In my final post in this series exploring the question of sustainability – of our organizations and the larger world in which those organizations exist – I’ll examine the notion of “constructive capitalism”, a way in which companies can create enduring, meaningful and sustainable advantage that also benefits society.
Yesterday my granddaughter and I planted bulbs. Lots of them. 229 to be exact. Tulips and daffodils and hardy little purple crocuses. Today it strikes me that planting bulbs in the fall is perhaps one of the greatest acts of faith that a gardener takes. It causes me to wonder how often, when things appear to be in decline, do we continue to plant in what seems like hard ground?
Continuing my series of posts exploring the topic of sustainability – of our organizations and the larger world in which those organizations exist, today’s post examines the internal factors that enable an organization to be sustainable over time. Something that, over the last ten years, over 50% of the companies on the Fortune 500 list have failed to do.
In my next few posts I am going to explore the question of sustainability – of our organizations and the larger world in which those organizations exist. The topic is big – and this will only be a brush. But I hope that these posts might give you pause to ponder – what should we be doing to create vibrant organizations that are sustainable over time – not via brute force or domination but through the synergy of being in tune with their external environment, honoring that environment (both social and environmental) and existing in a harmonious ecosystem of give and take, change and adaptation, growth, decline, and rebirth.
Today’s post is about a way to measure sustainability using a framework called the Triple Bottom Line. Subsequent posts will examine the internal factors that enable an organization to be sustainable over time, and then the notion of “constructive capitalism”, a way in which companies can create enduring, meaningful and sustainable advantage that also benefits society.
So… about that Triple Bottom Line…
Over the weekend I temporarily moved the contents of my office in order to paint the walls. Even I was amazed at what got pulled from the space. I’ve included a photo of SOME of the books that I extricated – and that photo does not include books in my family room, on my night stand, or tucked in various other places in my home.
I had to chuckle, as this was such a visible reminder of one of my strengths – which is input. So why is knowing your strengths important, and how can you identify yours? Read on to find out.
I love images that paint a compelling picture. And so when a speaker on gender in the workplace talked about women and leadership, and explored the underlying reason for the disproportionate number of women in high leadership positions as a combination of both glass ceiling and a sticky floor, it resonated.
Well, I’ve done it. I always had dreams of writing a book – and today I’m thrilled to announce that it is available on Amazon. It’s taken longer than one would have ever dreamed, been through more edits than I could have imagined and more changes than Indiana weather in spring! But it is here.
So what is it?
A lot, apparently. These men were part of one of the longest and most comprehensive longitudinal studies, called The Grant Study, ever conducted. The study began in their sophomore year of Harvard Medical School – and continues to this day. The men were observed, studied, interviewed, examined and tracked over time.
And author George Vaillant, who chronicled the study, wrote, “The results were as clear-cut as they were startling.”
We seem, in our personal and professional lives, to want to speed things up, maximize value, and do it with fewer and fewer resources and less money. And I’m not immune to that thinking. I challenge students in my Entrepreneurship class to find new ways to solve problems people have, to imagine ways to create a business that can do something faster or better, although I warn against competing on price alone (the cheaper). My change management practice aims to help clients implement change faster and better – and with less drama and resistance. Yet I wonder if faster/better/cheaper should really be our north star for all things and for all situations.
As some level, I think every one of us knows that the old notions of stability are fiction. That the pace of change is breakneck, coming so fast and furious that we can’t assimilate and accommodate or make sense of it all. That the longevity of our position, our career, our company, our product, or our gadgets are measured at best in years, more likely in months and very seldom in decades. Love it or hate it – we need to reconcile that unrelenting change is the new normal.
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