At a networking event the other day, we were talking about business sustainability. Somebody asked me what I’d say if I found my ideal CEO client next to me in an elevator.
KNOW / FEEL / DO
One great tip I work with (from Bill Jensen’s Simplicity Survival Handbook) is about being clear in your communication. Do you have the answers to these questions:
- What do you want the person to KNOW?
- How do you want them to FEEL?
- What do you want them to DO?
This is what I’d like business executives to know, feel and do bility.
I want business executives to know that…
- Behind the fog of mass media messages about crisis, cost and carbon trading, smart sustainability is fun and exciting. Done strategically, it’s full of great business growth opportunities. “environment=cost” belongs way back in the past along side “the world is flat” and “we can’t afford quality”.
- At the level of business strategy, profitable sustainability is straightforward. There are 7 simple principles that have the potential to deliver major business and environmental improvements. You don’t need an MBA or a degree in environmental science – just the ability to set directions and get results.
- Set clear honest goals, build your organisation’s resource literacy and the work will do itself. Give your people the opportunity for more meaningful work and get out of the way.
I want business executives to feel..
- Excited about the career and business opportunities of learning to do regenerative business not just corporate social responsibility.
- Relieved that “this sustainability thing” will be much more than another onerous compliance obligation.
- Curious about the new profits, strategies and practices that will emerge in their organisations.
I want business executives to…
- Start to learn about regenerative business – the straightforward principles behind the opportunity side of sustainability. Who’s making money from achieving 50%-80% resource usage reductions? How are they doing it?
- Start to build resource literacy levels in their organisation. The more people who understand their environmental footprint, the more people they’ll have enthusiastically looking for solutions.
- Start to set goals for win/win/win results. Tell them where you want to be in 8 – 10 years and turn your people loose to work out how.
Who’s the most powerful person you know personally? What do you want them to KNOW, to FEEL and to DO?
