I’m an advocate of Thanksgiving 365 days a year. Not the wonderful meal. Not the football games or parades or dog shows on TV. But the practice of gratitude.
So one week later – I encourage you to keep it up. And for good reasons – exactly 14 of them. Learn what they are, here…
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.
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.
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.
I think we can learn something about reaching our goals by throwing out the geometry lesson of shortest distances and using the metaphor of sailing.
How do you determine if you should spend more energy, time and effort to salvage something? And when is it time to shed it, to move on, to eliminate it from your life?
There are many life and leadership lessons to be learned in nature – both in actuality and in metaphor. One occurred in my yard this week.
“S – U – C – C – E – S – S , that’s the way to spell success.” Is a chant I’ve heard cheerleaders recite way too many times, from grade school on. Spelling success is not all that hard – defining it is much more difficult.
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