Process not Personality

Corporate America has Darwinist character, the most adaptable thrive. Winning ideologies increase shareholder value. To pull this off companies need to have processes that are scalable. A designed centric business will function with discipline and confidence. Yet, even the best business designs need to adapt to consumers even changing perception of what your brand stands for. To keep up innovation and flexibility are key. Experienced personalities often excel in achieving short-term results. But a company needs to know why it’s successful so it can share that information and reinforce the behavior. This systemization goes against the creative personality, vital for innovative new ideas. Therefore, the key contradiction to overcome is how to balance process control with creative personalities.

Rome & MPR

So on an early morning in late March my brother gets a call from my cousin inviting him to join my extended family for a last minute trip to Rome. One of the reasons I thought he should go was they were staying with the Brudvig’s. The Brudvig’s have been family friends for as a long as I can remember and Lee has an interesting and successful career with the State Department. Right now Lee stationed at the U.S. Mission to the U.N. Agencies in Rome and is working with the UN’s World Food Program and Food and Agriculture Organization.

Coincidentally, this morning MPR did a story on the fight against hunger and interviewed Tony Hall. Tony Hall was the previous ambassador of the embassy where Lee works, which is right in the neck of woods where my brother and extended family are traveling.

It’s a small world after all.

The Natural Step

As a long time advocate I’ve realize sustainability is still a very nebulous concept. Despite all of media hoopla on greenwashing and glossy corporate social responsibility reports, I think very few people really grasp what being sustainable really is. To my relief I attend a class put on by Responsible Minnesota Business on The Natural Step Framework (NSF).

You may ask, why is the NSF such a relief? Because it gives a simple yet comprehensive approach for how individuals and organization can be more sustainable. Its four principals embody basic science and systems thinking to come up with an approach that both grade school kids and corporate executives can understand.

Basically the NSF is: 1 what we take, 2 make and 3 break to meet basic human needs 4. This nifty diagram that shows what I mean (and its linked to where i found it if you'd like to read more.)

Like good design simple, yet sufficient.

Like a Piece of Modern Art

Comparing green consumer products to local art museums

In Minneapolis we have two prominent art museums, the Walker Art Center
and The MIA (Minneapolis Institute of Art). Both museums have respectable collections; the MIA has more antiquities, while the Walker holds a more contemporary assortment. Another way of comparing these establishments, the MIA is more aesthetically pleasing, while the Walker’s surrealist and abstract works often need context to be understood.

Green products can be compared to traditional products in a
similar way. Contrast a masterpiece painting from the MIA to a modern abstract
piece at Walker. Looking a 300-year-old masterpiece, the value and
benefits are immediately apparent. Traditional products are purchased at face
value and the purchase decision is often based on the immediate benefits. While with the modern abstract one may need to know the context or the back-story to fully appreciate why its art.

Green products also derive their value from a back-story. Consumers of green products are usually concerned about where their products come from and where it will go when they are done with it. The similarity between green products and modern art is that one needs to know the societal and environmental context appreciate its significance, and therefore its value.