April 22 was Earth Day. No doubt you saw too many articles pushing for “green” this and “green” that. The planet is sick and coming to an end. Blah blah blah.
The environmentalist’s approach to catalyzing action is now akin to barking up the wrong tree. We shouldn’t be seen as preaching or preachers. We shouldn’t be talking to and writing for each other’s edification. Instead we should be translating Earth Day into action items that matter to legislators, to neighbors, and to business leaders.
Eric Lowitt, “The Collaboration Economy”
Would Jack Welch, who led General Electric for 20 years until his retirement in 2001, succeed as a CEO today? His management style, so often lauded, was based on the premise that the CEO’s role was to maximise shareholder value and to command and control a company’s path to high performance. His catchphrase was “Be number one or number two in a market or we exit the market”. Welch’s approach, which epitomises 20th-century management tactics, continues to be admired and taught in business schools and training programmes worldwide.
In his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama beat the climate change drums. Despite his passion and eloquence, his words will not catalyze meaningful actions. Here’s why and a three-step plan to move forward.
Our deficit is massive. Our public budgets continue to get cut. Our fellow citizens expect instant gratification. Climate change relies on longer-term investments in needed infrastructure upgrades and innovation efforts.
Politicians keen on keeping their jobs prioritize actions that pay off in the short-term: politically and financially. Few PACs and Super-PACS have the financial clout to give politicians the needed cover to invest in long-term initiatives. the vast majority of politicians choose not to envision a political return from climate change investment.
We need to move beyond the ‘do goodedness’ that haunts sustainability and recognise the only way is to work together
Climate change is real, it exhibits the hand of man, and it is the cause of global devastation. Despite the obvious need for immediate action, the human race is losing the race against time. Here’s a different approach for us to become resilient, kickstart growth, and accelerate the pace of progress toward sustainable development.
A board member of a Fortune 100 company proudly told me recently that he wouldn’t “spend a cent on Facebook.” I asked if he meant he wouldn’t buy something via social media. “No,” he said. “I wouldn’t support my company making investments to use such websites to advance our business.”
I didn’t break it to him that Facebook and similar websites are free. I did confirm – the same day – that I did not own any shares of his company’s stock. Corporate boards are not only imperiling profits by ignoring social media, they are putting them at risk by ignoring social trends.
Maximizing shareholder value has been the mantra of corporate boards for at least the last two decades. But the ways to boost profit have changed dramatically in that time. And boards are struggling to keep up.
Join TSSS on April 1st as our panel explores the power of sport to reach people and communities like nothing else can. Topics to be discussed include: Community Engagement, Sustainable Purchasing, Importance of a Clear Vision, Diversity and Inclusion, Branding and Leaving a Legacy. Learn more
