G. Camarota is Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Business Longevity, an Arizona organization dedicated to helping business leaders build sustainable companies. You can reach him at anton@the-ibl.org or through the website the-ibl.org.
Illustration by Yvonne Hodges
