Reply To: Exercise 9: Second Personal Essay
#9 Second essay.
This is my second essay. A lot has changed leading up to and during the start of this course. I’ve been on a path to build my sustainability network and knowledge, get involved in sustainability projects and change the way I show up to be more of a strategic leader on the topic and make it the next chapter of my career. So, principles 1, 4 and 6 are somewhat familiar and the initiative project has helped me strengthen their application.
The Initiative work has proven the value of 2,3,5 and 7 to me. Number 2 and 3 have exposed a bit of a false assumption on my part that all great ideas have to start out great. The danger is if you are convinced, they aren’t great to start, then you won’t bother working on them, give up hope and nothing ever happens. This is why the idea of ‘just start anywhere’ can be powerful. I’ve realized one thing leads to another and if you are open minded to recognizing opportunities that present themselves, they are very likely going to be good. I’ve proven this to myself by taking what seemed like big leaps of faith in the beginning but now look very small when I look back. Fear of the unknown or the unfamiliar can be paralyzing. I’ve been working to get comfortable being uncomfortable recently. What’s a little discomfort if you are making a bigger positive difference, even purposefully putting myself in uncomfortable situations to see if I can get through it. Passion trumps discomfort every time.
The iteration of a concept in my regular work is something I do often and it’s surprising I haven’t thought of it more consciously relative to sustainability problems. I like the idea of asking for advice rather than pitching to build an idea in number 6. Asking for help is something you often don’t do in many corporate environments and it is another blind spot I have to move forward from. I see this will differentiate me from the crowd. It’s become a different kind of superpower.
I am very process minded and bought in to using these 7 principles as a template to improve all of my problem-solution types and leadership presence. It doesn’t matter what the topic is. I recognize the entrepreneurial elements which have opened up a new pathway of thinking for me around my own start up opportunities that I hadn’t considered before. I’ve worked in a large organization for so long, that I’ve been blind to that path.
I like the practice concept. I see myself as a continuous improver so the Initiative work is a good fit.
Sustainability problems are often complex involving many factors in a system. Most people I’ve encountered do not think that way. They see a surface problem, think they understand it based on one factor, their egos get the better of them and jump to a solution that they thought of. We have to use different thinking to solve sustainability problems and in my early experience with this process, the new perspectives coming out of multiple rounds of advice have changed the shape and nature of my problem significantly for the better. It is essentially a new problem from when I started.
My experience in speaking to people who feel the problem and those in the field, is like getting free gifts of knowledge and insight that improve my chances of success. I get excited by the free gifts and they get excited by my enthusiasm and interest in their topic. This has created new energy and invigoration for both of us. In my case I’ve discovered an associated problem I wasn’t really thinking about, why employee sustainability engagement programs fail. This came out of a statement repeated a couple of times, “this program is no longer running”. So why is it no longer running? What are the factors that kill a sustainability engagement program? Is it energy, funding, key person leaves, no sponsor, the company out grows it, it didn’t meet expectations, not aligned with company goals? Anything I do to answer these questions will strengthen any programs I create and that improves the robustness and sustainability of it. I think I have enough information to create a model I could use to explain how to future proof a program or looking at it another way, how to improve the success of a program. In fact I have so much information, I haven’t been able to keep up with sorting, putting it into a structure and tying it all together. A good problem to have, I guess.
The depth of my model is progressing encouragingly well, but I think there is more learning to be had by speaking to others and trying it out in pilot runs. This is a tricky balance point. I have defaulted closer to perfection in the past but less so than in previous years. The rule in product innovation is to fail early and fail often will get you there faster. Nothing like a test run to find out what you need to make better.
My financial component needs work. I think I need to create a couple of scenarios. One for my existing company and one for others. Also a small program and a bigger program. This will help improve adaptability. I need to define what I’m doing and what others are doing more concisely to improve the reality check of costs.
WHERE AM I AT RIGHT NOW?
The further I develop the problem-solution, the more it seems like a real possibility. Right now I see it as something I could be doing as a role in the future that I get paid for. I see a path. I thought Nutrien had an employee sustainability program but by the owner’s admission, they don’t, it is just a pot of money to funding initiatives if anyone asks.
It’s (the problem-solution) merging with other ideas and schemes I’m working on. I’ve converted the program owner to the idea of what’s missing and how product stewardship could enable the process. I’ve convinced a second person in the sustainability department to do some work with me and in return she now has a project that enhances her skills beyond her role that she is getting tired of. I plan to give a talk at a stewardship conference in a month about using the product stewardship function (something existing) as a starting point to enable product sustainability initiatives (something new). I’m late developing this talk though, I have to pull it off to start my Known Authority campaign. It’s a start, a crack in the sidewalk, it could lead to something great. It could collapse in an instant. The company is about to start a cost cutting project. This why I’m convinced you have to run with irrepressible optimism. It keeps me trying. Even, if these ideas collapse, it won’t be a failure because I’m learning, next time will be even better. I will be a better leader tomorrow than I am today (stole that from Marshall Goldsmith).
To be fair, I started this journey before the Initiative project. But the Initiative project has definitely boosted my drive. It is the next step. I don’t really have the time and I was hesitant to sign up but here I am. I guess we are all exactly where we are supposed to be at this point in time.
POST EXERCISE REFLECTION.
I think I already did that in the above but here goes.
Did I learn from writing this essay? Yes, made some connections to other things I’m doing and together, all of it feels like a much bigger wave of energy propelling me forward.
Do I feel differently having written the essay. Yes, taking the time to connect the pieces, I’m feeling more motivated, like I have an aggregated set of skills and a plan, more than a one trick pony, more being in a right place, much more capable. It’s amazing the effect a simple mindset shift can have. That’s been a big factor for me.
What has been most meaningful, valuable, purposeful about the project? It’s hard to say, I think the project was a spark that brought a lot of things together for me that was brewing for a while. It has surprised me that employee engagement in sustainability is such an obvious action to take on climate change and yet it seems to fail? Is that the right word? I would also say the conversations I have had on this specific topic were much more engaging and full of learning than meeting a new contact and talking about all the things you do. Much more intense and the things I learned were what helped me recognize the problem with the Nutrien program. If I hadn’t had those conversations beforehand, probably would have missed the opportunity.
It’s getting late, going to NYC tomorrow, opportunity to meet Josh in person. I’m late with my essay but it was worth it to think things through.