Including sustainability aspects into business - due to inspiration or desperation?
What is the underlying reason why a leader should include sustainability into his business paradigm? Is it true that one needs to stand for something or fall for anything?
The ongoing summer in the northern hemisphere gives ample reasons (heatwaves, floods, forest fires and so on) to become introspect vis a vis the circumstances on the risks to our well being. Irrespective on what one liner reaction (J.Diamond, Collapse, Chapter 16) one believes in, in order to maintain ones sanity or to rationalize ones situation, the repetitiveness as well as the force of the aforementioned reasons are pressing.
Two powerful motivators press us, even force us, to make decisions. We either go forward in life making changes based on being inspired by a new vision or find ourselves being pressured by a situation we can no longer represent.
A wise person said change occurs when the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of change. All of life’s events seem to fluctuate between these two forces. Most of us would agree that being inspired to make a move or take on a new challenge seems like a healthier way to live.
Why is it that we so often wait until we are compelled to act? Maintaining our life style despite constant and increasing bombardment of vocal (school to media), actions (Fridays for future to Last Generation) from outside.
Realizing ones own child becoming suddenly the lifestyle Questioner in Chief at the family dinner table after having been part of a schoolorganized activity presenting syntropic agriculture is a situation no parent is prepared for. The energy the child is generating by aspiring toward something new is tangible. Irresistable, too. An observer might comment that a childs mind is yet unincumbered by lifes unfairness and hard (man made) realities.
Think about the excitement you feel when starting a new project at work. You might have the energy to brainstorm approaches. The opposite may be true when you get to the office, and you face the job of routine—there’s no burst of energy because you no longer are inspired, it’s just work.
In the world of business transitions, we see these same motivators operating. There are emergencies when companies are desperate to adapt ones operation because of an new legal situation in the market or country.
In contrast, we meet companies who make informed visionary decisions over time, and this creates enthusiasm for a new approach. Changemanagement and transitioning can be less stressful when approached with inspiration. The enthusiasts are looking forward to leaving the “we have it always done like this” to their competitors. The inspired employee feels empowered to make a decision, whereas the reacting management team feels deprived of freedom.
Let your company be led by inspiration!