Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How to Make Sustainable Change Manageable

Blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Company
Dec 14, 2010 2:41 PM ET

Taiga Company blog by Julie Urlaub, Founder and Managing Partner at Taiga Compa…

Surveys indicate most Americans recognize the environmental crisis and they're concerned about global warming. But to actually do something about it?  It's a similar experience in the business world.  Within our business sustainability consulting practice, executives are becoming aware of the business case for sustainability but are finding the traditional methods of addressing alternative mindsets and systems.

Business leaders often try to sell change to the organization as a way to attain agreement and accelerate sustainable business implementation. Selling change to people is most often not a sustainable strategy for success.  It creates resistance. 
 
Think about it.  When somebody tells you what to do, do you do it?  Probably not.  No one likes to be told what to do - even when they are up for it.  In fact, the post, Employees See Death When You Change Their Routines,  illustrates the "fascinating field of research known as terror management theory.  It has shed light on the connection between people's reactions to change and their awareness of the big change that awaits us all."
 
Traditional business models and methodologies are giving way to new innovative means to navigating the complex waters of internal and external stakeholder engagement.  Yet, as we bridge our way from traditional models and simultaneously explore new pathways, turbulence is bound to be a result.  How does leadership smooth the way? 
 
Sustainable change needs be realistic, achievable and measurable. Before taking action, it’s important to ask a few questions.  As mentioned in our business sustainability programs, we encourage business leader to gain insights and valued feedback from those involved.   
 
•    What do we want to achieve with this change?
•    Why and how will we know that the change has been achieved?
•    Who is affected by this change, and how will they react to it?
 
Business sustainability has traditionally been put into the box of environmental or social action. Click here to continue reading.
 

Home to one third of the earth's trees, the Taiga is the largest land-based biosphere and encircles the globe. Its immense oxygen production literally changes the atmosphere and refreshes the planet. It is this continuous renewal that has shaped Taiga Company's vision to drive similar change in the business world. Taiga Company seeks to be the "oxygen for your business".

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