UPFRONT Call it kick-arse innovation

It could be case of language getting in the way of good business idea.
Talk “sustainability” and watch the collective corporate gaze glaze over. Demonstrate on spreadsheet how to generate 38 percent improvement on bottom-line business performance and any CFO worth his/her salt is obliged to start paying attention.
Bob Willard has done the sums and after 34 years with IBM, Canada – the last 10 of those in leadership development – he knows how to present fairly compelling business case. It’s laid out in his latest book: The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-In and he was in New Zealand last month to present it to the NZ Sustainable Business Conference.
The focus is less on saving the planet than on saving and making money.
“It’s about how to create revenue, save on operating costs and, as byproduct, do something better for the environment. But the focus is on business strategy – you’re doing this for business reasons.”
It helps if you can put some numbers around that. His case studies came up with that figure of 38 percent profit improvement – and it erred toward conservatism.
“That was factored down number of times to get it to 38 percent and it still seems ridiculously big. So what we do is give people the spreadsheets, allow them to take the assumptions I teased out of these case studies and plug in their own numbers. If some of the seven areas of benefit turn out not to be relevant to them, then put in zero and go for six or four.
“It’s just getting them to ask the question – how good could it be for us if we really got serious and smart about this, quantify the numbers that are credible to them and if there’s good reason to go ahead, then do it.”
If this is the “next wave”, Willard could be seen as one of the chaps who’ll be shaping the boards that ride it. With the navy suit, grey hair, glasses and gold watch, he’s credibility chasm away from the somewhat anarchic image of earlier environmental foot soldiers.
Image, he agrees, can present an unnecessary barrier to engaging in conversation around business and sustainability or business and corporate social responsibility. The trick is to talk the language of business rather than dwelling on the often value-laden, guilt-laden or just irrelevant-sounding multi-syllabic ideals.
“If I talk about profit, growth, customer satisfaction, shareholder trust, employee morale – and show companies how environmentally or socially focused activity can contribute to goals they already have, as opposed to being one more thing to worry about, then they’re going to listen differently.”
Okay, his book does have “sustainability” in the title – but one of its aims is to give environmental champions the business language and approach they need to influence chief executives or financial officers. That said, he’s tempted to call the next one “kick-arse innovation” – it has more appropriately machismo ring.
There may not have to be another – the ground is already shifting as external events start upping the market ante. Willard talks about the potential for “perfect storm” of such events – fuel price rises and evidence of climate change being two of the biggies – that are upping the ante. These are the sorts of risks many big investment houses are starting to factor into their decisions. At the same time, companies are increasingly seeing the scope for market opportunities in the cleaner/greener zeitgeist.
It’s good push-pull incentive mix, says Willard.
“I think we need both the risk management approach and the market capitalisation approach. If you can avoid the threats and can position yourself to be more competitive, then it’s good stick and carrot mix. I used to think if the good news was good enough, people will pay attention … but you have to rattle the cage little to shake up the status quo and prompt people to think differently.”
He reckons the forces for changes are definitely gathering steam.
“I think we’re really close to the tipping point on this – maybe only three to five years out. I’ve no idea what will cause it to happen, whether climate change, another peak in energy prices, more investor distress around corporate scandals like Enron … Probably it will be combination of things, the so-called perfect storm that will tip this whole thing and collectively force businesses to pay attention.”